Video Art Video Art A Guided Tour CATHERINE ELWES WITH A FOREWORD BY SHIRIN NESHAT in association with Published in 2005 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com In the United States of America and in Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Catherine Elwes, 2005 The right of Catherine Elwes to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 1 85043 546 4 EAN 978 1 85043 546 4 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Typeset in ITC Slimbach Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin Contents List of Illustrations vi Foreword by Shirin Neshat ix Acknowledgements xi 1. Introduction: From the Margins to the Mainstream 1 2. The Modernist Inheritance: Tampering with the Technology, and Other Interferences 21 3. Disrupting the Content: Feminism 37 4. Masculinities: Class, Gay and Racial Equality 59 5. Language: Its Deconstruction and the UK Scene 76 6. Television Spoofs and Scratch: Parody and Other forms of Sincere Flattery 96 7. Video Art on Television 117 8. Video Sculpture 141 9. The 1990s and the New Millennium 158 Notes 194 Bibliography 205 Index and Videography 208 Illustrations Cover: Mick Hartney, State of Division (1979), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 1. David Hall, This is a Television Receiver (1976). Commissioned by BBC TV as the unannounced opening piece for their Arena video art programme, first transmitted 10 March 1976. Courtesy of the artist. 32 2. Steina Vasulka, Violin Power: The Performance (1992 to present), video performance. Courtesy of the artist. 34 3. Lisa Steele, The Ballad of Dan Peoples (1976), videotape. Courtesy of the artist and Vtape, Toronto. 44 4. Katharine Meynell, Hannah’s Song (1986), with Hannah Kates Morgan, videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 46 5. Vera Frenkel as one of several narrators in her video The Last Screening Room: A Valentine (1984, r.t. 44 minutes). Courtesy of the artist and Vtape, Toronto. 56 6. Keith Piper, The Nation’s Finest (1990), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 60 7. Cerith Wyn Evans, Kim Wilde Auditions (1996), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 63 8. Colin Campbell, videotape from the series Woman from Malibu (1976). Courtesy of Vtape, Toronto. 65 9. Stuart Marshall, Over Our Dead Bodies (1991), television programme commissioned by Channel 4. Produced by Rebecca Dodds and Maya Vision Productions. 67 10. Michael Curran, Amami se vuoi (1994), videotape. Courtesy of the artist and David Curtis at the British Artists’ Film and Video Study Collection, University of the Arts, London. 68 I l l u s t r a t i o n s • vii 11. Mick Hartney, State of Division (1979), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 70 12. Steve Hawley, We have fun Drawing Conclusions (1981), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 71 13. David Critchley, Pieces I Never Did (1979), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 85 14. Catherine Elwes, Kensington Gore (1981), videotape. Courtesy of the author. 86 15. William Wegman, (Selected Works – Reel 3) Deodorant Commercial (1972), videotape. Courtesy of the artist and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York. 100 16. Stan Douglas, I’m not Gary (1991), videotape from the series Monodramas. Courtesy of the artist. 103 17. Ian Bourn, Sick as a Dog (1989), videotape described by the artist as: The opening shot (Terry with the stadium as backdrop) and the shot of Terry at his lowest point (i.e. worrying about the “legitimate” life of earning money in order to pay it back in taxes).’ Courtesy of the artist. 104 18. Dara Birnbaum, Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978–1979), videotape. Courtesy of the artist and Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York. 108 19. Gorilla Tapes, The Commander in Chief from Death Valley Days (1984), videotape. Courtesy of Jonathan Dovey. 111 20. Bill Viola, The Reflecting Pool (1980), videotape. Courtesy of the artist. 127 21. Graham Young, Accidents in the Home no. 17: Gas Fires (1984). Courtesy of the artist and LUX, London. 133 22. Nam June Paik, Family of Robot: Mother and Father (1986), video sculpture, 80 x 61.5 x 21 inches. Photographer: Cal Kowal. Courtesy of the artist and Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio. 144 23. Chris Meigh-Andrews, Eau d’Artifice (1991), video installation. Courtesy of the artist. 149 24. Ann-Sofi Siden, Warte Mal! (2002). Courtesy of the artist and the Hayward Gallery, London. 156 25. Pipilotti Rist, I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much (1996), still of single- channel videotape, 5’. Courtesy of the artist, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, London and Luhring Augustine, New York. 165 26. Harrison and Wood, Six Boxes (1997), videotape. Courtesy of the artists and the UK/Canadian Film and Video Exchange. 167 27. Mark Lewis, Peeping Tom (2000), 35mm film (looped), transferred to DVD. Courtesy of the artist. 169 viii•VideoArt,AGuidedTour 28. Shirin Neshat, Tooba (2002). Courtesy of the artist and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York. 176 29. Zacharias Kunuk, Nunavut (Our Land) (1994–1995), videotape. © Igloolik Isuma Productions. 178 30. Portrait of Annie Sprinkle, from the cover of Sluts and Goddesses, Video Workshop (1994). Art Director: Leslie Barany. Photographer: Amy Ardrey. Courtesy of Annie Sprinkle. 182 31. Gillian Wearing, 2 into 1 (1997), video broadcast on Channel 4. Courtesy of Interim Art, London. 186 32. Stephanie Smith and Edward Stewart, Mouth to Mouth (1996), videotape. Courtesy of the artists. 187 33. Tom Sherman, SUB/EXTROS (2001), videotape, 5 min. 30 sec. Music: Bernhard Loibner. Courtesy of the artist. 190