Jamming at Alan Kaplan  
Studios with Anthony Romeo and Gerry Seamen. circa 1976
 

 
At ModernAge with Kaz
Nakamura  during the 
Metropolitan Museum 
of Art retrospective for
Richard Avedon. circa 1982 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

During a Los Angeles Times
photo session with actor
Darrell Larson (and son)
for an article about EZTV
and Fringe Festival/L.A.

During Bronx Science, Masucci's respect for the value of traditional education waned. Attempting many variations (and not being able to find the field that would ultimately be the digital arts revolution) on the education theme, he dropped out, transferred out or was thrown out from many of New York's top colleges and universities including Columbia University (pre-med), Parson's School of Design (photography and illustration), Art Student's League of New York (drawing and painting) and various branches of the City University of New York (psychology). During these years, he also served as a research assistant at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a psychology teaching assistant at Bronx Community College and an assistant at Nicolas Roerich Museum. During both his high school and college years he also worked for his father, an optician. Masucci's father, Alan Masucci, holds several patents in optical design, and greatly influenced Masucci's understanding of the lens in photography. 

After 2 years of study (illustration and photography) at Parson's he left school to accept a full time position as Studio Manager and chief photography assistant at Alan Kaplan Studios, working on assignments such as Italian Vogue, Air Jamaica and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

After a year with Kaplan, Masucci accepted a position at New York's prestigious Modernage Photographics as a specialist in black & white archival printing. During his 3 years there he worked for an impressive list of the world's leading photographers (i.e. Richard Avedon, Francisco Scavullo, Bert Stern, Hiro), museums (i.e. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, International Center of Photography), publishers (i.e. Penthouse, Business Week), architects (i.e. I.M. Pei) and corporations (IBM, AT&T, TWA). The last half of his tenure there he worked within one of Modernage's unique services as an exhibtion photo-muralist, working under the most exacting standards which the current technology allowed. Around the time of his employment there, Modernage's Mural Department was clearly the world standard in excellence both technically as well as aesthetically. Masucci's experience there, routinely working with the world's leading artists and companies gave Masucci a broader education than the classroom could ever do. Working for Kaplan Studios and Moderange, together gave Masucci the experience that he needed to begin creating original work, work which would ultimately take him away from still photography altogether. 

During this time Masucci (a musican) also co-created Rock Against Racism-U.S.A., which presented a string of concerts and club dates (including a year long benefit series at the legendary Max's Kansas City) of local bands and musician's concerned with social justice. Noted defense attorney William Kunsler provided pro bono his legal expertise in defending in court the right of R.A.R.-U.S.A. to present these events. The legal victories which Kunsler won for Rock Against Racism directly resulted in re-opening of New York's Central Park Bandshell for use of live rock bands. R.A.R.-U.S.A. financed by monies made from benefit concerts all year long, presented 2 all day free concerts in Central Park. Police minimum estimates of 15,000 peaceful culturally diverse youths attended each of these two events. 

Among the many groups which Masucci performed in, the most influential for him was "The Studebakers" a band made up of pro guitar builders, designers and craftsmen. Leading guitarist for the Studebakers was Stuart Spector, whose factory produced what many consider the finest electrical basses made. Working for Spector at the time was Ned Steinberger, still perfecting his ultimately revolutionizing polycarbon resin bodied "Steinberger Bass". The Studebakers were the first group to experiment with these newly invented designs coming out of Spector's Brooklyn factory loft. Being introduced to this level of musical instrument design and building, fine tuned Masucci's understanding of music as a whole. He began studying privately with Don DiGrazio, who was teaching voice and guitar at Juillard. With DiGrazio, he learned to operate a recording studio and to produce his own music. 

He joined an improvisational theater group with a mix of working Broadway and off-Broadway actors, with a few dancers and musicians. He also did stage and lighting for off-Broadway. 

It was also during these years that he experimented with video for the first time. His music group was selected to be the subject of the Master's project for directorial student Shiva Kumar at the Center for Television at Brooklyn College. Video allowed Masucci for the first time to integrate his audio and visual works into single pieces. Masucci became hooked on video . He decided to leave his highly promising career in the photography industry to become a video artist. 

After leaving Modernage, Masucci relocated to Los Angeles where he has become an active voice in the video and multimedia scene ever since.  MID-CAREER  

When Masucci left Modernage he spent 2 months assisting in re-construction projects, saved up some money and in November 1982 after Greyhound busing it across the country, seeing its cultural and geographical vastness for the first time, arrived in Los Angeles. 

His only acquaintance in Los Angeles was actor/artist Rademes Pera (the childhood star from "Kung Fu") who was in an improvisational theater workshop with Masucci back in New York. Rademes, a celebrity, showed him around Southern California and introduced Masucci to the local culture. Within a few days in Los Angeles, Pera got Masucci onto radio station KMET. Masucci took a job at the Factory Fashion Works, a trendy 80's phenomenon, a youth-oriented clothing chain with live disc jockeys, fashion shows, events, contests and with the arrival of Masucci, video. There he created tapes to be used within one of Los Angeles' first "video walls", which the Factory installed in their Sherman Oaks flagship store. 

