Burris, Jon

Did the Portapak Cause Video Art? Notes on the Formation of a New Medium Bibliography

Survey of video art’s formation (1965–c.1977) arguing that its rise cannot be ascribed solely to the 1968 portapak; institutional uptake (Whitney Biennial 1973; MoMA Open Circuits Jan 1974) and a rapid proliferation of genres occurred in 1968–1972. The essay examines practitioners and technologies — including Woody and Steina Vasulka (video feedback; Didactic Video 1975), Steve Beck (synthesizers), Frank Gillette (Wipe Cycle 1969; Track/Trace 1973) and Paul Ryan (Earthscore; NYSCA support 1971–75) — to contrast intensive (materialist) and extensive (ecological/activist) strategies. It concludes that both technological primitives and ecological/communicative aims jointly shaped video’s early aesthetics before a shift toward normalization by c.1977–78.

The Power of the Purse: Public Funding and the Aesthetics of Video. In At Arm's Length: (Taking a Good Hard Look at) Artists' Video. (Osborn) which see Bibliography