1980 In the beginning of the 1980s, the development of the VHS standard and improvements in the color system lower costs and improve the quality of video production. The possibilities for electronic treatment of images recorded by the video camera are also greatly increased. The video clip that comes to the fore in the pop music industry is the main demonstration of the transition from intermedia to multimedia that is underway. Music conquers the techniques of the image, and interactions with the visual arts abound. Austria "Video Made in America," retrospective presented by the Moderner Kunst Museum in Vienna: works by recognized and younger artists. Canada In Montreal, an international artists festival is organized by Chantal Pontbriand and Parachute with Laurie Anderson, Stuart Brisley, Daniel Buren, Marc Chaiimowicz, Max Dean, Dan Graham, Richard Roreman, Tom Sherman, Robert Wilson, and others. France The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris presents two video installations by Catherine Ikam: Dispositif pour un parcours vidéo, which plays on the interactivity and reflexiveness of the video image, and Fragments d'un archétype: hommage à Léonard de Vinci, where sixteen monitors show the fragmented image of Leonardo's "man" (January-March). "Art-Allemagne aujourd'hui," exhibition at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, organized by Dany Block and Suzanne Pagé, with works by Joseph Beuys, Hanne Darboven, Hans Haacke, Robert Filliou, Wolf Vostell, and others (January-March). In collaboration with Vidéoglyphes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organizes a traveling exhibition for French cultural centers abroad: "Vidéo: la région centrale," featuring nine video works by Martine Aballea, Dominique Belloir, Judy Blum, Robert Cahen, Nicole Croiset, Paul-Armand Gette, Philippe Guerrier, Françoise Janicot, Thierry Kuntzel, Mimi, Philippe Oudard, Jean Roualdès, and Nil Yalter (July). The Eleventh Paris Biennale, organized by Georges Boudaille, shows works by Barrias, Dominique Belloir, Patrick Bousquet, Robert Cahen, Fernando Calhau, Sophie Calle, Nicole Croiset, Tom Drahos, Jean-Paul Fargier, Bernard Faucon, Alain Fleischer, Gloria Freidman, Catherine Ikam, Danielle Jaeggi, Thierry Kuntzel, Pierre Minot, Tony Oursler, François Pain, and Patrick Prado (2 September-2 November). Japanese videotapes presented at the ARC (December). First Montbéliard Festival. Thierry Kuntzel makes Echolalia, Time Smoking a Picture and Still, with the help of the groupe de Recherche Image of the Institut national de l'audiovisuel. Germany Great Britain Japan Spain Switzerland First video art festival of Locarno, organized by Rinaldo Bianda, director of the Galerie Flaviana (August). United States Pampelona Grazalema, the Ritual of the Bull in Spain, a video installation by Antoni Muntadas, is exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, New York. A videotape by Thierry Kuntzel, Time Smoking a Picture, is shown in the "Video About Video" exhibit at the University Art Museum, Berkeley, and the Téléthèque of the Alliance Française, New York. United States-France 1981 France ELAC (Espace Lyonnais d'Art Contemporain) organizes the second Performance Art symposium (curated by Hubert Besqcier and Orlan) (12 May-21 June). France's first channel, TF1, broadcasts "La peinture cubiste," an art program produced for television by Philippe Grandrieux and Thierry Kuntzel and coproduced by the Institut national de l'audiovisuel (October). Video art fortnight at the Anerican Center in Rennes (November). "Ateliers 81 / 82" at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, featuring an installation by Michel Jaffrenou and Patrick Bousquet (Vidéoscopie) and videotapes by Colette Deblé, Jean-Paul Fargier and Danielle Jaeggi, Yann N'Guyen Minh, Charles Picq and Alain Garlan, Patrick Prado, James Ristorcelli, and Nil Yalter (26 November 1981-21 February 1982). Publication of Vidéo, la mémoire au poing, by Anne-Marie Duguet. France-United States Great Britain Switzerland 1982 Denmark France First International New Images Forum in Monte Carlo (5-7 February). Paralleling the New York exhibition "Statements, Leading Contemporary Artists from France," the Kitchen organizes "Paris to New York," a program of videotapes, installations, and performances by Robert Cahen, Jean-Paul Fargier, Catherine Ikam, and Bob Wilson (7-8 February). The Center for Media Art (directed by Scott MacLeay) at the American Center in Paris organizes evening programs with videotapes by American artists Gary Hill, Nam June Paik, Bill Viola, and Woody and Steina Vasulka (February). Antenne 2 broadcasts the first installment of the program "Juste une image," shot in video and prepared by Thierry Garel, Louisette Neil, and Philippe Grandrieux (28 April). Produced by the Institut national de l'audiovisuel, this monthly program helps to make the tapes of American video