Dig This! Films by Hamid Naficy
Hamid Naficy and Michelle Puetz in conversation following Dig This!: Films by Hamid Naficy at the Block Museum of Art. Photo ©Sean Su, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University.
Dig This! is the first public presentation of four newly preserved film and video works made between 1969 and 1971 by Northwestern University professor of film and media studies, Dr. Hamid Naficy. Made during the heyday of the counterculture movement in southern California, they provide insight into the social and political concerns of the time. Naficy’s artistic experimentation with early video, computer graphics, and visualization technologies reflects the aesthetic and political focus of his later scholarship. The program encompasses a variety of stylistic approaches including documentary realism, absurdist theater, abstract video, and avant-garde animation. Preservation work was supervised by Michelle Puetz in conjunction with Colorlab, the Chicago Film Archives, and the Bay Area Video Coalition.
