Juan Downey

Juan Downey (May 11, 1940 - June 9,1993) was a pioneer video artist. Born in Santiago, Chile, he received a B.A. in architecture from the Catholic University of Chile. He also studied at S.W. Hayter's Atelier 17 in Paris and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He immigrated to New York in 1965 and died in New York City at the age of 53 survived by his wife, Marilys Lamadrid. He is best known for his video work that is an eclectic voyage into political discourse, the history of art, ideas, personal discovery and self-reflection. Downey rediscovered a form of moving discourse that combined a multicultural deconstructivist investigation of language with his own deep understanding of color, form, shape and process. In addition to his videotapes, Downey also produced an extensive body of work that included installations, drawings, and paintings.

Video works by Juan Downey

• The Abandoned Shabono (1978) 27 min
• About Cages (1986) installation
• Bachdisc interactive videodisc (1988) 60 min
• Bi-Deo (1976) 26 min
• Central Zone (1975) 27 min
• Chicago Boys (1982-83) 16 min
• Chile (1974) 28 min
• Chiloe (1981) 18 min
• The Circle of Fires (1978) 6 min installation
• Encounter (1989) installation
• Guahibos (1976) 25:10 min
• Guatemala (1973) 27 min
• Hard Times and Culture: Part One, Vienna fin-de-siecle (1990) 34 min
• In the Beginning (1975) 26 min
• Information Withheld (1983) 28:27 min
• It Can Happen to You (1975) 30 min
• J.S. Bach (1986) 28:25 min
• The Laughing Alligator (1979) 27 min
• Lima (1974) 27 min
• The Looking Glass (1981) 28:49 min
• Maccu-Piccu (1974) 27 min
• Las Meninas (Maids of Honor) (1975) 20:34 min
• Monument to the Charles River (1973) 27 min installation
• More Than Two (1978) 30 min installation
• The Motherland (1986) 7:04 min
• Moving (1974) 27 min
• Nazca (1974) 11 min installation
• Obelisk (1985) installation
• Plato Now (1972) 30 min
• Publicness (1974) 28 min
• The Return of the Motherland (1989) 27:10 min
• Rumbo al Golfo (1973) 27 min
• Shifters (1984) 28:10 min
• Sinage (1984) installation
• Three-Way Communication by Light (1972) 10 min installation
• Venus and Her Mirror (1980) 8 min installation
• Video Trans Americas (1976) 20 min installation
• Video Trans Americas Debriefing Pyramid (1974) 10 min installation
• Videodances (1975) 30 min
• Yanomami Healing I (1977) 51:27 min
• Yanomami Healing II (1977) 45 min
• Yucatan (1973) 27 min
• Zapoteca (1973) 27 min