Barbara Sykes-Dietze

Barbara Sykes (Barbara Sykes-Dietze) (born 1953) is a Chicago based experimental video artist who explores themes of spirituality, ritual and indigeneity from a feminist perspective. Sykes is known for her pioneering experimentation with computer graphics in her video work, utilizing the

From 1974 to 1979 Sykes studied at the University of Illinois Chicago, during which experimental video art was developing in Chicago. The Electronic Visualization Laboratory was started by two UIC faculty, Tom Defanti (Computer Science) and Dan Sandin (Fine Art), and was influential in developing computer graphics with the goal of creating video art. The research lab known for developing the Sandin Image Processor, a video synthesizer similar to synthesizers used to create music. The Image Processor allows for abstract analogue visuals to be created using analogue computer graphics, a new technology at the time. The lab was known for its Electronic Visualization Events (EVE), where live performances combined music and video processing in real time.

As a student of this new technology, Barbara Sykes used the image processor to create early work and participated in EVE events. Before earning an undergraduate degree, Sykes enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago emerging video program in 1979, and obtained her MFA in 1981.

While a student, Sykes worked as a freelance videographer, producing dance, instructional and documentary videos for instructors. In graduate school she also worked on the production team for a weekly Greek variety show creating commercials in order to fund her tuition.
As one of Chicago's pioneer women video artists, since 1975 Barbara Sykes's award winning tapes have been shown extensively worldwide at major museums, galleries, broadcast and cable television and in exhibitions of various kinds. She was one of the featured artists in the

Much of Sykes' work from the 1970s such as A Movement Within (1976) and By The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak (1978) utilized the Sandin Image Processor to create abstract compositions, psychedelic colors and shifting forms. The nature of the Image Processor allows for limited analogue control, with much of the process left up to chance and experimentation. While Sykes’s early works are montages of meditative, poetic abstractions, her later work demonstrates more personal and expressive narratives and themes. Shiva Darson (1994) and A Song of the River (1997) are among these works. Sykes began to directly create videos that "reflect her interests in female mythological figures, rituals, dance, art, and music of other cultures as well as depicting dream states and fantasized visions." While this later work is different in process, there are clear relationships to her earlier work, as is evident in Electronic Masks (1976), which demonstrates a blend of image processing with themes of spirituality.

A Song of the River was shot and created during Sykes's sabbatical research trip throughout Asia and East Africa. While there, she visited various indigenous tribes and was interested in learning about their spiritual relationships, and how these relationships are evident in everyday life. In a statement about the film, Sykes describes that "From birth to death, special rights and ceremonies mark the important events of one’s existence, assuring a symbiosis of body and soul with the divine. This deep relationship between the people and their gods are reaffirmed through daily activity. At times, the person symbolically becomes god, strengthening their own sense of sacredness and self-respect." These themes are continued in Shiva Darson, another video in her series entitled "In Celebration of Life... In Celebration of Death..." Shiva Darson discusses the Hindu god Shiva through a personal account of Sykes's visit to the Shivaratri Festival at the

Besides creating artwork, Barbara Sykes has had a notable presence in the Chicago new media scene. In the late 1970s she became involved with The Center for New Television (formerly The Chicago Editing Center) where she would host video workshops and screen her work. In 1981, Sykes curated Video: Chicago Style which was exhibited at Global Village in New York City, and was additionally screened on Manhattan Cable. This exhibition eventually grew into Video and Computer Art: Chicago Style, which travelled throughout Japan, China, Australia and Spain during 1988 and 1989.

Sykes was a tenured experimental film and television professor at Columbia College Chicago from 1982-2005. While at Columbia College, she also served as director of the visiting lecturer series for the Department of Film & Television, organizing lectures by industry professionals and artists such as Rafael Franca, which occurred in conjunction with “Brazilian Video Art”, the first ever exhibition of Brazilian experimental video work in Chicago.

In 2016 Sykes took part in Celebrating Women in New Media Arts, a panel symposium held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The symposium highlighted women who have paved the way in the male dominated field of new media. Joan Truckenbrod and Claudia Hart were among some of the participants who shared their experiences making technological artwork as women, and some of the challenges they faced. The symposium preceded the 2018 release of the book Women in New Media Arts: Perspectives on Innovative Collaboration published by the University of Illinois Press.

