THE “I Love You” TAPES

Max Almy

“The ‘I Love You’ Tapes”, 1976, were originally created as an exploration of experimental narrative structure using video on multiple monitors.  Almy used four monitors, to present a series of short narratives about contemporary love and relationships. The original four-screen presentation of the work was premiered at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  A single channel version of the presentation, I Love You, assembles the four TV screens on a single screen. Here the close-up picture of a mouth, which spreads the details of a love affair, is configured in a complex four-part picture-and-sound ensemble of mouths speaking out of synch.  The single channel version was an award-winning work and has been widely exhibited and screened internationally.

MODERN TIMES

Max Almy

“Modern Times” was originally presented in 1979 as a live performance piece using actors, multiple monitors, and music.  “Modern Times” is a consolidation of seven short chapters in the life of a modern woman. In the first sequence, the objects in a suburban home are inventoried: "nice couch", "nice car", and so on—ending with the titles "nice concept", "nice image"—and unmasking this materialistic world as an impossible consumer fantasy. In the next scene, an attractive man sunbathes. It is only this image, accompanied by a voice, which at first describes him as an irresistible being, then, after some strange and almost imperceptible wordplay, finally declares him extremely boring.  Using an experimental approach to narrative structure, Almy explored the foibles of contemporary life.  “Modern Times” was premiered as a performance work at Video Free America in San Francisco.  The single channel video version of the work went on to be screened and exhibited widely.