James Lee Byars, Antwerpen 18 april – 7 mei 1969

Documentary on James Lee Byars’s exhibition at the Wide White Space Gallery, Antwerp (18.04.1969 / 07.05.1969). James Lee Byars, his whole body covered by a robe, talks to Walter Van Dijck about the meaning of art, the new meaning of clothes, the beauty of ’Natural Landscapes In An Urban Situation’, the role of museums and his idea that a show is a translation of his ideas. Images of Byars at work are alternated with those of other participants, moving in procession through the streets of Antwerp and into the gallery.

Content:
00’00" Leader. 00’07" Documentary on James Lee Byars’s exhibition at the Wide White Space Gallery, Antwerp (18.04.1969 / 07.05.1969). James Lee Byars, his whole body covered by a robe, talking to Walter van Dijck about the meaning of art, the new meaning of clothes, the beauty of Natural Landscapes In An Urban Situation, the role of museums and his idea that a show is a translation of his ideas. Alternating with Byars at work, participants moving in procession through the streets of Antwerp and into the gallery. 11’25" Byars wrapping up the participants and joining them together with a piece of cloth. 12’35" Byars talking about the influence of Shintoism and poetry, about his difficulties with language, his fascination with airplanes, his trip across the United States, the World Question Center, his life-history, his experiments with eggs. Alternating with James Lee Byars accompanying visitors in the gallery and in a niche reading his autobiographical work of art {World Question Center). 31’58" Credits. 32’30"
(Source: Jef Cornelis 1964 - 1990, Espace Art Contemporain : Maison de la culture et de la Communication de Saint-Etienne, 1991)