Rewind_Mary Ashley

The de Saisset Museum holds one of the most important collections of video art in the Bay Area. Comprised of rare videos and films, the collection represents a period in which the museum was a leader in commissioning and exhibiting video art.

In 1974, the de Saisset Museum commissioned a work from multi-disciplinary artist, Mary Ashley. This early video work is an example of artistic exploration of both image and sound. Eat Your Totems, which is a three part video series, depicts a stationary video camera focused on the San Francisco cityscape beginning at dusk. Accompanied by a non-linear script of documented conversations, original text, background noise and music, the video creates a spontaneous experience for the viewer. Over the course of an hour, Eat Your Totems captures the free form of ideas as daylight fades. The city is left in darkness, punctuated only by the random glow of bedroom lights, street lamps, and moving car headlights.

_{Image: Mary Ashley, Eat Your Totems (still), n.d., Commissioned by the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, 5.111}