I met with the artist in November 2018 when Equinox (1979), an example of her pioneering multi-channel video work and signature burning of the video camera’s eye, was on view at SculptureCenter in Long Island City, New York as part of Before Projection: Video Sculpture 1974–1995 (September 17 – December 17, 2018). Conceived by Henriette Huldisch, Director of Exhibitions and Curator, MIT List Visual Arts Center, where Before Projection was first presented, this focused survey reevaluated a period in video art in which artists such as Takahiko Iimura, Shigeko Kubota, Nam June Paik, Adrian Piper, among others, engaged with video monitors as sculptural objects. Our conversation focused on Lucier’s early forays into time-based media performance and installation and the contributions of women artists in that era.
Tanya Zimbardo: Before Projection was the first time I’ve experienced your work Equinox (1979). I was initially struck by the remarkable quality of the color footage.
Mary Lucier: It’s the color that gets me now, on many levels. I even think of the California fires now, when I look at that color. The tube burns are actually very light, whereas in Dawn Burn (1975), the burns are quite dark, like charcoal marks.
