(Connie and Alan) Coleman and Powell

“I started in video in 1970. I wanted to move away from static art objects and deal with perception, space and time.”
-Alan Powell, The Intelligencer, February 7, 1997

“When I was going through school, I was interested in something temporal. I was looking for a drawing medium that didn’t require a pencil. I had no notion of video art at the time.”
-Connie Coleman, The Intelligencer, February 7, 1997

Constance (Connie) Coleman and Alan Powell, considered pioneers of digital photography, have been working in video and electronic imaging since the early 1970s when they met at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Their work has been produced and purchased by numerous broadcast stations, has been exhibited in museums across the United States and has received numerous awards.

Coleman and Powell utilize the video camera as a drawing tool, collecting source imagery, which is transformed electronically into single-channel videotapes, sculptural multi-channel mixed media installations, digital photography and electronic printmaking. Their work explores the formal properties of electronic imaging while addressing issues of personal identity, gender, politics, and media spectacle. Coleman and Powell carry a video camera wherever they go, using it “like a sketchbook."

Constance (Connie) Coleman passed away on August 23, 2011.

Note: This database entry represents work done collaboratively by Coleman and Powell. For individual works and accomplishments, refer to respective "Connie Coleman" and "Alan Powell" entries.

For information on Coleman and Powell’s education and employment, please see individual database listings for Constance (Connie) Coleman and Alan Powell.

Connection to Bucks County
Alan Powell reside in Pipersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Connie Coleman lived there until her death in 2011.

Coleman and Powell Collaborative Exhibitions
Just South of Here Photographic journal, Squeaky Wheel Media Center, Buffalo, New York, 2009
St. Vitus’s Dance, No Parachute, compilation of Indie Music Videos, Vol. 1 HHBTM DVD video, 2005
The Video History Project, Experimental TV Center, Owego, New York, 2007
Terror screenings: Termite TV Collective, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2006; Detroit Film Center, Detroit, Michigan, 2006; Philadelphia International Film Festival, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2005; Philadelphia Museum of Art Moving Pictures - Termite TV & Black Maria Film Festival, 2005; Athens International Film & Video Festival, Athens, Ohio, 2005; United States Super 8 Film + Digital Video Festival, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2005
Inside Out video installation, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 2004
Dog Song videotape, Annual Members Exhibition, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 2003
47th Annual National Juried Print Exhibition, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 2003
SPEMA Video and Film Festival, SPE Mid-Atlantic Conference, 2003
Fifty Years: The History of the Hunterdon Museum of Art, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey, 2002
A Celebration of Voices: The 25th Anniversary of A Woman’s Place, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2002
Pierrot Lunaire: An evening of Music, Dance, Words and Images, Tomlinson Theater, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2001
Red, White and Blue, videotape, RISD Film: A Celebration of Contributions to the Film Industry, Directors Guild of America, Hollywood, California, 2000; Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1994; Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema's Festival of Independents, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1994
Motion: An Exhibition of Essentialist Film and Video, Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, New York, 1999-2000
Pioneers & Technology: 10th Annual Feminist Video and Film Festival, Community Education Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1999
Pioneers of Digital Photography Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 1998
Reprocessed Legacies video sculpture, Rowan University Westby Gallery, Glassboro, New Jersey, 1998
Bucks County Invitational 1, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1997
The Nude: Beyond the Studio, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1997, 1995
Berk's Filmmakers International Film Series presents Connie Coleman and Alan Powell, Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1996
Celebrate 25 Years of the Experimental Television Center at Art In General, NYC, New York, 1996
Crosswaves, Festival of Performance and Technology, American Music Theater Festival, 1996
Digital Vision Digital Voice, Painted Bride Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1995
Video and Film by Philadelphia Artists, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1995
Innovision ’94, Festival of Pennsylvania Experimental Video & Filmmakers, New Art Voices, 1994
Mailed Art/Mailed Music, Amnesty International, Uppsala Sweden, 1994
The Ballet Di.Gi.Tal Suite CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, 1994
New Art Media: An Exhibition of Artwork Incorporating Technology, Marlboro Gallery, Largo, Maryland, 1993
No-TV and Movies #12, Visual Studios Workshop, Rochester, New York, 1993
American Pie: Myth Representations, Abington Art Center, Abington, Pennsylvania, 1992
SIGGRAPH Art Show, Chicago, Illinois, 1992
Plans, Proposals, Models and Documentation: Works That Surround the Making of Site-Specific and Public Art, Fayerweather Gallery, University of Virginia, 1992
Art Beat video portrait of Coleman and Powell, produced by Suburban Cable, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992
The Bache-Mariin Project, Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1992; Third Annual Amiga Art Show, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, 1992
Bunks Blues, Through the Lens produced by WYBE-TV 35, 1992
What’s on Kid’s Minds? Institute of Contemporary Art of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1991
Art of Music Video: Ten Years After, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California, 1991
Beyond Aesthetics: Artworks of Conscience, Alternative Museum, NYC, New York, 1991
Stati-ic and Algebra, Through the Lens, produced by WYBE-TV, 1991
War and Peace, Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1991
Ground Wars: Parts 1&2, commissioned by New American Radio, 1991
Borderland radio piece commissioned by New American Radio, 1990
Gender Roles, Arts Festival of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, 1990
Sermon, Downtown Community TV, NYC, New York, 1990
The Armory Selects, Art at the Armory show, 1990
Da Da Dance Party, performance event, International House, 1989
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get, Blair Art Museum, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania and Johnstown Art Museum, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1989
150 Years of Photography, Brooktrader Café Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, 1989
Girl on a Swing and Two Angels, Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1989
Gender Rolls, UNICA Festival, Baden-Baden, Germany, 1989
Stat-ic, Festival of Independents at International House, 1989
DADA Processing – The First Ten Years, Mason Gross School of Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1989
Computer Generated Art and Animation, Commerce Square IBM Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1989
Matter of Time, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1988
Negotiations for a Heaven on Earth: THREATS, PROMISES, DESIRES, Temple Gallery of Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1988
Post Industrial Expression, Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1988
Post Currents, University of Buffalo, New York, 1988
Untamed Video, University Art Gallery, SUNY Binghamton, New York, 1988
Coleman and Powell, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1987
Song + Dance, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey and Neighborhood Film/Video Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1987
Made in Philadelphia, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1987
Artists' Video and the Experimental Television Center, Neighborhood Film/Video, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1987
The Other New York, American Museum of the Moving Image, NYC, New York, 1987
Media Hostages, American Museum of the Moving Image, NYC, New York, 1986
Coleman and Powell, Neighborhood Film/Video Project, International House, 1986
Anthology Video Program, Millennium, NYC, New York, 1986
Algebra, National Video Festival, American Film Institute and SONY, 1986; Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1985
Hot Pink, Video Marathon, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Monitor 86, Vastra Frolunda, Sweden, 1986; Utah Media Center, 1985
Glass Vibes, Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1986; 9th Atlanta Film and Video Festival, Atlanta, Georgia, 1985; 4th Annual NYC Experimental Video and Film Festival, NYC, New York, 1985
Politics: Art and Ideology, Yellow Springs Institute for Contemporary Studies, NYC, New York, 1986
44 Alumni, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 1985
Video on Paper, Film/Video Arts, NYC, New York, 1985
Visions of U.S. Home Video Competition, SONY and American Film Institute, 1985
Contemporary Video, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas, 1985
Emerging Expressions - The Artist and the Computer, Bronx Museum of the Arts, NYC, New York, 1985
The Artist and the Computer; Personal Vision in a New Age, City College of New York, NYC, New York, 1985, 1984
Negotiations for a Heaven on Earth: Part 1 – Threats, Painted Bride, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1985
Living in Glass Houses, Portico Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1984
Mediaworks, Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1984
Video 84, International Video Festival and Conferences, Montreal, Canada, 1984
Portico Gallery Group Show, Don Yates Art, 1984
Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1984, 1983, 1982
Five Philadelphia Artists at School 33, Baltimore, Maryland, 1984
Coors Southern Images Film and Video Festival, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1984
18th Annual Independent Film and Video Exposition, Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association, New York, 1984
Hollywood Erotic Film and Video Festival, Los Angeles, California, 1984
Contemporary Philadelphia Artists/Portraiture, Art Alliance, 1984
Electra, Musee d’Art Moderne de Ia Ville de Paris, Paris, France, 1983
Provocative and Problematic Video from the American East Coast, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia, 1983
The Artist and the Computer Symposium, City College of New York, NYC, New York, 1983
NYC Experimental Film and Video Festival, 1984
SIGGRAPH ’83 Art Show, 1983
Image Process Part 1, Kitchen, NYC, New York, 1982
Works About Television, Hallswalls, Buffalo, New York, 1982
Tapes from the Experimental Television Center, Center for New Television, Chicago, Illinois, 1982; Anthology Film Archives, NYC, New York, 1981
SlGGRAPH '82 Art Show, Boston, Massachusetts, 1982
The New York Experimental Filmtuideo Festival, DCTV, 1982
San Francisco International Video Festival, San Francisco, California, 1981
In Black and White and Living Color, Painted Bride, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1981
Electronic Image Processing Group Show, Kitchen, NYC, New York, 1981
HALLWALLS, Buffalo, New York, 1981
6th Annual Ithaca Video Festival, Ithaca, New York, 1980
Hartford Video Festival, Hartford, Connecticut, 1980
Athens Video Festival, 1980

