Western Art - Video Installation Art - Installation Goes the Technical Way!

The HistoryThe Artists
The birth of Video Installation Art, a combinationGary Hill (born 1951), Tony Oursler (born 1957),
of video technology and Installation Art, datesDoug Aitken (born 1968), Bill Viola (born 1951),
back to 1970s, the era of Video Art (1970s),Vito Acconci (born 1940), Gustavo Aguerre (born
which relied on motion pictures. Video Art, a1953), Kutlug Ataman (Turkish - born 1961),
tangent of Contemporary Art, comprises of videoMatthew Barney (Born 1967), Sylvie Belanger
and/or audio data. Video Art is named after the(Canadian - born 1951), and Nancy Buchanan (born
video tape, as it was commonly used then. Now1946) - all American except the ones specifically
however, CD-ROMs, Hard Disks, and DVDs havementioned.
replaced the video tapes. Korean-American artistThe Art Works
Nam June Paik (1932-2006) was the pioneer ofOne of the most famous video installation art
Video Installation Art. He used various televisionworks is the 'The Crossing' (1996) by Bill Viola,
monitors in arranging sculptures, and went on tointroducing a man consumed by flames on one
work with video walls & projectors, tohalf of a huge plasma screen, while he is shown
create large imperial environment.under a water shower in the other half. This art
was created to make us understand our 'self,'
Video Installation Art exploits all the features ofbeyond our body. As the body dies and vanishes,
its surrounding environment in order to influencea new self appears with a new consciousness.
its spectators. It has no actors, no dialogues, andGary Hill's 'Tall Ships' (1992) is another milestone in
no plots. Therefore, such artworks should not bethe field. One more notable video installation
mistaken as films. It is a kind of site-specific artexample is 'Electric Earth' (1999) by Doug Aitken.
and has a 3-dimensional design. The key elementHere the public is moved to an airport by night. It
of Video Installation Art is space, with thehas a flaming car and an abandoned shopping cart
creativity levels and forms being contingent onin a parallel world. A noiseless black rapper glides
the artists' concepts and aims. Such an installationthrough the setting of a city. Here, the world of
can be temporary or permanent, with its settingthe 20th century is described, while also retaining
in museums, galleries, and public & privatethe remains of an unknown civilization. The role of
places. Nurtured on electricity and darkness, theblack character tells the meeting of French
interactive art form employs everyday andexistentialists with America's big city world.
natural materials, combined with new media, likeConclusion
video, sound, performance, internet, paintings,With the proliferating use of digital technology on
sculptures, film, photographs, audience, andthe creative front, the popularity of video
computer.installation art is soaring!