Review of two sets of video works. The author treats the first work of Douglas Davis as a practical supplement to Davis's own critique of art in Artforum, which warns against the dangers of creating art about art or art too invested in its own structure at the expense of meaning in the real world.

Fragments for a New Art of the 70's shows Davis typing his unedited thoughts into a teletypewriter which displays them. However, despite Davis's complaints about banality in art, the author notes that Davis' thoughts as reflected on the teletypewriter are undeniably cliché, and ultimately form does dominate the piece rather than content. The author is similarly disappointed by The Last Videotape (in the World) which he finds relies on the conventions of melodrama for its affect. Caracas, Austrian and Florence were intended for cable broadcast and describe acts which the viewer at home is supposed to perform along with Davis, creating a meditation on distance and contact.

Contact comes into play again in Roger Welch's work, Rodger Woodward - Niagara Falls Project, a two channel piece showing a video interview of the survivor of a trip over the falls and on the opposite wall, a film loop of the river to the falls with the sound of water. The piece emphasizes the visualization of a recounted experience and the effort of the viewer becoming aware of his own body in placing himself in the position of the other.