artists such as Dara Birnbaum, Gary Hill, Joan Logue, Nam June Paik, Steina Vasulka, Bill Viola, and Bob Wilson known in France. It also presents interviews with Robert Cahen, Joëlle de la Casinière, Jean-André Fieschi, and Philippe Quéau. Creation of the International Video and Television Festival by the Centre d'action culturelle in Montbéliard (biennial, competition among some forty video works, one artist retrospective, talks), directed by Pierre Bongiovanni. The first year's festival includes videos by Dominik Barbier, Dominique Belloir, Alain Bourges, Robert Cahen, Philippe Demontant, Nicole Croiset and Nil Yalter, Michel Jaffrenou and Patrick Bousquet, Jean-Louis Le Tacon, Pierre Lobstein, Hervé Nisic, Yann N'Guyen Minh, Teresa Wennberg, and others (6-12 December). Vidéocéanes festival, organized by the Maison de la Culture in Brest: Jean-Louis Le Tacon and Sophie Handschutter create a multi-screen, multi-source set-up. French artists present include Alain Jomier, Hervé Nisic, and Orlan (December). Nam June Paik's Tricolor Video, an installation with 384 color TVs, is presented in the Forum of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (15 December 1982-10 April 1983) Following the release of his film Passion in 1981, Jean-Luc Godard makes Scénario du film Passion in video. First "Vidéodanse" program, organized by Michèle Bargues and presented at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (22 September-7 November). Carole Roussopolos, Delphine Seyrig, and Iona Wiener found the Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir in Paris in order to assist women in the creation and distribution of audiovisual works. Great Britain Spain Switzerland United States Nam June Paik retrospective at the Whitney Museum in New York. The Kitchen in New York presents "Return-Jump," a 1979-1982 video retrospective including French artists living in New York such as Martine Barrat and Michel Auder (10-17 October). 1983 Stefaan Decostere and Chris Dercon make Er ligt een videocassette in de soep (There's a Videocassette in the Soup) for "Tele=Visions", a documentary series on video as art produced and broadcast by the BRT. France Second International New Images Forum in Monte Carlo, organized by the Institut national de la Communication audiovisuelle in collaboration with International Marketing Video (2-4 February). "C'est un dur métier que l'exil" at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris presents video installations by Nil Yalter (15 March-24 April). "Technopop in Wonderland" at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris presents videos and performances by the group Wonder Products (6 May-12 June). "Pleine lune", a program taped in video and produced by the Institut national de l'audiovisuel is broadcast on Antenne 2. Directed by Thierry Kuntzel and Jérôme Prieur (in collaboration with Philippe Grandrieux and Pierre Zucca), this program lasting 2 hours and 35 minutes offers the general public a selection of American videos: music clips (John Sanborn), a Self-Portrait by Peter Campus, interviews, and a tape by Nam June Paik (22 August). "Electra" at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, features an installation bt Wolf Vostell, an attempt at video theater by Michel Jaffrenou, and a video performance by Orlan. A retrospective videotape includes excerpts from the most representative works and experiments conceived and produced by the ORTF's GRI, as well as an electronic canvas (25 screens, 4 computer-programmed video sources) conceived by Jean-Louis Le Tacon, Sophie Handschutter, and Alain Jomier and proposed to some thirty French video artists (Domonique Belloir, Pierre Bousquet, Jean-Christophe Bouvet, Robert Cahen, Jean-Paul Fargier, Jean-Michel Gautreau, Catherine Ikam, Michel Jaffrenou, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Pierre Lobstein, Alain Longuet, Yves de Peretti, Patrick Prado, Ugolini, Teresa Wennberg, and others) (1 December 1983-31 January 1984). Bill Viola exhibition at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. For his first solo exhibit in Europe, the American artist shows two video sound installations: An Instrument of Simple Sensation and A Room for Saint John of the Cross, along with a selection of tapes from 1977 to 1983 (20 December 1983-29 January 1984). Great Britain Spain "Vanguardia y últimas tendencias" in Saragossa includes Eugènia Balcells, Pierre Lobstein, Joan Logue, Antoni Muntadas, and others, with video performances by Marshall Reese and Nora Ligorano. United States Thierry Kuntzel is represented in "Video Viewpoints" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (May). "Language, Drama, Source, and Vision" at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York includes Vito Acconci, William Wegman, and Lawrence Weiner, among others (8 October-27 November). John Sanborn creates the video opera Perfect Lives with writer Robert Ashley. 