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Drinking & Smoking
About this film
"Drinking & Smoking": This was shot by Steve Estes using a Portapak, reel-to-reel black & white. That was available thanks to UMBC, where Steve was a student. Steve uses a close shot to document his drinking a bottle of whisky in 17:30, smoking throughout. I think this is potentially a 'classic' of video art. Drinking & smoking were very prevalent activities amongst creative people in Baltimore when I lived there. Smoking was so prevalent at the time this video was made in 1977 that if I went to a party I was often the ONLY person there NOT smoking. As such, there's a minimalist poignancy to this as a document of what many people were doing to their bodies on a regular basis. Keep in mind that this video was shot on tape in 1977 & then transferred to VHS by me no later than 1986. While it shows some minor degradation it's not nearly as bad as tape's bad reputation might suggest. How many people have computer files that they can still play from even 20 years ago? - September 12, 2017 notes from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
Directors & creators
Steve Estes
Subjects
Steve Estes, video art, drinking, smoking, drinking & smoking, 1977, 1970s video art, Baltimore, tENTATIVELY a cONVENIENCE Archive
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