Terise Slotkin. Pornofilm (detail), 1980. 16mm film and Plexiglas, 3 x 3' (91.4 x 91.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
I was a founding member of Colab and participated in many of its projects. My husband, Richard Miller, and I also produced Spanner NYC, a magazine of art. I had already completed Porno Film prior to the Times Square Show but had never shown it. Needless to say, this show was the perfect exhibition opportunity.
I have always been a still photographer but briefly in the early 70s I worked in a film lab in the Times Square area making copies of both general release and pornographic movies. This meant working in the dark all day long. The film stock was threaded through the machines and there was a small, lighted opening for checking the process. Something about looking at the hanging strips of actual size film frames and working in the TS neighborhood led to the creation of Porno Film.
Along with Colab's raw energy, traditional photography as well as Conceptual art were pivotal in the development of my aesthetic sensibility. It's hard to segregate the TSS from the other Colab shows that preceded it. It was all part of a process.
Teri Slotkin (b. Bayonne, NJ)
Teri Slotkin received her BA from Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, and her MA from New York University. She participated in the Whitney Independent Study Program, New York, NY, in the summer of 1973. From 1978 to 1980 she produced the art magazine Spanner/NYC with Richard Miller. The photographer exhibited at New York City venues including ABC No Rio, Artists Space, Fashion Moda, and White Columns throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s. Additional information is available at http://www.terislotkin.com/.