Video Art Theory: A Comparative Approach

Video Art Theory: A Comparative Approach demonstrates how video art functions on the basis of a comparative media approach, providing a crucial understanding of video as a medium in contemporary art and of the visual mediations we encounter in daily life.

Having a highly elusive character from the outset, video art has also evolved strongly as a form of art in the five decades of its existence. This transformation notably gave rise to exciting changes in its relationships to other media. These concerns serve as the starting point for this study. Throughout the four chapters of the book, the author demonstrates why it is impossible to capture video art in a single, all-inclusive definition. Rather than searching for medium-specificity or a general theory, this study proves that it is more useful to develop a theoretical interdisciplinary framework for research into video art. Video artworks are compared with television and performance art (with regard to immediacy); installation art (dealing with space); photography and painting (related to representation); and cinema (with importance of narrative). This methodology not only yields new perspectives, but crucially provides students with a much-needed context for understanding the evolution and paramount importance of video as a medium.

Keywords:

Video, video art, media, comparative media research, television, performance art, installation art, photography, painting, cinema, home video, cameras, activist videos, projection, virtual medium, intermedia, spectatorship, spatial positioned screens, digital space, moving images

Video, video art, media, comparative media research, television, performance art, installation art, photography, painting, cinema, home video, cameras, activist videos, projection, virtual medium, intermedia, spectatorship, spatial positioned screens, digital space, moving images