In April 1983, he discovered EZTV, quickly joining forces with John Dorr in the establishment of this unique venue/facility. Masucci utilized EZTV's facilities to create videos called "Standing Waves" for the Factory as well as for the emerging "rave" scene in L.A.'s trendiest nightclubs. He also began exhibiting his short video/films at galleries, coffee houses and cabarets around town. The American Film Institute, in 1984 exhibited Masucci's work in a screening dedicated to EZTV work. This was the first of several AFI screenings of his work over the years, followed by Masucci serving for numerous times as a guest lecturer or judge on a festival or grant committee. In 1985 at the suggestion of computer artist Victor Acevedo, he served as Technical Services Director for "On the Threshold", co-produced by Joan Collins and Robert Gelman, an event co-sponsored by SIGGRAPH, and other pioneering techno-culture organizations. Acevedo curated an exhibition of digital print artists. Through this event, which took place at the Hollywood Palace, Masucci met many of the forces that were to shape his work and world in coming years. He produced three new video pieces to accompany live performance events, collaborating with artist Sandra Tsing Loh, musician Jeff Rona and choreographer Eve Lenzner. Masucci introduced EZTV's audience to an embryonic multi-media world with Halcyon, paint-box and graphics. "Standing Waves" were used as video wallpaper at N.A.B. and as the backdrop to fashion shows, poetry readings and even go-go dancers. 

In 1986, Masucci met Kim McKillip (ia Kamandalu) and "Vertical Blanking", a music and video production/performance laboratory was formed. He created "Ballet Lemuria", a trilogy collaboration with McKillip (Lemuria), "Murrha" by Anneliese Viraldiev and "Bad T.V." in collaboration with Nina Barlow. These projects afforded Masucci his first critical attention and allowed him access to better festival and exhibition exposure, as well as attracting commissioned work. 

After several years of pro-bono service to EZTV, Masucci became EZTV's first employee, and worked in a variety of professional capacities including cinematographer, sound mixer and most intensely as an editor. There he also trained film editors and animators (Orson Welles' editor to Corny Cole, Greg Ford) the use of video editing technology. His talents contributed to most of EZTV's original productions including, the 27 part Lannan Literary series, Eric Bogosian's "Fun House" and serving in a technical capacity in literally thousands of projects brought into EZTV which Masucci was a significant contributor to. Many have appeared in theatres, universities, festivals, television, as well as laserdisc and video. 

Masucci continued to produce a number of tapes for use in L.A.'s hottest nightclubs and helped create the ambient video club scene along with a select group of pioneering video artists and digital animators, including Ron Hays, Jenkins and Ed Tannenbaum. These early media artists used crude analog tools, often home made or modified, to create feedback loops, animated graphics and color cycling. As technologies evolved, the work stayed on top of the development curve, as a plethora of manufacturers and software developers came and went. 

Masucci's own work became increasingly complex throughout the eighties and although his technology became ever more miniaturized, his camera and editing styles advanced as he produced works in both video and performance. His collaborations with choreographer Zina Bethune allowed him access to experimental technology from Sony and led him to China in 1988. The documentary produced there, narrated by Martin Landau and described as "inspiring" by the L.A. Weekly, premiered at the AFI Video Festival. He also became increasingly popular within the world of non-profit arts administrations. He began to receive more significant coverage by the L.A. Times, establishing his local reputation with critics and academics. He began a series of community involvement and became involved in a number of non-profit organizations inlcuding serving on the board of directors of the FRinge Festival, served as a board of arts advisor for the L.A. Free Clinic produced a series of PSA's for the Venice Family Clinic and as an advisor for L.A. Freewaves. He has been a requested speaker for a number of colleges including UCLA, USC, AFI, conferences by MTV/Billboard, Miller Freeman Publishing and the Invention Convention. 

Masucci continued to expand his creativity with a continuing series of collaborations, commissions and exhibitions at many of L.A.'s most important new media centers including the Electronic Cafe International, Highways, Los Angeles Theater Center and Museum of Contemporary Art, Convention Center, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Pepperdine University, University of Southern California, Barnsdall Art Park and Skirball Cultural Center. 

In 1997, Masucci completed the third phase of a collaboration between himself, EZTV and the London Institute of Contemorary Art. The collaboration began with the showing of "Outside Looking In: One Last Visit with Timothy" which is a 30 minute documentary and interview with legendary Dr. Timothy Leary in April of 1996. "Outside" premiered at the ICA . The second phase of the collaboration was the residency of celebrated London-based performance artist Ronald Frasier-Munro at EZTV. EZTV, with Masucci directing, was commissioned to create an original video based upon a concept by Ronald Frasier-Munro called "Dschungel". 
 
 

Info On Rock Against Racism-U.S.A. w/Photo Gallery by Alan Kaplan  

See: 
Video Clip 
Discovery Channel International "High Tech Culture" 
FNN 
KCET (PBS) 

Artweek 
L.A. Times 

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