Discussion
- Become a Member
- Manage Account
- Shop
- Podcast
- News
- Reviews
- Events
- Opinion
- Interviews
- Comics
- Essays
- Poetry
- Photo Essays
- Weekend
Articles
5 Old-School NYC Video Artists You Should Know (and Follow)
Popular
- It’s Time to End the 9/11 Tribute in Light
- SCROTUS: An Artist Created a Giant Portrait of Trump Using Vintage Dildos
- Feminists Take Over Federal Building in Mexico City and Use Painting as a Weapon
- A Museum Sells a Prized Pollock to Acquire Art by Underrepresented Artists
- The Noguchi Museum Can Exist Without Visitors
Sponsored
- Boston University Reveals Speakers for Fall 2020’s Virtual Tuesday Night Lecture Series
- Frost Art Museum Presents an Online Panel With the Artists and Curators of Otros Lados
- University of Houston School of Art Spotlights Bold Voices in Contemporary Art, Design, and Criticism
- Stamps School of Art & Design Opens MFA in Fine Art Applications for Fall 2021
- Wrightwood 659 Reopens With Balkrishna Doshi Exhibition
- The School of Visual Arts Division of Continuing Education (SVACE) Presents Art & Activism: Nourishing Conscious Communities
Most written accounts of the origins of video art trace the medium back to the Sony Portapak, the first affordable, battery-powered, portable video-recording device that could be operated by a single individual. The resulting democratization of video was quickly seen as having radical potential. Artists could challenge the rising influence of broadcast media. All of a sudden, the barriers to working in this time-based medium were removed.
Looking at the work of a few pioneers, specifically those on the scene in New York City, it’s obvious that technology was a catalyst for a new type of electronic art; these artists were trailblazers in both fields. And this remains true of their current work, 37 years after the first Portapak hit the market.
Here, then, are five old-school NYC video artists whose work you should know about and (still) be following.