Bart Friedman

Bart Friedman is an American video artist who was among the early pioneers of the medium in the 1970s. He was a part of the countercultural collective Videofreex that worked to make video more accessible. With this group Friedman ostensibly started the first pirate television station—Lanesville TV (LTV)—in the Catskills of New York. LTV employed live phone-ins during its broadcast—a gesture that conveyed its investment in community. After LTV disbanded in 1979, Friedman continued to produce videos for arts organizations and communities. In 1987, he started Reelizations Media, another collective-like video production and distribution company that creates educational videos on addiction treatment, work-readiness, criminal rehabilitation, parenting advice, gambling addiction, anger management, life skills and relapse prevention. Friedman also lends help to Lighthouse TV23, a public access cable TV channel in Saugerties, N.Y. Friedman in collaboration with Joel Gold showed video work at The Kitchen in 1979 as part of the Videotapes from FIVF series.