1984 Canada Denmark France d'action culturelle in Montbéliard (director, Pierre Bongiovanni). French video artists in competition include Roland Baladi, Elsa Cayo, Danielle Jaeggi, Michel Jaffrenou, and Agathe Labernia (13-18 March). Robert Filliou retrospective at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (October-December). Canal + goes on the air and becomes the first TV station to undertake regular video production through its "short programs" department (4 November). Nostos II, a nine-monitor video installation by Thierry Kuntzel, is produced and presented by the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris(16 November-24 December). Jean-Paul Fargier organizes a colloquim on "The New Fictions." Participants include Don Foresta and Woody Vasulka. France-United States Germany Alfred Biolek, a popular host on German television, invites Nam June Paik to build five large installations during his "Bei Bio" program (April). 1. Videonale Bonn, the city's first international art video festival, is organized by Dieter Daniels, Bärbel Moser, and Petra Unützer (September). Great Britain Netherlands Spain United States "Video Art, A History" organized by Barbara London at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. 1985 Belgium France "Les Immatériaux" is organized at the Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, in Paris and features, notably, La Desserte blanche by Thierry Kuntzel. Great Britain "The British Art Show," a traveling exhibition organized in Great Britain by the Arts Council, includes installations by Kevin Atherton and videotapes by Mick Hartney and Sandra Goldbacher, among others. "The New Pluralism," a selection of films and videos made between 1980 and 1985, curated by Michael O'Pary and Tina Keane at the Tate Gallery in London, includes British artists John Adams, Catherine Elwes, David Finch, Sandra Goldbacher, Tamara Krikorian, Margaret Warwick, Jeremy Welsh, Mark Wilcox, Graham Young, and others. Channel 4-TV broadcasts "The Eleventh Hour," a series of three programs produced by Triple Vision and directed by Terry Flaxton and Penny Dedman, with videos by Georges Barber, Ian Breakwell, the Duvet Brothers, Catherine Elwes, David Hall, Chris Rushton, Gorilla Tapes, Jeremy Welsh, and Graham Young and performances by Keven Atherton. Italy Netherlands Spain "Video Encounter" exhibition organized by the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, featuring video installations by Gabriel Fernández Corchero, Mary Eugenia Funes and Mareta Espinosa, Sento Bayarri, Maldonado and Os Iavados, and Paco Utray and Zaher Sufi. Switzerland 1986 France Third International Video and Television Festival organized by the Centre d'action culturel in Montbéliard (directed by Pierre Bongiovanni). Videotapes by Dominik Barbier, Alain Bourges, Christian Boustany, Robert Cahen, Paul Chamussy, Patrick de Geetere and Catherine Maes, Michael Gaumnitz, Pierre Lobstein, Claude Mourieras, and others (5-11 May). "Où va la vidéo, une réponse en 10 installations, 50 bandes et 3 rétrospectives", exhibition organized by Jean-Paul Fargier at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-les-Avignon during the Avignon Theater Festival. As the title indicates, it includes three retrospectives (Robert Cahen, Klaus Vom Bruch, and Bill Viola), ten installations (Alain Bourges, Jean-Michel Gautreau, Patrick de Geetere, Michel Jaffrenou, Thierry Kuntzel, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Ko Nakajima, Nam June Paik, Bill Viola), and a program of videotapes (Jean-Claude Riga and Klaus vom Bruch, prize-winners at the Montbéliard festival, along with productions by the INA, the Octet agency, and independent artists) (12 July-6 August). "Vidéo Plaisir", the first twice-monthly program addressing video creation for general audiences is directed by Jean-Louis Le Tacon and broadcast by France's encoded station Canal+ (autumn). Germany With support from Daniel Brücher, the Cologne publisher DuMont issues Axis, a videotape including twenty-one contributions (Bettina Gruber, Maria Vedder, etc.) accompanied by a book. This project is run by Vera Body, who thus continues the work of her husband, filmmaker Gabor Body (d. 1985). Great Britain Spain United States 1987 Video is the theme of the Steirischer Herbst in Graz. Young Austrian artists present their work in "Video of the 80s." Denmark Finland France The TV station Canal+ alternates two monthly video programs: "Vidéo Plaisir" and "Picnic TV" (May). "L'Epoque, la Mode, la Morale, la Passion" exhibition at the Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Video programming includes works by Robert Ashley and John Sanborn, Dara Birnbaum, Jonathan Borofsky and Gary Glassman, Stefaan Decostere and Chris Dercon, Ed Emshwiller, Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville, Dan Graham, Peter Greenaway, Gary Hill, Michael Klier, Thierry Kuntzel, Joan