Franklin Furnace at Pseudo Programs, Inc. (1998) marked the first season of Franklin Furnace's collaboration with Pseudo Online Network. Franklin Furnace’s decision to move from a physical space to a virtual one was prompted by the impact of the culture wars on artistic freedom in the United States. Despite efforts to maintain other physical spaces in downtown Manhattan, Franklin Furnace’s board determined that access to freedom of expression and a broader audience through new media would be the organization’s prime focus. The virtual turn for Franklin Furnace was a radical move that marked the organization’s shift from exhibiting avant-garde work in physical spaces to online realms. Through this gesture, Franklin Furnace investigated the democratic landscape of the Internet as a censorship free space to present political art. Featured presenters in this video that was originally netcast live on The Performance Channel (www.channelp.com) include Halona Hilbertz, Bingo Gazingo, Patricia Hoffbauer, Jon Keith, Jason E. Bowman, Kali Lela Colton, Nora York, Anna Mosby Coleman, Lenora Champagne, and Alvin Eng with Yoav Gal.
Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. was founded by artist Martha Wilson in 1976 to champion ephemeral forms neglected by mainstream arts institutions. Franklin Furnace’s mission is to present, preserve, interpret, proselytize, and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, their ephemeral nature, or politically unpopular content. The organization is dedicated to serving artists by providing both physical and virtual venues for the presentation of time-based visual art, including artists’ books, installation art, performance art, and unforeseen contemporary avant-garde art forms. Franklin Furnace is committed to serving emerging artists; to assuming an aggressive pedagogical stance with regard to the value of avant-garde art to life; and to fostering artists’ zeal to broadcast ideas. The organization has developed a place in art history for artists’ books, temporary installation art, and performance art. www.franklinfurnace.org
