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Artists'
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BILL CRESTON is an independent filmmaker and video pioneer who began his career as a painter Nine of his short S/8 films have been screened at The Museum of Modern Art, NYC, and he is the recipient of a 2003-2004 New York State Council For The Arts Filmmaking Grant.
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2.RECENT FILMOGRAPHY 1990-2003.
3. EARLY FILMOGRAPHY 1976-1989 (Early Films Shown at MoMA Solo Cineprobe ).
All work is available for sale on DVD or VHS. eMediaLoft.org may also be contacted regarding lectures, screenings, and visiting artist invitations.


"He Stole My Gun" B&W Film/DVD
"Urinals" B&W Video/DVD


"Duets" Film/DVD
"Garbage, etc.: My Brother Seymour" 7 Short Films/DVD
2. Films by Bill Creston Since The MoMA Cineprobe ( RECENT FILMOGRAPHY 1990-2003):
All digitally Remastered in 2003. Available on DVD or VHS.
5:30 A.M. TAXI REAR VIEW MIRROR, 2003, b&w, sound, S/8, 30 sec.
Captured on film in his rear view mirror while Creston is parked in his cab
at dawn, a scene plays out between one man seeking the attention of another.
Original voice-over dialogue.
LUNCH HOUR, 1996, b&w, sound, S/8, 5 mins.
In this narrative, a young blue-collar worker and an old derelict (played by
Creston), joined briefly by a young pan-handler, meet for a few moments in the
sunshine along a wall in an industrial neighborhood one weekday at lunchtime.
DUETS, 1996, color, sound, S/8, 5 mins.
Funnyl dialogue by usually one but sometimes two or three people. Crestons
jokes are flawlessly timed and poignantly felt through his dead-pan humor.
HE STOLE MY GUN, 1994, b&w, sound, S/8, 9 mins.
An elderly derelict (played by Creston) is approached by a passerby.
TAXI, TAXI, 1992, color/b&w, sound, S/8, 15 mins.
Snippets of New York City caught during Crestons 15 years as a NYC cab
driver, with scenes scripted and edited, and some actual dialogue recorded.
Original soundtrack and song Taxi-Taxi by Bill Creston. This film
was screened during the Museum of Modern Arts Big As Life
Series 1997-99.
GARBAGE, ETC, 1991, color, sound, S/8, 6 mins.
Four brief funny scenes. Creston acts as well as directs.
DONT ROAST MY FRANKS, 1990, color/b&w, sound, S/8, 10
mins.
A narrative mystery set in a cabin in the woods.
3. Films by Bill Creston Shown at MoMA Solo Cineprobe (EARLY FILMOGRAPHY 1976-1989):


4. BILL CRESTON VIDEO HISTORY TAPES VIDEOGRAPHY
Bill Creston was one of the first five artists working in video
(which had no name yet) in NYC. He opened Videotape Theater, the first NY video
screening room, in his Chelsea loft in 1970, taking out a Village Voice ad to
publicize it. And he instituted the first Video Programs at both Cooper Union
and The School of Visual Arts, where he used his own equipment. From 1976-2000,
he made 15 Super-8 films (see Filmographies) and is currently working in digital
video. All work on the following list was originally shot on black and white
1/2 CV or 1/2 Open Reel, transferred to 3/4 or VHS, and is now available
on VHS and DVD.
CRACKS. 1970. A man tries to divine the meaning of the sidewalk.
Improvised voice-over by Carl Methfessel. 1970.
CRIPPLE. 1970. Uncomfortable travel on uneven crutches in an unlikely
environment. Improvisation by Carl Methfessel. 12 mins.
JERSEY CITY TAPES. 1970. A wandering family. 20 mins.
VIDEO JOURNAL. 1971-1975. (The first journal ever to be made in
video.) Video diary of dreams, thoughts and daily life. Approximately 20 hrs.
To be shown as excerpts.
BERT LAHR. 1971. Carl Methfessels hysterical warm-ups to
his finale imitation of Bert Lahr as The Friendly Lion. 15 mins.
THE MONKEY DREAM. 197l. Carl Methfessel relates a dream. 5 mins.
DEAD MOUSE. 1971. A dead mouse on a foot. 2 mins.
NEWSDEALER. 1972. A portrait of Mickey, the corner philosopher-newsdealer.
10 mins.
FROM GRANDMAS HOUSE TO BAR MITZVAH 1972. Video autobiography
from age six to thirteen. Scenes and narrative shot on location, ending with
a video transfer of the actual 16mm film of Crestons Bar Mitzvah. 1-hr.
