Viewing page 6 of 78

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Davidovich also took advantage of his air time to do a little selling, ironically incorporating the same strategies as network television to help finance his endeavors. He was an avid collector of television-related items and, during a segment called "The Video Shop" (an early form of home shopping club), he sold things like Winky Dinky sets, Dukes of Hazzard bedtrays, and objects he made especially for sale on the show - "Videokitsch by Videovich" - once again calling attention to the myriad ways in which television permeates our culture.

In choosing to broadcast live, Davidovich placed himself on the line, program after program. His wry sense of humor, spirit of adventure and Kovacsian use of the medium, placed him squarely in the tradition of earlier television innovators- originals like Steve Allen, Spike Jones and Jerry Lewis, all of whom used live television and a variety show format to explore the medium's inherent capabilities and possibilities. Such public risk taking required huge amounts of energy, ego, and dedication to a dream, and in this particular instance resulted in television that was intensely personal, slightly self-indulgent, often original, always fascinating, and definitely entertaining.

Five years of struggling to produce live television on a weekly basis with minimal financial support eventually took its toll, and in 1984 Davidovich retired the ATN. All of the documents and tapes from ATN were given to the University of Iowa, where they now form the core of the study collection of the Artists' Television Project. Davidovich, along with members of the University of Iowa's School of Art and Art History, was instrumental in the creation of the Artists' Television Project, which is committed to the collection and preservation of video art and other documents and recordings related to the development of alternative television, public access television, and the artistic use of satellite communication. The Artists' Television Project encourages and supports interdisciplinary study of the history, cultural significance, and production of video art.