Video History Project

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Ralph Hocking

Ralph Hocking has spent his life making and teaching art. He began his teaching career at Binghamton University in 1968, and served as Professor of video and computer art and Chair of the Cinema Department at Binghamton University until his retirement in 1998. He has been a leader in the field of electronic media art since the 1960s, founding one of the first campus-based media access programs in the country at Binghamton University.

In 1970 he established the independent nonprofit Experimental Television Center, with a residency and research program for artists, equipment access and training programs for the community, and regional and national exhibition programs. He has served as consultant, advisor and panelist with such organizations as the New York State Council on the Arts, the University Wide Arts Committee, the Society for Photographic Education, the Massachusetts Arts Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and many museums and galleries. His personal creative work has been exhibited widely throughout the country and in Europe and is distributed by Video Data Bank. He has received support for his work from the NEA Visual Arts Fellowship Program and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Through a Residency from the Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University, he created a compilation of his video, Work 1969-1986. He was creative director for the Experimental Television Center: 1969-2009, a 5 DVD set with 130 page catalog in distribution with Electronic Arts Intermix and Video Data Bank and The Emergence of Video Processing Tools: Television Becoming Unglued (Kathy High, Mona Jimenez, Sherry Miller Hocking (eds); Intellect Press, 2014) a two volume investigation of the development of creative video tools and systems designed and built by artists and technologists during the late 1960s and 70s.

https://www.experimentaltvcenter.org

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"Ralph Hocking." Video History Project, Experimental Television Center, 2018. https://www.videohistoryproject.org/ralph-hocking.

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Summary

Ralph Hocking taught at Binghamton University from 1968 and served as Professor of video and computer art and Chair of the Cinema Department until 1998; in 1970 he founded the Experimental Television Center, which provided residencies, research, equipment access, training and regional and national exhibitions. He consulted and served as panelist for agencies including the New York State Council on the Arts; his work has been exhibited in the United States and Europe and is distributed by Video Data Bank. He received support from the NEA Visual Arts Fellowship Program and the New York State Council on the Arts, compiled the video Work 1969-1986 during an Institute for Electronic Arts residency, and served as creative director for Experimental Television Center: 1969-2009 and The Emergence of Video Processing Tools (2014).

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Last modified 7 September 2018

Related records

  • Experimental Television Center (ETC) Chronology

    Experimental Television Center (ETC), founded in Binghamton, New York, functioned as a production and post-production center originally established as the Community Center for Television Production; Ralph Hocking was director and Ken Dominick served as coordinator. The Center emphasized synthesized and computer-generated imagery through an Artist in Residency Program, provided equipment access to portable technology, ran a cable series and workshops, presented the exhibition series Video by Videomakers, and was associated with Sherry Miller Hocking, Robert Diamond, David Jones, Brian Byrnes, Paul Davis, Don McArthur, Peer Bode and Hank Rudolph.

  • Experimental Television Center: A Brief History

    The Experimental Television Center was founded in 1971 as an outgrowth of Ralph Hocking’s 1969 Student Experiments in Television program at Binghamton University; early SET tapes were broadcast on WNET and WGBH. The Center established Research and Residency programs offering analog and digital image-processing tools—including the Paik/Abe Video Synthesizer, Jones Colorizer and Amiga-based systems—and has hosted over 1500 artists whose works have been screened at museums, festivals and on cable and broadcast. Since 1989 the Center has awarded over one million dollars through Presentation Funds, Finishing Funds and a Media Arts Technical Assistance Fund and is supported by state and private foundations and distributors including Electronic Arts Intermix and Video Data Bank.

  • ETC History 1968-1971

    Ralph Hocking began the Student Experiments in Television project at Binghamton University, introducing community members to portable video production tools and techniques. In 1969 Angel Nunez taped Bedford Stuyvesant Kids, a street-tape documenting neighborhood kids arrested after stealing; the tape was shown widely in the State, broadcast by WNET-TV, and helped fund drug-related and inner-city improvement projects. With support from the New York State Council on the Arts Hocking incorporated SET as the Community Center for TV Production in a downtown Binghamton loft; programs emphasized production training and meetings with Nam June Paik led to support for imaging-tool development.

  • Student Experiments in Television Chronology

    With support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Ralph Hocking incorporated Student Experiments in Television as the Community Center for TV Production (Experimental Television Center), a non-profit media center and moved to a loft space in downtown Binghamton.

  • Student Experiments in Television Chronology

    Ralph Hocking began the Student Experiments in Television project on the campus of Binghamton University. Along with students, community members were introduced to portable video production tools and techniques.

  • Experimental Television Center, LTD.: Chronological History of the Center: 1969-present Groups

    The Experimental Television Center began as Student Experiments in Television, founded in 1969 by Ralph Hocking at Binghamton University and incorporated in 1971; it provided access to small-format portable video equipment, editing facilities, instructional workshops, community cable programming and an artist residency and exhibition program. A Research Program supported design and construction of video tools, notably the Paik/Abe Video Synthesizer (Shuya Abe and Nam June Paik) installed at WNET and the Center in 1972; NYSCA and NEA funding supported work on oscillators, the Jones Colorizer, Analog Control Box, the SAID and computer–video interfaces (LSI-11, Z-80). The Center hosted numerous artists in residence, ran touring exhibitions and statewide workshops, established a tape library and relocated to Owego by 1980.