KELSEY. 1972. Video portrait of artist, madman and street entrepreneur,
Denham Arthur Oswald Kelsey III. Tape first shown at The Kitchen in 1973, and
then at the First Video Documentary Festival at Global Village. 45 mins.
THE INDIANA TAPES. 1972. An intimate portrait of the family of
a back-country Indiana preacher. 1 hr.
SELECTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL. 1974. Creston brought 20
hours of 1/2 open reel videotape and a Sony Portapak with him to France,
Spain and Portugal for two months, and recorded his encounters with the artists
and populace. Selections include: PARIS 74: XIFRES STUDIO and RITA
1974.
URINALS. 1974. An zany narrative in which a urinals-attendant
(played by Carl Methfessel) hires a repairman (Don Green) for his mechanical
guitar-player (the balladeer, Cecil Gregory). The scene is set in front of Crestons
widely publicized 1964 oil painting, Urinals, an 8' x 12' painting
of the urinals in the guards mens room of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, where he worked at the time. Also features Elliot Barowitz, Eric Hauben,
Barbara Stuhlmann and Gunther Stuhlmann. 12 mins.
S.E.G. 1974. A humorous experiment with a first-generation video
Special Effects Generator, and the news story of an altercation between elderly
roommates. 7 mins.
THE EXECUTION. 1975. Bill Crestons prophetic tape about the sudden death of a character, played by the late Carl Methfessel. Experimental saxaphone sound track by Carl Methfessel. 5 mins.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
2004 NYFA Film Grant Winners Festival Tour, Abrons
Art Center, NYC, March
2003 NYFA Film Grant Winners Festival Tour, Anthology
Film Archives, NYC Dec.
International Works On Paper, CVB Space, NYC, Sept.
NYFA Film Grant Winners Festival Tour, Center For Photography, Woodstock,
NY, Aug.
International Paper Exhibition, Monique Goldstrom Gallery, NYC,
Aug.
2002 Photography and Video from NYC, William Whipple
Gallery, Walker, MN, Nov.
Photography and Video, 2002, Monique Goldstrom Gallery, NYC. Oct.
New Drawings, Westbeth Gallery, NYC, May.
2001 Holiday Show, Westbeth Gallery, NYC, Nov 01-Jan
02.
Food, Art In General, NYC. Nov.
2000: Holiday Show, Westbeth Gallery, NYC, Dec.
Big As Life/An American History of 8mm Films, Film Garbage
Museum of Modern Art, NYC, April
An Evening of Films by Bill Creston Courtyard Community Room, NYC,
Jan.
1999: Holiday Show, Westbeth Gallery, NYC, Dec.
Video Barbecue, Westbeth Courtyard, NYC, July
Five Artists In Videotape, Art Nation (Florence Lynch Gallery),
NYC, Jan.
1998: Big As Life/An American History of 8mm Films,
Film Taxi, Taxi at Museum of Modern Art, NYC. May.
1997: Family Trauma, The Knitting Factory Video Lounge,
NYC, August.
1996: Super-8 Films By Bill Creston Artpool/Belazs
Bela Studio, (Guest) Budapest, Hungary. Nov.
Super-8 Films By Bill Creston, filmGalerie, (Guest) Regensburg,
Germany. Nov.
Super-8 Films By Bill Creston, Arpool, (Guest) Budapest, Hungary.
Nov.
Super-8 Films By Bill Creston Super-8 Lebt Festival, Austrian
Film CoOp, Spittleburg Theater, (Guest) Vienna, Austria. Nov.
Bruxelles International Film & Video Festival, (Guest) Belgium,
Nov.
Super-Super-8 Festival, San Diego, CA. Sept.
Family Trauma, The Knitting Factory/ Art In General, N.Y.C. Aug.
Open Screening, Artists Space, NYC, June.
1995: Anti-100 Years Super-8 Festival, Anthology Film
Archives, N.Y.C., Dec.
Old & New Masters of Super-8, Anthology Film Archives, NYC 1989,
90, 91, 92, 94, 96
Brooklyn Waterfront Annual Spring Video Festival, April-May
Whos Who In Mail Art, Ministry Order 11-10-90, Madrid, Spain.
March.
Imagine, Cynthia Gallery, Mesa, AZ. Spring.
