Video Information Center
The Video Information Center (VIC), an art collective that worked with video as their main media, was started in 1972 by students of the International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, as a sub-group of ICU shо̄gekijо̄ (little-theater), a student-run theater community. VIC was founded by six members—Yūsuke Itо̄, Yasuhiko Suga, Hisashi Noyama, Makoto Uchiki, Sо̄ichi Ishii, and led by Ichirо̄ Tezuka. The group’s activities may be sorted into the following five categories. “Creating a collection of recorded events, regardless of high-brow or low-brow,” “experimentation in communication via video technology,” “organizing video-related events,” “communication with artistic groups in and out of Japan,” and “creating a broad platform for video.” Specifically the group’s activities began with their broadcasting in the ICU school cafeteria, and branched out into many fields. Their activities include a conceived proposal for a “soft museum (sofuto mūsiamu),” various video recording sessions of dance, theater, exhibitions, symposiums, concerts and other odd events such as activities of mother's volleyball club Also notably, based out of their residence, a small apartment complex, in Mitaka, Tokyo, the group experimented with cable television, calling the program Cable Paravision Ten. VIC worked closely and often in correspondence with other groups oriented toward video art such as Video Hiroba (hiroba refers to an open communal space such as a plaza or park) run by Fujiko Nakaya, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, and others. VIC also had connections with overseas artistic groups and participated in the 1979 MoMA exhibition Video from Tokyo to Fukui and Kyoto (April 19–June 19) curated by Barbara London. (Source)
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