Author Description

<p>A detailed account of Ant Farm's 1975 <i>Media Burn</i> performance, a legendary act of consumerist critique</p> <p>This book examines the complex set of cultural references and art-making strategies informing Ant Farm's seminal 1975 performance <i>Media Burn</i> in which a customized Cadillac, dubbed the Phantom Dream Car, was driven through a wall of burning television sets.<br> <br> Originally conceived as a conceptual architectural practice, Ant Farm evolved into a full-service art collaborative, culminating in such notable works as <i>House of the Century</i> (1971-73), <i>Cadillac Ranch</i> (1974) and <i>The Eternal Frame</i> (1975).<br> <br> In <i>Media Burn</i> the artists flourished in a rich tumult of ideas that engaged contemporary media theory, an oddly complicated aesthetic spectacle, textual appropriation and an all-encompassing branding effort.<br> <br> Written by Steve Seid (Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive), and drawing upon a rich visual documentation, this book delves into the little-known critical backstory to this influential performance (and video work) involving a massive effort to mount a subversive critique of media hegemony while continually re-imagining the crux of the performance itself.</p>