Vivienne Dick

'The almost lyrical Letters to Dad, is a meditation on authority that superimposes the spectre of Jonestown over the relatively fresh faces of the parapunk art world; the film takes on a musical form - like a 20th-century ballad composed of subliminal behavior cues, advertising testimonials, and the text of the National Enquirer.' J.Hoberman, Village Voice 1978. Courtesy of Beth B and Scott B. (Lux)

Moving from a kitchen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the film explores the dynamic between a complacent, almost catatonic Pat Place and the demonic, aggressive Lydia Lunch, ending with a showdown at the rollercoaster on Coney Island. (Lux)

Vivienne Dick's arrival in 70s New York, landed her in the middle of the punk era. This first film uses eight rolls of Kodak sound Super-8 film to profile each woman in real time and without any editing. Each is captured on film in a screentest to which the camera is co-conspirator rather than voyeur. The 'subjects' include Pat Place and Adele Bertei, former band members of The Contortions, as well as Lydia Lunch, singer, guitarist, film-star and punk doyenne. (ICA)