Logue, Meredith Monk, Jacques-Louis Nyst, Marcel Odenbach, Tony Oursler, Nam June Paik and Shigeko Kubota, Michael Smith, Bill Viola, William Wegman, and Robert Wilson (21 May-17 August). Jean-Luc Godard begins the video series Histoire(s) du cinéma. The first two parts are shown at the Cannes Film Festival the same year but only broadcast on Canal+ in 1989. A total of six chapters are completed by 1997, to which may be added Les enfants jouent à la Russie and Deux fois cinquante ans du cinéma français (1994). Germany Great Britain Spain Switzerland United States "The British Edge: Video: Rescanning" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston. Selection by Jeremy Walsh with works by Kevin Atherton, Catherine Elwes, Tina Keane, Culture Video, Graham Young, Marion Urch, and Steve Hawley. 1988 Denmark Beginning of TV2 on the model of Channel 4 in Great Britain: a television network with limited in-house production and a policy of buying outside programs and broadcasting and distributing videos. First Danish Film + Video Workshop Festival, organized by the Danish Film Workshop and to be held every two years. France Germany In conjunction with the Marcel Duchamp exhibit "Ubrigens sterben immer die Anderen. Marcel Duchamp und die Avantgarde seit 1950" at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, video programming includes Anemic Cinema and an interview with Duchamp by Russell Connor, Duchampmania by Shigeko Kubota, Merce by Merce by Paik by Nam June Paik, The Last Videotapes of Marcel Duchamp by John Sanborn and Kit Fitzgerald, and Through the Large Glass by Hannah Wilke. In conjunction with "Internationale Photoszene Köln" presented at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Circling, the first transmission of a video image by cable between Vancouver and Cologne. Artists participating: Birgit Antoni, Hank Bull, Douglas Davis, Delta Galerie, Karin Hazelwander, Infermental VIII, Mischa Kuball, Station Rose, Maria Vedder, Videolabyrinth, and Waterfront (5-11 November). Great Britain Edge 88, international festival of performance, installations, and videos, organized by Rob La Fresnais, is held in various venues in London with "The Observatory" vidéothèque by Jeremy Welsh, European video programming including Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Klaus Vom Bruch, and installations by Ulrike Rosenbach and Tina Keane. "Genlock," traveling video exhibition organized by Interim Art and LVA, presents videotapes commissioned from Kevin Atherton, Atalia Shaw and Cathy Acker, Stuart Marshall and Neil Bartlett, Isaac Julien and Julian Sommerville. Also includes a selection of videos by international artists and historical works around the themes of the monologue, the confessional, the self-portrait, the portrait, and the performance. Spain United States "Open Channels III" (curator Peter Kirby): a program of production funding initiated in 1985 by the Long Beach Museum. Participants include David Bunn, Paul Kos, Donna Matorin, Paul McCarthy, and Jim Shaw (24 January-28 February). 1989 Denmark Finland First MuuMediaFestival in Kuopio, on the initiative of the Muu group, devoted to video in Finland. In 1991 the festival will move to Helsinki. France "La Fée Electricité" at the ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris: two video sculptures (robots) by Nam June Paik, Cicero and Diderot, are presented in the gallery decroated with Raoul Dufy's fresco La Fée électricité (28 April-31 October). Chris Marker begins work on the Zapping Zone installation (some twenty tapes made between 1985 and 1990). The installation will be assembled in its first version in 1990 for the exhibition "Passages de l'image" at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Composed of thirteen video areas and seven computer areas, Zapping Zone is an open work that will be modified for each new presentation (1992, 1994, 1997, 1998). Germany "Video-Skulptur retrospektiv und aktuell 1963-1989," exhibition organized by the Kunstverein/DuMont-Kunsthalle in Cologne. Among the forty-five artists represented (sculptures, installations) are Shigeto Kubota, Thierry Kuntzel, Les Levine, Bruce Nauman, Marcel Odenbach, and Nam June Paik. Klaus vom Bruch does a live manipulation of images from a Russian TV program (March). Publication of Video-Skulptur retrospektiv und aktuel: 1963-1989 by Wulf Herzogenrath and Edith Decker. Great Britain "Video Positive," traveling exhibition (Tate Gallery in London, Blue Coat Gallery and Williamson Art Gallery in Liverpool) curated by Eddie Berg and Steve Littman. Includes video installations, performances, projections, and talks. The first national video wall is commissioned from Judith Goddard, Steve Littman, Kate Meynell, Steve Partridge, Simon Robetshaw, and Mike Jones. Installations commissioned from David Hall, Mineo Aayamaguchi, Zoe Redman, Chris Rowland, Marion Urch, and Jeremy Welsh. Japan |