When Michael began working in video in London, only artists with art school connections had access to video equipment. Which is why his first video work, Play-Box, 1973, was filmed and edited at Royal College of Art with the help of a student friend who made it possible to use the camera, the gear and the use of an editing workshop.
In one part of the work, Druks filmed himself supposedly trapped inside a television receiver, performing actions from the inside: putting his hands on the screen, peeking out from “inside” as if through a transparent glass screen - not unlike“The Austrian Tapes,” 1974, of Douglas Davis who placed his hands on the “inside” of the television screen and invited viewers to place their hands on his. Davis’ invitation to viewers to place their hands on his expresses a desire for physical connection through the screen and for creating a different kind of dialogue, in art and in media alike.
Druks, for his part, addressed not only the contact between performer and viewer but also to the television broadcasts themselves. In the second part of Play-Box, a television is placed in a private place, and in the program that was broadcast, the interviewee is seen answering such questions as: “Do you think that this is how it will be in the future, more educational than entertainment?”, “Do you believe what you see on television?”, “Yes, you must believe what you see, since you have nothing to say on the matter; you can’t rewind it.” In the process, Druks takes off his pants, sits on the receiver, removes his socks, throws them away and scratches his feet, while the interviewee’s head appears to peek through his bare legs. Then there was a supposed improvisation before the camera, but in fact Druks planned his actions down to the last detail, and as evidence we have the storyboard that he prepared, demonstrating impressive skill in the careful construction and composition of the various components.
Following the first version of Play-Box, Druks created additional works in the series, which he called “video-performance” as they were based on a live performance that was filmed and projected for viewers. In the shooting and simultaneous screening, Druks made use of a unique characteristic of video, which, unlike motion picture film, does not require chemical development processes and enables immediate transmission. Wherever he performed Play-Box, the specific work was based on the local television broadcasts and included various elements of improvisation. For example, he once drew a self-portrait in black pen on the screen over the broadcaster’s face. Druks based his work not only television interviews but also news broadcasts, including in pieces of broadcast segments showing interior spaces and landscapes, and performed such actions as arranging flowers in a vase while ignoring the interviewee, whose face emerged amusingly through the flower stems.
The Play-Box works were shown in numerous international exhibitions in the 1970s in Holland, Belgium, France, and other countries, and were widely appreciated as a significant pillar in the field of video art.
Text by Galia Bar Or
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
