E.A.T News (Vol 1 No 1, January 15, 1967))

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Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.)

1967

Ephemera

The Library

Description

E.A.T. News, (Volume 1, No. 1) documents the founding ambitions of E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology), the organization formed in New York by artists and engineers from Bell Labs following the landmark performances of 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering in 1966. The artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman were among the first members, alongside the engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer. The magazine seen here lays out their practical and philosophical framework for fostering collaborations between the arts and sciences, emphasizing that productive relationships require adaptable environments, access to professional equipment, and carefully structured support for artists’ creative conditions.

This first issue introduces E.A.T.’s goals, the team organizing the initiative, and the technical equipment originally developed for 9 Evenings, now intended for broader applications. Printed on the back cover is an oversized mission statement announcing the organization’s aim to “Maintain a constructive climate for the recognition of the new technology and the arts by fostering civilized collaboration between groups unrealistically operating in isolation.”