Tadlock, Thomas

program notes for TV as a Creative Medium Tools

Thomas Tadlock, a Rhode Island School of Design alumnus who worked with light sculptures and was influenced by Nam June Paik, designed The Archetron as a commissioned device. The unit accepts a black-and-white broadcast television signal, removes a triangular pie-shaped section and repeats it around a symmetrical axis to produce kaleidoscopic images; at least three units comprised the machine and each incoming signal had three knobs (red, green, blue) with additional control over percent of color generated by a mathematical relationship of the B&W levels. The device is operated in real time from a console of knobs, switches, three small TV monitors, mirrors and color filters and can combine all or part of three live broadcasts for distribution via broadcast, closed-circuit or cable companies.