Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies

Exploring the powerful resonances between recent video art and popular music, the exhibition Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies features ten leading contemporary artists and their work. Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), the exhibition pairs recently acquired video works by ADÁL, Raven Chacon, Mariam Ghani, Martine Gutierrez, Arthur Jafa, Erin Ellen Kelly, Christine Sun Kim, Liz Magic Laser, Simone Leigh, and Cauleen Smith with related photographs, sculptures, prints, and immersive installations by the same creators.

In this accompanying catalogue, time-based media curator Saisha Grayson explores how these artists employ the strategies of musical creation, including its styles, structures, and lyrics to speak to personal as well as shared aspects of American life. A closing essay connects this current generation of video artists to a century of musically informed moving-image artwork, illustrated through key works from SAAM’s historically expansive time-based media collection. In addition to illustrating exhibition artwork, the screen-reader-accessible digital publication links to select media excerpts and current artist biographies on SAAM’s website.