Alex Bag

Untitled Fall '95 takes the form of a wryly humorous video diary of an art school student (sharply played by Bag) in the midst of “finding herself” in New York City. We can see the diarist physically and emotionally evolving throughout her eight semesters in the Big Apple. Such onscreen “confessionals” stem from the first major example of reality TV, The Real World. Interspersed throughout are commercial-like vignettes that further critique what it’s like to live in the world today. In Untitled Fall '95, Bag displays a profound self-awareness that evokes empathy on behalf of the viewer, despite her work’s glaring artificiality.

Broadcast between 1994 and 1997, this work spans three years and more than 50 hours of footage. While it figures into a rich tradition of artists using television against itself—bookended by figures from Andy Warhol and Jaime Davidovich to Ryan Trecartin—a broadcast of this scope by artists remains unprecedented. In this installment of Hyundai Card Video Views, we’re presenting 60-plus minutes of a “super-edit” intended to distill the essence of this epic project.