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Wolf Vostell «TV Burying»
Wolf Vostell, «TV Burying», 1963
Photograph: Peter Moore | ©


 Wolf Vostell
«TV Burying»

Held on a farm in South Brunswick, New Jersey, the 'YAM Festival' was venue on 19 May 1963 to actions and happenings by artists including Dick Higgins, Allan Kaprow, La Monte Young, and Vostell with his 'TV Burial'. In compliance with Vostell’s score, a TV set showing the current programme was pelted with matter such as cream cakes, and decorated with turkey steaks, these interventions bringing about a 'Décollage' of the programme being shown. Following this, a panel painting with a hole in the canvas was hung in front of the TV set, meaning only a small area of the TV screen remained visible. The TV was then crowned with barbed-wire before being buried in a grave previously dug for it. The associations evoked range from the slapstick of the custard-pie fight to religious representations of crucifixion and entombment.