14 Americans: Directions of the 1970s

1980 / 89 min. / color
Directed by Michael Blackwood
Consultants: Nancy Rosen, Roberta Smith, Robert Pincus-Witten, and Rosalind Krauss

Vito Acconci, Laurie Anderson, Alice Aycock, Scott Burton, Peter Campus, Chuck Close, Nancy Graves, Joseph Kosuth, Gordon Matta-Clark, Mary Miss, Elizabeth Murray, Dennis Oppenheim, Dorothea Rockburne, Joel Shapiro.

Linked by their desire for the unknown and an increasingly explorative use of materials, the artists featured in 14 Americans: Directions of the 1970s strive to push boundaries and observe the space we occupy. Some of their activities enlist engineering and construction techniques, others compose texts or scripts that are central to their art. Some cast the viewer in the role of a spectator, while the others demand active participation. Through performances, sculptures, earthworks, furniture, and shaped canvases, artists such as Mary Miss and Scott Burton expand the meaning of art and strive to reshape our approach to creation.