For information on Coleman and Powell’s individual exhibitions, see respective database listings for Connie Coleman and Alan Powell.

Public Collections
Our Pet TV artist book, Artist Books/Rare Book Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2005
DA.DA Dance, permanent collection of the Futures Center, New Franklin Institute, 1990

Grants and Awards
Hunterdon Museum, Clinton, New Jersey, original work of art commissioned to commemorate museum’s 50th anniversary, 2002
James A. Michener Museum of Art, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, commission for exhibition to honor A Woman’s Place, 2001-2002
WHYY TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Independent Images Post Production Grant for videotape, “Red, White, and Blue”, 1993
Biennial Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Awards, nominated as candidates, 1991
New American Radio, commission to produce radiopiece “Ground Wars”, 1991
Atlanta Arts Festival, one of 5 videotapes selected for show, 1990
Three Rivers Arts Festival Best of the Festival (Video Award), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1990
New American Radio, commissioned to produce radiowork “Borderland”, 1990
PlFVA Intermedia Works Program and the PCA, Intermedia Works Grant, 1988
SECCA, nominated for Awards in the Visual Arts 8, 1988
Neighborhood Film/Video Project, Production Grant for Videodisc, 1987
AFl-SONY's Vision of U.S. Festival Award and traveling show, 1986, 1985
Atlanta Film and Video Festival, “New Music” Award in Video, 1985
Los Angeles Erotic Film and Video Festival, “Most Erotic Video” Award, 1984
Three Rivers Film and Video Festival, “Juror’s Discretionary Award”, 1984
COORS Southern Film and Video Festival, “Third Prize” in Video, 1984
Three Rivers Film and Video Festival, “Videography Award”, 1983, 1982
WXXl Television Workshop, Rochester, New York, Video Post Production Grant, 1981
Experimental Television Center, Owego, New York, Artists-in-Residence, 1980 to present
SYNAPSE Video Center, Syracuse University, Artists-in-Residence, 1980
Hartford Video Festival, “Second Prize, 1980