Participation is a documentary made of recordings of the New York downtown scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a focus on countercultural and the main figures and phenomena related to "New American Decadence.“ Vasulkas made a fascinating portrait of ´the city that never sleeps´ made of wildly creative people and venues: e.g. Don Cherry performing in Washington Square, Andy Warhol's superstars on stage, and Jimi Hendrix in concert. This video anthology was screened in 1977 at the Third Annual Video Documentary Festival in New York City. It can be characterised as a free-form time capsule of an era, which reveals Portapak's impact on documentary filmmaking .

Author: Steina a Woody Vasulka

Year: 1971

Series: (1969–1971)

Artistic medium: documentary

Technical medium: 1/2” Open Reel, b/w, sound

Performer: Paul Ambrose
Ian Anderson
Billy Andrews
Garry Bartz
Tally Brown
Lary Chaplan
Don Cherry
Kevin Coe
Jackie Curtis
Candy Darling
Miles Davis
Jack DeJohnette
Eric Emerson
Estelle!
Christmas Eve
Michael Henderson
Jimi Hendrix
Stephen Holt
Keith Jarrett
Jay Johnson
Aunt Josie
Agosto Machado
Taylor Mead
Buddy Miles
Geri Miller
Mario Montez
Airto Moreira
Paul Morrissey
Ondine
Ritta Redd
Al Sayegh
Silva!
Ekathrina Sobechanskaya
Steve Stanwick
Steina Vasulka
Artchie Strips
David Susskind
Tinkerbelle
Jethro Tull
Richard Weinstock
Holly Woodlawn

Tool: Portapac camera

References: VASULKAS. Vasulka.org [online] URL
BAROK, Dušan. Steina and Woody Vasulka. Monoskop.org [online] URL
Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI). Steina and Woody Vasulka. Participation [online] URL
BONIN, Vincent. Steina and Woody Vasulka. Participation. c2001. The Daniel Langlois Foundation [online] URL
LIMA. The Vasulkas. Participation [online] URL