DEAR VIDEO ARTIST
Our world moves rapidly at the pace of progress – ravenous for the highest definition, the largest display,
and the fastest data transfers. In our hunger for new technology, we have left behind a vast expanse of
unexplored dimensions and forsaken possibilities.
But not you, Video Artist. You’re looking in a different direction. Not ahead, not behind, but parallel. You
are a pilot, prepared to man the controls of a time machine.
Your video synthesizer is a retro-futuristic vessel outfitted to explore faraway vistas from the era of
analogue television. From your seat in the cockpit you will unveil prismatic motions, expose mesmerizing
geometries, and witness hypnotic entities never before seen. Swimming behind the diffused warmth of
the cathode ray glow, living images linger, waiting for you. It takes guts to do what you do – many will say
your path is absurd.
Thank you, Video Artist, for supporting our continuing efforts at LZX Industries to create new tools and
workflows for the timeless medium of analogue video synthesis. Visual Cortex marks a new generation of
our products, encapsulating several years of obsessed development and prototyping. While Visual Cortex
forms the foundation of a modular system, it is also a powerful tool on its own – everything you need to
learn the basics of video synthesis is right here.
Our work would not be possible without the pioneers of video art in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These
wonderful human beings cast the first rays that continue to inform and inspire us, and we owe them our
gratitude: Bill Etra, Bill Hearne, Daniel Sandin, Dave Jones, Denise Gallant, Eric Siegel, Jim Wiseman,
Nam June Paik, Kim Ryrie, Peter Vogel, Phil Morton, Richard Monkhouse, Rob Schafer, Sherry Hocking
& Ralph Hocking, Shuya Abe, Stephen Beck, Stephen Jones, Steve Rutt, Steina & Woody Vasulka and
countless others. With our work, we endeavor to continue the legacy of these visionaries and their tools.
All of us here at LZX Industries send our love and excitement to you and your companions … we’re
counting on you, Video Artist. We can’t wait to see what you discover out there.
Over and out,
Elizabeth Kay Larsen
December 9th, 2014
Acknowledgments
Product Design & Development
Elizabeth Larsen, Edward Leckie
Assembly Technicians
Jonah Lange, Heather Larsen, David Townsend, Saschenka Lopez
Manufacturing & Distribution
Joshua Holley, Rico Loverde, Paul Baker, Sarah Holley, Anna Sitko, and
everyone else at Darkplace Manufacturing in Portland, Oregon
Additional Graphic Design
Adam Fuchs, Hannes Pasqualini – Papernoise
Special Thanks
Johnny Woods, Jennifer Juniper Stratford, Sam Newell, Nick Bartoletti, Jason
Nanna, Tommy DOG Prinz, Jordan Bartee, Dan Green, Aaron White, Marcus
Webb, Todd Larsen, Paul Baker, Chad Allen, Malcolm Elijah Welbourne,
Stephi Duckula, Scott Jaeger, Chris King, David Wagenbach, Shawn Cleary,
Kylie Frame, Alex Peverett, Paul Millar and countless others
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