Unit 35 Task 1
Script for Research:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MBcJN2tE3tlFXue6WX_PabiyRYd42HImdJ1vy9ez7rM/edit
Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NUHsPz14V0B-O2SrDfkLbd12l_8oaDCQjZFmpsTkZwg/edit#slide=id.p
Introduction:
Video installation is an art form which involves video with installation art. Installation art is art which is designed to show the audience a different perspective on a spacial area. Video installation combines sound, video, and environment to create a unique piece of creative art for both the artist and the viewer. When it was first invented in the 60s, technology for video installation was very limited. Nowadays, in the 2010s, technology has advanced from black and white TV to holograms and projections. Notable artists of video installation include; Bill Viola, Doug Aitken, Tony Oursler, Kelly Richardson, and Gary Hill. Video art first came about in the 1960s.
Nam June Paik is considered to be the first video artist. Nam June Paik is an American Korean video artist who used television to create the first installation “TV Magnet” in 1964. This was created using magnets to have full control over TV’s. Broadcasting signals were shut off on the TV’s used to allow him full access to his project. Using a cathode ray (a vacuum ray to create fluorescent images), Nam created geometric abstraction that looks like it would fit alongside painted art but what oil paint cannot imitate at the time. As video installation was only just invented, it was a revolutionary project which has changed art forever, while also generating a small audience at the time as most people didn't have the concept of video installation due to it only just being invented. The technology at the time was ambitious as TV was a fairly new concept as well so shutting off signals for television would have required a high sense of technical skill. The politics was that the Cuban Missile Crisis was tension between US and Soviet Union. President John F Kennedy was assassinated and was the starting point of LGBT rights, led by the US. Technology impacted the video installation rather than politics but it is certain politics had a role in influencing how people express themselves with new art forms.
1970s:
The 1970s saw Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister of the UK, the Indian Emergency which was a 21 month period where the Prime Minister of India called nation emergency for the country, and the Vietnam war ended in 1975. The second wave feminism movement from the 1960s, was more prominent in society in the 1970s with the women’s strike of equality. Technology wise, in the UK, colour TV became available which transformed how TV and video was viewed and consumed. Floppy disks, microwaves, VCRs, and the Sony Walkman became commercially available worldwide which also helped change how people use technology.
An example of a video installation artist of the 1970s is Peter Campus. Peter Campus was born in 1937 in New York and is known for his work on video installations both single channels and interactive. Peter created the installation “Double Vision” in 1971. This was a single channel video which was created using two cameras which were attached to a vision mixer to provide the effect of double exposure. The sound of the video was of a mix of noise from inside and outside the room of filming. Outside sounds included cars and dogs while inside sounds were the hum of the camera. It was 14 minutes and 22 seconds long and divided into seven parts of perception. It was installed at the Bykert Gallery in New York at the time of release. Peter has also made some other installations for the gallery such as Dynamic Field Series and Three Transitions. Video installation was still fairly new in the 1970s and the technology was very basic. Vision Mixers were new and hadn’t been used in this way before which makes it revolutionary for its time. Sound and editing mixing with the separate outside and inside sounds to perform a cohesive audio narrative was also a new concept. As such, audiences hadn’t really comprehended this type of filming with technology before. Nothing political influenced this installation despite the politics at the time. It was an ambiguous film with a narrow selective audience as it was the opposite of mainstream content. The audience would therefore have to be older people interested in new types of art as this would have challenged the mainstream style of audiences.
1980s:
The 1980s saw the fall of the Berlin wall, the internet going worldwide, AIDS is given more awareness, the first Macintosh was introduced, Indian Prime Minister is assassinated and George Bush Sr is elected President of the United States. The 1980s saw an increase in technology advancements and the prices of editing software decreased. This meant the public could readily afford the technology and as a result, easy access to this technology changed how video artists created their work.
An example of a video installation artist of the 1980s is Bill Viola. Bill Viola was born in 1951 and was video artist who has their own studio called “Bill Viola Studios” which is run by his wife Kira Perov. In terms of his video art, Bill Viola heavily uses sound, electronic, and image technology. This was uncommon at the time because many video artists adapted to using new technologies and techniques while Bill stuck to older technology and used extreme slow motion. An example of a video installation Bill created was called “Reverse Television” in 1983. This was a bunch of video portraits which showed different people in their homes watching the video cameras used to film them as if they were watching a television. The aim was to show the “continuity of the undifferentiated flow of the television picture, giving viewers the possibility of pondering their own position facing the screen.” It was originally broadcast for WGBH-TV in Boston in November of 1983 but there was conflict between Bill and the television company as they wanted to show it in 15 second segments including information providing context of the art while Bill wanted a one minute segment aired once every hour for two weeks. The compromise was some information about Bill at the end of a 30 second segment. Viola wanted a long duration every hour because the purpose of his art was to disrupt from the everyday televised programs to show the viewer almost like a mirror image or reflection. The target audience of the installation was people who sit and watch TV. This is a wide target audience spanning all ages and genders and psychographic groups. This is the target audience because Bill Viola wanted to show almost like a reflection of the typical TV viewer to show how they watch TV. The space of airing it as an interruption to everyday television was a suitable setting for the video installation because of Bill’s concept. The interaction with the audience is they are meant to watch it on television as a reflection of their current activity (watching themselves on screen watching TV).
1990s:
The 1990s saw the end of The Troubles in Ireland in 1998, known as the Northern Ireland Conflict, it saw personal computers, MP3, the World Wide Web (internet), digital single lens cameras, and instant messaging all were invented, or were given advancements which revolutionised technology as we know it. George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were President of the United States shaping their politics. Scottish Parliament was created in July 1999, and the World Trade Centre was bombed in 1993 via a truck causing the USA to become more aware of terrorism.
