GROUND GLASS AWARD 2023
Each year Prismatic Ground bestows the Ground Glass Award upon a figure who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of experimental media. Following Lynne Sachs in 2021 and Christopher Harris in 2022, this year's recipient, Anthony Ramos, is recognized in partnership with Electronic Arts Intermix, who held a series of in-person screenings and conversations with Ramos in late April 2023. Four of Ramos's videos are available to stream throughout the festival, courtesy of EAI. Click here to read a recent interview conducted by EAI Executive Director Rebecca Cleman for Screen Slate. Curated by Rebecca Cleman and Tyler Maxin.
Anthony Ramos
Anthony Ramos, a prolific painter, is also a significant but underrecognized figure in the early video movement. His participation in Allan Kaprow’s happenings in the 1960s set him up to stage performances and scenarios that were provocative and unexpected. His videos from the early 1970s include spare, often intentionally uncomfortable direct-camera performances, while his later video essays were richly layered and personal, incorporating footage from his global travels. As varied as his videos are, they collectively offer his unflinching views on subjects mainstream media tends to gloss over or cover up: in particular, the legacy of racism and corrupt power structures. Hard-hitting, while also poignant and witty, Ramos’s moving-image work leaves an indelible impression that punches right through the thin façade of whitewashed America. —Rebecca Cleman