In 2018 Sykes work By The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak was included in the Chicago New Media 1973-1992 exhibition. The exhibition was curated by jonCates.

GRANTS:

Include NEA & American Film Institute Regional Fellowship; Cultural Arts Fund Grants/Evanston Arts Council; Lilly Endowment; CNTV & IAC Organizational Grant; Columbia College Faculty Grants; Illinois Arts Council Grants (Artist Grant, Chairman Grants, Special Assistance Grants & Project Completion Grant)^[4]

AWARDS:

Include Spiritual Film Festival, India; Intercom/Chicago International Film Fest; Council on International Nontheatrical Events; Hollywood Spiritual Film & Entertainment Fest; Broadcast Education Assoc; Athens Video Fest; WorldFest-Houston International Film Fest & Columbus International Film & Video Fest.^[4]

Works and projects

Circle 9 Sunrise (1976)^[5]

Electronic Masks (1976)^[6]

Barbara Sykes using the color capability of the Sandin Analogue Image Processor - the "Color IP". This segment features totemic images and music that matches the images.

A Movement Within (1976)^[7]

Synthesized video environment

By The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak (1978)^[8]

Short experimental animation.

Emanations (1979)^[5]

Image Union, episode 0001 (1979)^[9]

Hour long compilation episode of Image Union featuring "TV Magic Ballots" by Nate Herman and Warren Leming, "Assassins" with Joe Mantegna and Jack Wallace, "Chicago Blues" by Jim Passin and Nancy Grosse, work from Jane Veeder, excerpts from "Now We Live On Clifton" by Kartemquin Films, stopmotion animation, an interview by "My Sister's Cutting Room" during a dog's birthday party, and "The Bums" by Scott Jacobs and Valjean McLenighan 1976. The second half of the episode features "Electronic Masks" by Barbara Sykes, an excerpt from "Paper Roses" by Maxi Cohen and Joel Gold, and "Television Delivers People" by Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman.

Image Union, episode 0211 (1980)^[10]

This episode of Image Union is a remake of Image Union #1

Video Haiku (1980-1982)^[11]

A study of motion visually displayed as light. Movement is electronically captured with the quality of charcoal on paper. Rhythmically, the image as energy expands, reaches a summit and then disappears. Momentarily, traces of its path are perceptible.

Waking (1980)

I Dream of Dreaming (1981)

Witness (1982)

Sketching A Motion （1981）^[12]

Opening New Doors（1982）^[13]

Kalyian (1985)^[14]

Kalyian was inspired by the blind princess from the island of Samar, a freedom fighter and founder of the Philippine martial art Kali. Blind since birth, this legendary princess possessed an extraordinary sixth sense and sensitivity towards energy and life forces that she could not be defeated by even the fiercest of warriors. Kalyian is a modern-day personification of the female warrior spirit. It depicts the timeless battle of women, whose inherent warrior qualities are first fought, then realized, and eventually developed into harmony with the total self. It is the same force that gives women of this nature, the strength to survive and succeed. Kalyian combines technology with techniques drawn from Kabuki Theater, dance and Kali to depict both a primordial and futuristic sensibility. In the tape, Kalyian encounters a figure clothed in black, face concealed. Narrow beams of light cut across a darkened space. Like two cats, they move about, appearing and disappearing into the shadows. At one point, the figure in black eludes her by leading her into a maze. As soon as Kalyian enters the maze, the space becomes alive; a montage of images bombards her. She responds instantly and attacks. Eventually, she becomes aware she is fighting her own fears, anger and aggression. The more conscious she becomes of this, the less fighting and destruction occurs. From this realization, Kalyian transforms her weapon into a flute to communicate through music to the figure in black. The figure responds to the music through dance. Image after image of the figure in black join in, moving together in harmony, they become one. Then, the figure reveals to Kalyian, her past actions and moments of self-realization. More and more, Kalyian recognizes parts of herself before her, until once again she is face to face with the figure in black. At this point, Kalyian realizes her subconscious has been her guide, leading her into self-realization and eventual transformation into a higher form of awareness. Kalyian has resolved her internal conflicts and is in harmony with herself.

