Video Art
Video art is a form of art that is based around moving pictures which revolves around video and audio data.
So what are the differences between video art and film/cinema? well many feel that both forms are the same as they both rely on moving pictures and image. Despite their close relationship, video art is not experimental film. one of the primary and most important differences is that video does not rely on many of the conventions which define theatrical cinema. The key distinction here, is that the purpose of film/cinmema is to entertain viewers whereas video art comprises of variations and is hghly based upon the exploration of different mediums.
Although there are now many forms of video art, early existence of the art began during the 1960s and 70s. During the art’s early form, it was named after the video tape which was commonly used in those days.
Video art is said to have officially started when ‘Nam June Paik’ used a ‘Sony Portapak’ to shoot footage of pope Paul vi during his procession through new york. Later ‘Paik’ played the tapes back and Video art was born.
How did video differ from previous uses of moving image as art? The central pupose of video was to entertain viewers, whereas moving image was the exploration and experimental process of different mediums. Many artists found that they were able to edit the video image which meant that these artists were more attracted to video, simply because they were able to do more with it, in terms of editing.
The term ‘Multi Channel video art’ is the combination of several screens to project one whole image
Clown Phobia [ IDEAS ]http://bubbl.us/view.php?sid=785035&pw=yaL2hBcy.qstANDFhdWpsNzJmd1dCcw
Julian Rosefeldt “American Night”
In this essay, I will be exploring the contrast between ‘Bill Viola’ and ‘Nam June Paik’. My aim is to successfully study the style and content both artists have used in their videos. Both artists are very different. ‘Bill Viola’ is a contemporary artist whereas ‘Nam June Paik’ is a historical artist.
Firstly, Bill viola’s work is based on time and essentially, ‘the art of movement’ for example “The quintet of the astonished” is simply a ‘Moving image’ there is no narration or story which is interesting because when the video starts the audience immediately assume that it is a picture, but as the video continues the image starts to move which allows the audience to reflect on the ‘meaning’ of the video. On the other hand, Nam June Paik’s work is a sequence of images projected on ‘multi screens’ (multi screening is the use of one or several screens to project a whole image or video.) there is not a particular concept to his piece, so it is also non narrative. In the video we briefly pick up a few editing tips that Paik has used. For example when the video begins, a colourful bird flies into picture and gradually fades out of view across the ‘multi screen’ The fact that both videos do not have audio makes them more interesting in terms of viewing and the target audience’s initial perception and understanding of the video. Viola’s “The quintet of the astonished” is simply a slow motion moving image. This technique is very successful as Viola has varied the actors he has used in the video which enhances the point of the video e.g. one actor is moving a lot whereas some others are barely moving. On the other hand, the pace in some parts of Paik’s video is significantly quicker than others, suggesting that he may have been experimenting with time. The techniques both artists have used are fairly the same but have just been portrayed in different ways. For example Paik’s piece has no real meaning which allows the audience to focus on the techniques he has used to create the video. In contrast, Viola’s piece has been planned and well thought out before it had been created so that he was able to achieve the desired effect. In both videos the camera is static and there are no angles or variations in shot types which allows us to focus on the actual video itself rather than panning around and looking at backgrounds and the areas other than the actual video. The lighting in viola’s piece is extremely sufficient; the brightest areas are on the actors with the darkest being the areas surrounding the actors. This is a very good example of ‘using the camera to the full’ as the main focus is on the actors. On the other hand, Paik has simply used ‘Multi screening’ which means that the area around the camera is already bright from the screens and the vast amounts of colour he has used in the video. To conclude, i strongly feel that both artists possess extreme technical ability but have used them in entirely different ways. E.g. Viola has experimented with speed and time whereas Paik has focused on ‘Multi screening’ also both videos have different concepts and meanings, which thought provoke the viewer to understand the actual purpose. |
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