Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image (2.0)

Media - 2007.33.18 - SAAM-2007.33.18_1 - 79820

Nancy Holt, Robert Smithson, Swamp, 1971, 6 minutes, color, sound

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has assembled a collection of video and time-based artwork that examines the history as well as latest developments in the art of the moving image. A permanent collection gallery dedicated to media arts, located on the museum’s third floor, extends the range of contemporary art on display and allows for the presentation of the full range of media art practices. A goal of these installations is to recognize the importance of the moving image in the history of twentieth-century art.

Description

This installation of Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image, the second in the series, features artworks that have transformed video into a contemporary art practice. Single-channel videotapes are presented alongside files that have been transferred to digital formats and are projected in the gallery. Pioneering video art and key examples of American avant-garde cinema are represented, as well as recent digital media installations. These artworks illustrate the multiple media technologies that artists have engaged with since the 1960s.

The eight featured artworks are: Peter Campus, Barn at North Fork (2010) and Three Transitions(1973); Ernie Gehr, Surveillance (2010); David Haxton, Painting Room Lights (1980); Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, Swamp (1971); Joan Jonas, Vertical Roll (1972); Bruce Nauman, Slow Angle Walk (Beckett Walk) (1968); and Steina Vasulka and Woody Vasulka, Reminiscence from Selected Works I (1974). John G. Hanhardt, senior curator of film and media arts, selected the works. All of the featured artworks were acquired recently for the museum’s permanent collection.

Dedicating a permanent collection gallery to time-based art is an important aspect of the media arts initiative at the museum, which includes acquisitions, exhibitions, educational programs, and archival research resources related to film, video, and the media arts.

Visiting Information

March 15, 2012 – April 13, 2013
Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m
Free Admission

Credit

The James F. Dicke Family Endowment generously supported Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image.

Online Gallery

Peter Campus, Barn at North Fork, 2010, high-definition digital video, color, sound; 24:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.55.1, © 2010, Peter Campus
Barn at North Fork
Artist
Date2010
high-definition digital video, color, sound; 24:00 minutes
Not on view
Peter Campus, Three Transitions, 1973, single-channel video, color, sound; 04:53 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.12, © 1973, Peter Campus. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Three Transitions
Artist
Date1973
single-channel video, color, sound; 04:53 minutes
Not on view
Ernie Gehr, Surveillance, 2010, four-channel video installation, color, silent; 17:32 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.8.1, © 2010, Ernie Gehr
Surveillance
Artist
Date2010
four-channel video installation, color, silent; 17:32 minutes
Not on view
David Haxton, Painting Room Lights, from Sixteen Films, 1981, 16mm film on digital video, color, silent; 10:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2014.50.1.15, © 1981, David Haxton
Painting Room Lights, from Sixteen Films
Artist
Date1981
16mm film on digital video, color, silent; 10:00 minutes
Not on view
Nancy Holt, Robert Smithson, Swamp, 1971, 6 minutes, color, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.18, © 1971 The Holt/Smithson Foundation. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Swamp
Artist
Date1971
6 minutes, color, sound
Not on view
Joan Jonas, Vertical Roll, 1972, 19:38 minutes, black & white, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.19, © 2020 Joan Jonas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels
Vertical Roll
Artist
Date1972
19:38 minutes, black & white, sound
Not on view
Bruce Nauman, Slow Angle Walk (Beckett Walk), 1968, 60 minutes, black & white, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2008.21.2, © 1968, Bruce Nauman. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Slow Angle Walk (Beckett Walk)
Artist
Date1968
60 minutes, black & white, sound
Not on view
Steina Vasulka, Woody Vasulka, Reminiscence from Selected Works I, 1974, 4:48 minutes, color, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2008.21.13.2, © 1974 Steina Vasulka. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Reminiscence from Selected Works I
Artist
Date1974
4:48 minutes, color, sound
Not on view

Artists

Peter Campus
born New York City 1937
Ernie Gehr
born 1941
David Haxton
born Indianapolis, IN 1943
Nancy Holt
born Worcester, MA 1938-died New York City 2014
Image Not Available
Joan Jonas
born New York City 1936
Bruce Nauman
born Fort Wayne, IN 1941
Robert Smithson
born Passaic, NJ 1938-died Amarillo, TX 1973
Steina Vasulka
born Reykjavik, Iceland 1940
Image Not Available
Woody Vasulka
born Brno, Czechoslovakia 1937-died Santa Fe, NM 2019