1990-94: Video From The Media Loft, Anthology Film
Archives, NYC. June, 94
Atelier Super-8 De Tours, Universite Francois Rabelais, Tours, France,
March, 93
Retrospective of Films By Bill Creston, 450 Broadway Gallery, NYC,
March 8-24, 93
Recontres Du 8-em Type, Fondettes, France, Nov., 93
Articulated Speculation, Channel 30, Monmouth County, NJ, Aug. &
Oct., 93
Association: Le Vrais Folies Bergeres, Camares, France, Dec., 92
Videospace: An Interview With Bill Creston by Kevin Lindenmuth,
Cable Access, April, 91
Brussels International Festival of Super-8 (Guest of the Fest),
Belgium, 1990
B&W 1/2 Open Reel Video History Programs I & II, DCTV,
NYC, 1989 & 90
No TV, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY. Screening & Cable
Show, Spring, 90
Three Films & An Inerview With Bill Creston, Young, Gifted
& Broke Cable Show, NYC, 90
1984-89 : Solo Cineprobe Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art,
NYC, May, 89
Film Screening, Films Charas, NYC, Summer, 89
Film Probe Series, The Gas Station, NYC, June & July, 1989
Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI, Spring, 89
Athens Festival of Super-8, Athens, GA, Nov. 1989 & 90
Taller de Cine la Red, Encuentro, Revista de Cine y Video,
Puerto Rico, Fall, 89
Super-8 Films By Bill Creston, The Gas Station, NYC, Feb. 89
Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Super-8, Caracas, Venezuela,
Sept 84-89
The 60s Then & Now, Grace Harkin Gallery,
Oct. 88
Video Screening, DCTV. NYC, Spring, 88
International Forum For Super-8, Exit Art, NYC, May, 1988
The Mediated Journal Video Screening, The Kitchen Center For Video
& Music, NYC, Apr., 88
Video Laughing, The Kitchen, NYC, Fall, 1985
1980-84 : Co-Ops of The 50s: Then & Now, Pleiades
Gallery, NYC, Fall, 84
Solo Retrospective of Super-8 by Bill Creston, DCTV, Dec. 84
Women, Artists, Filmmakers Series, A.I.R. Gallery, NYC, April, 83
Ann Arbor Super-8 Festival, Ann Arbor, MI, Spring, 83
Caracas Super-8 Festival, Caracas, Vednezua, 1982
Toronto Super-8 Festival, Ontario, Canada, Fall, 82
Dada & Surrealist Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival, 1982
Film Festival, St. Johns College, Annapolis, MD, 1980
1970-79 : Miscellaneous Works, The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Conn.,
1979
Super-8 Films By Bill Creston, The New York Avant-Garde Festival,
Cambridge, MA, 1978
Tenth Street Days: Co-Ops of the 50s Commemorative Travelling
Exhibition, 1978
New Films By Bill Creston, Pleiades Gallery, NYC, Dec. 1977
Films, PS 1, Long Island City, NYC, Sept. 1977
Bill Creston, Vendome Trading Corp Window Installation, NYC, 1974
The First Annual Documentary Video Festival, Global Village, NYC,
Jan. 1973
Three Videomakers, Video Free America, San Francisco, CA, , 1973
(Solo) Five Separate Eveningss in Videotape, The Kitchen:Mercer
Arts Cent., NYC, Jan 4-28, 72
(Solo) Five Pieces in Videotape, Loft Showcase Video Theater, NYC,
Nov., 1970
1960-69: Ten Downtown #1: Exhibition & Panel Discussion, Colgate
Univ., Hamilton, NY, Oct 68
Ten Downtown (Number One), NYC, April, 1968
Construction Site, (Original Conceptual Street Sculpture), NYC,
Feb., 1968
Go To 15th St, (Original Conceptual Street Sculpture), NYC, Feb.,
1967
Bill Creston, Dorsky Gallery, NYC, April, 1965
Bill Creston, Area Gallery, NYC, April, 1964]
Bill Creston, Camino Gallery, NYC, 1964
Bill Creston, Kraushaar Gallery, NYC, 1960
1957-59: Bill Creston, Allan Stone Gallery, NYC, 1958
Bill Creston Group & Solo Shows, Brata Gallery (Founding Member)
Tenth St., NYC, 1957-60
Bill Creston, National Gallery of Design, NYC, 1957
MAJOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE
HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY. Adjunct Asst. Prof. Of Art (Received highest student evaluation
report in history of school), 1978-1985
COOPER UNION, NYC. Film Screenings & Lecture Series, 1977
STEPHENS COLLEGE, Columbia, Missouri: Visiting Artist, Video & Avant-Garde
Media, Fall, 1976
COOPER UNION, NYC. Originated first Film & Video Dep; taught first video.
