Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Dundee
Broadcast Yourself : Artists' interventions into television and strategies for self-broadcasting from the 1960s to today
The research questioned artistic strategies for self-presentation using broadcast media, including television and the web. An invited conference presentation (Video Vortex) and (3300 words) book chapter include findings of the art historical research, which was integrated into the curated exhibition. The exhibition (Hatton Gallery, University of Newcastle, Feb 28 - April 5 2008; Cornerhouse, Manchester, June 13 - August 10, 2008) was co-curated with Huffman as the centerpiece for ‘AV Festival 2008: Broadcast’ to explore the festival theme through important contemporary and historical artworks. It included work by more than 25 international and UK artists, including 8 installations, 5 single-channel works, 3 web-works and 2 newly curated commissions from artists including Shaina Anand, Active Ingredient, Miranda July, Doug Hall and Chip Lord, Bill Viola, Chris Burden, VGTV, Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie and others. Initiated by Audio Visual Arts North East and funded by Arts Council England touring programme, the exhibition engaged new audiences in the North and online. Physical audiences to the galleries: 10,000+; Website audiences: 80,000+; Educational events: 30. The exhibition was reviewed in Art Monthly and Mute Magazines, in local newspapers including the Metro and Manchester Confidential (four stars) and online.
The exhibition was researched, produced and built on curatorial experience over many years, demonstrating continued engagement with the work of others in the field. The associated publication (“VIDEO VORTEX Reader, Responses to YouTube”. Lovink, G. & Niederer, S. (eds.). Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures. 2008), was the first collection of critical texts to deal with the world of online video. Cook’s chapter: “The Work of Art in the Age of Ubiquitous Narrowcasting?” (pp. 173-180). The exhibition is widely cited including in TV Museum: Contemporary Art and the Age of Television, Ed. Maeve Connolly, (Intellect Books and University of Chicago Press, 2014).