Experimental Television Center

Experimental Television Center

Company type	Nonprofit organization (501(c)(3))
Industry	Electronic and media art
Founded	1971
Founder	Ralph Hocking
Headquarters	Owego (formerly Binghamton), New York , United States
Area served	Artists and media art community worldwide
Key people	Ralph Hocking, Sherry Miller Hocking
Products	Video and media art technologies, residency program, workshops, exhibitions

Experimental Television Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to electronic and media art.

History

Established in 1971 by Ralph Hocking, the Experimental Television Center (ETC) originated from a media access initiative he launched as a professor at Binghamton University in 1969. The organization moved from Binghamton to Owego, New York in July 1979.

Under the leadership of Ralph Hocking and Sherry Miller Hocking, ETC concentrated on pioneering advances in video and media art technologies. It offered artists, groups, and individuals complimentary access to cutting-edge image processing equipment and studio resources.

For more than four decades, ETC ran a residency program that prioritized artistic experimentation with both analog and digital video technologies. Participants from around the globe utilized rare apparatus and explored a media art collection featuring works by previous residents. Ralph Hocking characterized the center as "a learning place [...], where artists and engineers worked in tandem." Furthermore, ETC hosted exhibitions, workshops, cultural gatherings, conferences, and grant initiatives aimed at supporting artists and nonprofit media art organizations.

In 2011, the Residency and Grants Program was suspended to focus on conservation efforts. The center’s media arts archives are now preserved at the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art, part of the Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.

The Video History Project at ETC is an active research endeavor offering a wealth of unpublished materials documenting early developments in video art and community television, with an emphasis on upstate New York from 1968 through 1980.

In 2021, ETC revealed plans to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia.

Artists

Prominent artists associated with the Experimental Television Center include:

• Alex Roshuk
• Anney Bonney
• Benton C Bainbridge
• Irit Batsry
• Alan Berliner
• Abigail Child
• Connie Coleman and Alan Powell
• Peter D'Agostino
• Marcello Dantas
• Emergency Broadcast Network
• Laurence Gartel
• Ariana Gerstein
• Leah Gilliam
• Shalom Gorewitz
• Slawomir Grunberg
• Barbara Hammer
• Thomas Allen Harris
• Pamela Susan Hawkins
• Sorrel Hays
• Kathy High
• Gary Hill
• Sara Hornbacher
• Amy Jenkins
• Ken Jacobs
• Richard Kostelanetz
• Shigeko Kubota
• Annie Langan
• Jeffrey Lerer
• Jeanne Liotta
• LoVid (Tali Hinkis and Kyle Lapidus)
• Mary Magsamen
• Jennifer McCoy and Kevin McCoy
• Jillian McDonald
• Christina McPhee
• Michael Pope (Neovoxer)
• Nam June Paik
• Ron Rocco
• Barbara Rosenthal
• Eric Rosenzveig
• Lynne Sachs
• Matthew Schlanger
• Alan Sondheim
• Aldo Tambellini
• Simon Tarr
• Nancy Meli Walker
• Sheri Wills
• Walter Wright
• Neil Zusman

Tools

One of the center's initial undertakings in 1972 was the creation of the "Paik/Abe video synthesizer," a device conceived by Shuya Abe and Nam June Paik and constructed by David Jones and Robert Diamond for WNET-TV’s TV Lab. Supported by funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, this synthesizer enhanced the range of adaptable imaging technologies available to artists.

During the early 1970s, the center featured groundbreaking equipment that empowered residents to produce intricate and technologically advanced artworks. Among these was the "Abe colorizer," an image processing apparatus that introduced pioneering special effects now commonly used in video art. Additionally, the "Rutt/Etra scan processor," developed by Steve Rutt and Bill Etra, offered artists extensive control over video image manipulation, as highlighted by artist-in-residence Gary Hill (1975–1977).

Beginning in 1973, Dave Jones took on the role of full-time technician at the center, crafting essential video image processing instruments tailored for artists. His innovations encompassed the "Jones colorizer" (1974–75), "Jones 8-input sequencer" (1984–85), "Jones keyer" (1985), "Jones buffer" (1986), along with devices for voltage control and raster manipulation.

By the mid-1970s, collaboration with Steina and Woody Vasulka, coupled with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, facilitated integrating an LSI-11 computer into video processing systems. This effort aimed to democratize digital imaging tools for artistic use. Moving into the late 1970s and early 1980s, emphasis shifted from hardware creation toward developing artist-focused software and completing integrated systems.

The 1980s marked the adoption of the Amiga computer platform, while during the 1990s, commercially accessible image processing technologies broadened the center’s functional scope. Over time, this progression resulted in a hybridized setup combining analog equipment with emerging digital tools, thereby enriching interactive creative opportunities for artists.