Beginning & Adv. Video; Beg. & Adv. Filmmaking, 1971-75
LA SALA VINCON, Barcelona, Conducted the first Video workshop in Spain, 1974
CUNY, LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Communications: (Film, Video,
Photo, Audio, Slides, Performance & Presentation), 1972-73
SVA: THE SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, NYC. Originated first Video Dept. Taught first
video at SVA. Beginning & Adv. Video, 1970-72
OTHER TEACHING EXPERIENCE
INNER CITY ROUND-TABLE FOR YOUTH, Federal Project Director & Instr. of Film
& Video, NYC, 1977
SUNY, OLD WESTBURY, Visiting Artist, Film & Video, 1976
THE SOUTH BRONX EDUC. CENTER, NYC., FEDERAL PROJECT ART COORDINATOR, 1968-70
THE FIEDEL SCHOOL, Glen Cove, NY, Video Instructor, 1968-71PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Co-Director, eMediaLoft.com and eMediaLoft.org, NYC, (Originally The Media
Loft) 1992-Present
Bill Creston Total Super-8 Sound Studio, NYC, 1980-92
WCTV/COMMERCIALS FOR CABLE, NYC, 1985-92
Nineteen For Frankie, Head Scriptwriter, 1984-87 (Completion)
GRANTS
NYFA New York Foundation for the Arts Film Grant, 2003
Amiga Computer Video Imaging Residency Grant, Experimental TV Center, Owego,
NY, 1991;
Film Bureau, NYC. 1989, 90 & 91
NYSCA New York State Council on the Arts Video Facility Subsidy Grant at Margolis/Brown
Adaptors, Bklyn, NY, 1990
Medal of Honor, Brussels Ministry of Culture, Brussels, Belgium, 1990; Artists
Space/Artists Grant, NYC, 1986, 89 & 90
Electronic Arts Grant, Experimental TV Center, Owego, NY, 1989
C.A.P.S. GRANT (Video), New York State Council On The Arts, 1984
Global Village Documentary Festival Award, NYC, 1980
DISTRIBUTORS AND CABLE SHOWS
Video Distribution: The Kitchen Video Distribution Program NYC
M/W/F Video Club, NYC
eMediaLoft.org, NYC
Film Distribution: The Filmmakerss CoOp, NYC
Canyon Cinema, San Francisco
e MediaLoft.org, NYC
Cable TV: No TV & Video Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester,
NY; CPN-12, Rochester, NY
Night Light, Raindance Video Foundation, Channels C&D, NYC
Young Gifted & Broke, NYC; Channel 30, Monmouth, NJ
TV From the University of Bridgeport, WUBC, Bridgeport, CT
ARTICLES, REVIEWS, PUBLICATIONS
Dictionary of The Avant-Garde, Ed. Richard Kostelanetz, Paperback
2003, Hardbound, 2001
Big As Life: Small Gauge Cinema, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, 1998-99
Old & New Masters of Super 8 Catalogs For Festivals in the years
1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996
Bill Creston, From Painter to Filmmaker Spleen Film Magazine, Toronto,
Canada, 1985
Masters of Small-Gauge Cinema, Manohla Dargis, The Village Voice,
NYC, 1989
Circle-8 Catalog, Brodsky & Treadway, Boston, MA, May, 1988
Canyon Cinema Catalog, Canyon Cinema, S. F., CA, 1988-on;
Filmmakers Co-Op Catalog, Filmmakers Co-Op , NYC, 1987-on
City, San Francisco, Aug. 1, 1973
Changes, Article by Shalom Gorewitz, Summer, 1973
Art In America, Symptoms of the 70s, article
by Jay Jacobs, Jan. 1970
The Art Gallery Magazine, Street Sculpture, April, 1969
Art News, Ten Downtown, May, 1968
Arts Magazine, Ten Downtown, April, 1968
John Canaday, Embattled Critic: Views on Modern Art, Farrar, Straus &
Co., NY, 1963
Art News, March, 1960
N.Y. Herald Tribune, Feb. 28, 1960
Arts Magazine, March, 1960
A Selection of Other URL links Containing
Images or Information about Bill Creston
http://www.nyfa.org/nyfa_artists_detail.asp?pid=4910
http://www.brickhaus.com/amoore/MWFdoc13.html
http://www.canyoncinema.com/C/Creston.html
http://vax.wcsu.edu/~MCCARNEY/fva/BCreston_work.html
http://www.nyfvc.org/newsletters/apr98.html
http://www.arcgallery.org/archive.html
http://www.filmthreat.com/News.asp?Id=36
http://www.robertatkins.net/beta/witness/artists/moves/muntadas.html
http://www.spaceproject.net/film_art_frameset.html