An example of a video artist in the 1990s is Cheryl Donegan. Cheryl was an American conceptual video artist who created the video installation Head, in 1993. It is a short installation showing a woman catching milk in her mouth coming from a plastic container, against a white wall. This was perceived as a take on pornographic videos and sexual domination. In the 1980s and 1990s, MTV was popular with audiences and Head was described as “post MTV neo-porn” by Chris Darke, a film critic and author. In the video, the woman unplugs a spout and as the container spurts a milky liquid, the woman catches it in her mouth. This can easily be seen as sexual due to the suggestive nature of the act being shown and the facial expression and body language of the woman. This installation received controversy for this though Cheryl was considered to revitalise feminism of the 1970s so by the 1990s, the world would have been used to Cheryl’s controversial methods. Her video head is part of the exhibition of the museum of modern art in New York. This is the place where it was set up as a video installation. Although museums are family friendly, the audience for Cheryl’s video installation would be older men and women because while it shows sexual exploitation, the woman is clearly empowered in the sense of willingness and the context of a “neo-porn” for the post MTV era. Cheryl has made similar concept art such as Tent in 1995 and Kiss My Royal Irish Ass. These have been exhibited at various museums such as Tang Teaching Museum of Art and White Flag Projects. Recently in 2017, her work has been installed and exhibited at the Aspen Museum in USA. The use of space as a gallery shows that audiences interact by observing it with no other interaction required. The editing is that there are no cuts and it uses one camera in one location to film it.
2000s:
The 2000s saw one of the most famous terrorist attacks hit America in the form of 9/11. Motion picture and computer generated imagery (CGI) had huge advances and developments being used in blockbusters like 2009s Avatar. In terms of the internet, major websites launched such as Wikipedia (2001), Facebook (2004), and YouTube (2005). Comic book movies and culture became more well known and received with 2000s X-Men and 2008s Iron Man. In politics, Obama was elected twice as President of the United States, and Tony Blair was Prime Minister of England from 1997 to 2007 (so for seven years of the 2000 decade).
As technology changes, in the 2000s, video artists were able to create new and exciting video installations without using their own content. An example of a video artist in the 2000s was Marco Brambilla. Marco Brambilla is a video artist from Milan in Italy, who now lives and works in New York, America. Marco created the video installation Civilisation (2008) which is a 3D high definition single channel video installation. Civilisation is a video installation which was installed and created for elevators in Standard Hotel in New York. It is made up of clips from existing film/media to create an experience for the audience. The experience of going from hell to heaven if the lift goes up, or from heaven to hell if the lift goes down. This makes it slightly interactive as the installation changes depending on the audience decisions. The audience of the installation is upper class male and female or more simply, people who can afford to stay in the Standard Hotel. The use of space and layout is effective as an elevator is a confined space so by exposing audiences to this surreal heaven and hell idea is effective for a small space. The movement of the elevator moving the audience up or down creates a sense of motion and realism to the fantasy video installation. The meaning is symbolic as the audience are taken on almost a journey or sorts through the visual environment. The technology was not unheard of at the time but it was not impossible either. The combination of existing film clips to form a mashup of heaven and hell was “cutting edge” or at least, boundary pushing at the time period. The editing of the video is mashing all clips together to form something unrecognisable and unique while also being slow and giving the illusion one camera was used.
2010s:
The 2010s saw an increase in the use of smartphones and social media by mostly the generation of millennial’s or Generation Z though everyone else also increased their technology use. The terrorist group ISIS rose to power in 2014 and was mostly defeated by December 2018. Many terrorist attacks took place from 2015 Paris shootings to the 2017 New York truck attack. In June 2018, USA and North Korea held a summit together to hopefully become more connected. Brexit was voted for in 2016 for UK to leave the EU. Film and culture wise, the superhero genre reached a mass audience and 3D and 360 degree videos became commonplace.
As technology has evolved and 3D/4D becoming common, video artists have been able to create art using other people’s content, or general advancements such as using different light styles.
An example of a video artist in the 2010s is Kelly Richardson. Kelly Richardson is a Canadian video artist who uses video installation to create landscapes. These are shown in exhibitions and museum areas which are able to project something huge on a screen. The aim was to show a lunar-esque looking landscape of trees blowing in an artificial wind to immerse viewers into the fictional environment. In 2010, thanks to the advancements of technology, Kelly was able to envision and create her idea, whereas in the past, this would have been difficult to achieve. A social media and technology use became more commonplace, Kelly wanted to utilise technology to put the audience back into a “real world” setting while using the rise of technology to her advantage by creating it artificial (artificial worlds have become increasingly popular in recent years and Kelly used this, although 2010, is a little early as they weren't as popular until around 2014). In 2012, all 15 years of her video installations were exhibited in the National Gallery for Contemporary Art in England. This was titled “Legion” and consisted of all Kelly’s video art. There was no “specific” audience for The Erudition or Legion, as Kelly wanted everyone to experience an artificial real world setting. However, as these were shown in museums and galleries, a specific audience would be art/video critics, and families who go to galleries. Kelly specialises in creating artificial landscapes, but the 2010s allowed her to do more with the technology. The use of space of an art gallery was a formal way for the audience to simply observe the artificial world. The editing is minimal as the camera does not move from the shot which allows the audience to observe that one shot and really take it in. Kelly also created the installation Exiles of the Shattered Star in 2006 which has a very similar format, audience, and installation. It is one camera filming natural backgrounds installed in a gallery. Because it was 2006, she could not do as much with the technology so this one is far simpler in design.