Tate with the Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the nonprofit media-art center Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) is the recipient of a major gift of seminal video and new-media works from San Francisco-based contemporary art collectors Richard and Pamela Kramlich.
The Kramlich gift includes 21 works including some of the most important achievements in the field of media art from the last three decades. They represent a range of contemporary explorations in time-based art spanning 1970 to 1999 including works in various media – video, slides, film, audio, and computer-based installations – by artists broadly considered to be pioneers in film and video installation, such as Marina Abramovic, Vito Acconci, Dara Birnbaum, Marcel Broodthaers, Peter Campus, James Coleman, Valie Export, Dan Graham, Gary Hill, Beryl Korot, Bruce Nauman, Nam June Paik, Thomas Struth and Klaus vom Bruch, and Bill Viola. A younger generation of artists who have built upon the aesthetic groundwork of their predecessors, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Doug Aitken, Matthew Barney, Stan Douglas, Steve McQueen, Diana Thater, and Keith Tyson, to name a few, is also represented in the gift.
Pamela Kramlich said:
We have been collecting these important works for years with the intention of sharing them with the public. We are thrilled that they can finally come out of storage and be properly showcased. Inviting world-class institutions such as MoMA, SFMOMA, and Tate to share in the stewardship of NAT’s holdings continues a cycle of collaboration that extends across the globe and will touch countless viewers worldwide.
The museums in the group are consortium members of the New Art Trust (NAT) founded by Pamela and Richard Kramlich in 1997 with the goal of advancing media arts through the support of research and scholarship in the field. The works included in today’s announcement join 180 single-channel works the Kramlichs have given to NAT since its inception in 1997, making it one of the richest archives of media art in the world.
Works in the Kramlich Gift:
1. Marina Abramovic, Cleaning the Mirror #1, 1995; five-channel video installation with stacked monitors; dimensions 112 x 24 1/2 x 19 inches.
2. Vito Acconci, Pornography in the Classroom, 1975; video and projected-image installation with sound; dimensions variable.
3. Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Anne, Aki & God, 1998; seven-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
4. Doug Aitken, Eraser (linear version), 1997; single-channel video installation; dimensions variable.
5. Matthew Barney, Scabaction, 1988; single-channel video and 12 mixed-media drawings; dimensions variable, each drawing 5 x 6 1/2 inches.
6. Dara Birnbaum, Attack Piece, 1975; two-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
7. Marcel Broodthaers, Fig. 0, Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig A (Example G), 1971; five 16mm films and 62-x-81-inch canvas cinema screen.
8. Peter Campus, Interface, 1972; single-channel video installation; dimensions variable.
9. James Coleman, Photograph, 1998/99; single-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
10. Stan Douglas, Hors-Champs, 1992; two-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
11. Valie Export, Autohypnose (Auto Hypnosis), 1969/73; video action/interactive video installation; dimensions variable.
12. Dan Graham, Body Press, 1970/72; 16mm film installation; dimensions variable.
13. Gary Hill, Cut Pipe, 1992; video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
14. Beryl Korot, Dachau 1974, 1974; four-channel video installation; dimensions variable.
15. Steve McQueen, Just Above My Head, 1996; 16mm film transferred to video.
16. Bruce Nauman, Raw Material OK, OK, OK, 1990; two-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
17. Nam June Paik, TV Buddha, 1989; single-channel video and mixed-media installation; dimensions variable.
18. Thomas Struth and Klaus vom Bruch, Berlin-Project, 1997; four-channel video installation with sound; dimensions variable.
19. Diana Thater, Surface Effect, 1997; two-channel video installation; dimensions variable.
20. Keith Tyson, Artmachine Iteration AMCHII-XLII: Angelmaker Part II Quadruped, 1995; multimedia installation with sound; dimensions variable.
21. Bill Viola, He Weeps for You, 1976; water drop from copper pipe, liver color camera with macro lens, amplified drum, video projection with sound; 12 x 26 x 36 feet.