Peggy and Fred in Kansas Thornton, Leslie, 1987

Collection includes study tapes, catalogues, and correspondence that document the history of U.S. video art. This range of materials documents developments in independent American video throughout the 25-year period of its most significant production, from 1977-1992. These materials provided the background for Elayne Zalis's Ph.D. dissertation on humanities and the media arts at the University of Iowa. The collection also includes the manuscripts and printed editions of Zalis's own multimedia quartet, Recycled Memories. In addition to 150 video tapes available for reference, the Zalis Archive includes a wide range of original exhibition catalogues and monographs on national and international video art, as well as research materials on independent distributors, festivals, and media centers in the 1980s. This collection documents the work of individual artists, group exhibitions, video festivals, distributors, and agencies and sources of commissioned video art, while providing a snapshot of the history of America video art: its production, exhibition, and critical evaluation.