d/stabilize/d (1987)^[15]

d/stabilize/d is a document of a 3-channel video installation with stereo sound which premiered at ARC Gallery in Chicago in 1987. d/stabilize/d offered the viewer a chaotic environment poised on the verge of balance. Entering the gallery, one was immediately confronted by a nonsensical arrangement of floating doors, doorways and monitors. On the monitors, random fragments of natural phenomena, such as fire and pounding surf, were set in opposition to more domestic scenes of deterioration, centering on a farmhouse in ruins. A further exploration of the space revealed these elements, as subtly engaged in a systemic and coherent exchange between order and disorder, harmony and imbalance

Shiva Darson (1994)^[16]

Based upon the poem I wrote of my travels through India and Nepal, 'Shiva Darsan' is as much a video poem and mystic story, as it is an experimental, ethnographic documentary on Hinduism, holy men, spirituality and transcendence. Shiva is the Hindu lord of procreation and death. Darsan is sacred perception. Darsan is as much to see, as it is to be seen by that of the worshipper and the deity, holy person or sacred place. It is as much the spiritual that yields to be grasped, known, touched and experienced, as it is the worshipper who is there to receive the divine. This piece is also a personal reflection on the Shivaratri Festival at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, the birthday celebration of Shiva at one of his most important pilgrimage sites in Asia and at the most sacred of Nepalese shrines. 'Shiva Darsan' the first tape produced for 'In Celebration of Life.... In Celebration of Death...', my series of experimental, ethnographic documentaries shot during my fourteen month sabbatical and Chicago Artists Abroad Artists Residency in Asia, the Mid-East and Africa. This series reveals the religious, cultural and philosophical beliefs of indigenous people from various cultures by exploring their rituals, dance, music and daily activities that revolve around life and death. From birth to death, special rites and celebrations mark the important events of one's existence, assuring a symbiosis of body and soul with the divine. This deep relationship between the people and their gods are reaffirmed through daily activity. At times, the person symbolically becomes god; strengthening their own sense of sacredness and self-respect.

A Song of the River (1997)^[17]

Children of the rainforest / intrinsically woven into the fabric of life / with one spirit, one voice, one people / that the song of the river is your own-- Barbara L. Sykes. "Based upon my poem of Borneo’s indigenous cultures, 'Song of the River' is as much a visual poem and mystic story as it is an experimental ethnographic documentary. Shot while traveling up Sarawak’s Rajang River to various longhouses of different indigenous tribes, this tape is an intimate and personal portrayal of the harmonious relationship Borneo’s indigenous people have with one another, and with the river, animals, birds and rainforest. It is a devotional piece honoring the spirituality, wisdom, integrity and essential qualities of respect and appreciation for life that these people have. 'Song of the River' is the second tape produced for 'In Celebration of Life.... In Celebration of Death...' a series of tapes shot during my fourteen month sabbatical and Chicago Artists Abroad Artists Residency in intensive research and videotape production in primarily Asia, and later, the Mid-East and Africa. The series reveals the religious, cultural and philosophical beliefs of various indigenous cultures by exploring their rituals, dance, music and daily activities. From birth to death, special rites and ceremonies mark the important events of one’s existence, assuring a symbiosis of body and soul with the divine. This deep relationship between the people and their gods are reaffirmed through daily activity. At times, the person symbolically becomes god, strengthening their own sense of sacredness and self-respect

Amma: A Documentary of a Living Saint (2007)^[18]

An intimate portrayal of a woman spiritual leader and internationally acclaimed global social activist

Curatorial activities

Video and Computer Art: Chicago Style, an international traveling exhibition of recent Chicago work (1987-1989)^[19]

The Institute of North American Studies, Barcelona, Spain, June 1989

Australian Video Festival, Australia, September 1988-October 1988

Queensland Art Gallery, South Bank, Brisbane October 1988

The Australian National University Union Centre, Canberra, September 1988

Chauvel Cinema, Paddington, September 1988

South Australian Art School, Adelaide, Australia, August 1988

The Foote Clube, sponsored by Media Resource Centre, Experimental Art Foundation, and the Australian Network for Art &Technology, Adelaide, Australia, August 1988

Liaoning Television Station, Shenyang, China, August 1988

Scan Video Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, July 1988

Hitachi Young Plaza, Tokyo, Japan, July 1988

Niphon University, Tokyo, Japan, 1988

PHSColograms by (Art)n, Fermilab Gallery, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory IL, November 11, 1987–January 6, 1988

New Photography, Feature, Chicago, IL, January 1987

Reference