Video art (X Media forum)

[Мунк]

In March we had a spontaneous conversation about video-arte. After attending shows and debates X Media forum, held under XXXI MIFF I wanted to return to the topic and then sounded on Fross:

Not really still understand where are the video-art. Film tells a story photo tools (video-art is a short film?), Cartoons tell the story of pictorial means (video art is a cartoon without a history? "), Commercials and video flash series of products (video-art could make these Commercials not shirpotrebnymi?)

I can not determine the purpose of video art, is it simply in order not to idle blank screen?

It turns out that the question "What is video art?" Remains open so far, even though this art is "about fifty". At the round table on media forum Kirill Razlogov said that the axiomatic definition arise when something is already so firmly established that passed into history. And while the art is going through the stage of formation and development, its definitions are under development. As far as I understood from listening to all the faithful authoritative opinions expressed in the media forum, to date, clearly only the following:
- Video art - this is another form of art (form of expression of artists)
- "Popes" of video art are not cinema and photography, and performance 60-ies and television
- Now in its short history it has already grown to the point where the steel are not as important tools and technologies, as identity itself as art. In this concept every creator and critic of video art puts something of themselves, but all agree, than the product of video art not: He - no narration (not telling the story), and he -- not for promotion (advertising).

I quote an excerpt from an interview taken from Irina Kulik guru of video art at the forum (unfortunately I do not remember the link itself to the internet).

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although the name of a wild ...
"Media Forum" in the program of the Moscow Film Festival
Alexander Panov
Irina Kulik
Photo by Valery Ledeneva

For the tenth time in the official program of the Moscow International Film Festival was part of the most extravagant of his project - "Media Forum", traditionally organized by the Center for Culture and Art "MediaArtLab. His slogan - "More than just a cinema ..." Theme - avant-garde kinoeksperimenty, video art, performances with the use of new technologies. Traditionally held an international competition video works, which apply for artists from more than 20 countries. Hits Out of competition this year - the exhibition-installation of the six screens "to the east of the village of Que ..." about the hard life of the Chinese heartland of the famous Shanghai artist Yang Fudonga at the Museum of Architecture and Russia's premier full version of his movie "Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest" at Cinema Center, the world premiere of "drops" (decadent story of a dying cellist, inspired prose of Fyodor Sologub) team of the Nizhny Novgorod "PROVMYZA, represents Russia at the 51 th Venice Biennale, at the Center of Contemporary Culture" Garage "and" Night of festivals "in the cinema" Art ", a" Forum "opened. Retrospective of works from the best international video art festivals lasted from ten in the evening until seven in the morning - and the hall was full to the very end. Marveled at the success of such an elitist, in fact, the arts, we decided to look into the phenomenon of video art, talking with the spiritual leader of the Media Forum, its art director and curator, as well as celebrity guests. As a result, questions have accumulated even more ...
Kirill Razlogov, Cinematography, Director of the Institute for Cultural Research, a program director of the Moscow Film Festival: Definition of video art often depends on the will of the author
- What is video art? A new genre in art?
- Video art - it is not a separate genre, and technology. This is art that uses the film to produce and screen for the demonstration. Now there is also media art, net art. It's all sokupnost Arts, carried by the screen - the film screen, television screen, computer display. And all this is distributed over a variety of genres. In the feature film or a TV movie, too, because there are different genres. But video art - part of the visual arts, which may take any form today and use any technology. Since this is a very lively area and then the classification is not rigid, changeable, contingent. This applies to video art. Examining a given work as a game or a documentary or as a work of video art often depends on the will of the author. I'm not saying that loom ahead of virtual reality, new technologies, the Internet - and here it can get lost in the general classifications. I can tell you one thing: video art comes in contact with film, largely depends on him, but at the same time and he has a strong influence on contemporary cinema. Because the Media Forum "and is included in the official program of our film festival.
Olga Shishko, art historian, curator, director of the Center for Culture and Art MediaArtLab, art director of the Media Forum ": goes out of joint video art and modern art
- And yet again - what is video art? Movies? Modern art? Or something highly specific?
- I have several years of lectures on this subject in various places. And each time, ready for action, ask yourself this very question. What is it - media art, art, new technologies, communicative arts? At the crossroads of contemporary art and new technologies are born innovative things that are in the 60 - 70-ies was strongly influenced by television, but in recent years, affect the cinema. Terminology changes all the time. Video art emerged when artists just picked up the camera, but the founding fathers of this art, such as Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, in his memoirs wrote that they were immediately stopped perceived as artists. And now again lost joint video art and modern art (although for me it is, without doubt, modern art): videoart a great burden for the cinema, many artists began to participate meaningfully in film festivals. Many people use the aesthetics of cinema, but in a different way - more coded, more intellectual, makes the viewer to think differently.
- There are examples where the artists take off a full-fledged full-length movies, such as Julian Schnabel ...
- Are there examples of when professional filmmakers come to the Venice Biennale, and perfectly exhibited there. So? This movement of contemporary thought, contemporary culture, and where it will lead, I really do not know, given that the film screen and ceases to exist, the reality is virtualized. At the exhibitions of contemporary art emerging interactive installation, where he manages the viewer, as if to withdraw his film. "Media Forum" is simply not enough money to show such works.
YOUNG FUDONG, artist: Video art - an expression of personal experiences
- Why did you call your movie "Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest"?
- This is a very famous Chinese story relating to the III century - then seven very well-known and high-level philosophers and poets of the court away from the hustle, alone in the estate of his friend, poet, musician and a free-thinker, to conduct interviews, engage in music and poetry. These are the people who sought absolute inner freedom, they could, for example, go a long way to visit a friend - and turn around, not reaching the two steps to his door because they knew that their journey has come to pass, regardless of whether achieved whether the purpose of travel. My seven characters - certainly not wise, it is very young people in search of his future, which so far seems very vague.
- What are all the same distinction between video art and cinema, if not essential medium and method of display?
- Video art allows the artist to talk about some of their deeply personal experiences, express their outlook and worldview. Used to produce big movies were very expensive, and therefore video art was mostly shorts, but now have the opportunity to shoot at the numbers and do the job full-length format. For the film-expression of the artist - this is not the main task simply because it is industry, which involved too many people, and it is also designed for mass audience.

In general, I am sure that the video-art - this, of course, something more than just filling the screen. We just watch. Someone watched shows John Fundonga, Jasper and Just Yves Sussman?