Response to: Michael Rush's Video Art

One particular section of Michael Rush’s Video Art, Introduction that caught my attention was the idea of interactivity. In many older forms of art there is the idea of observing or as Rush puts it “visiting”. Through the new medium of video, the art is not only created by the artist but also “participated” in by the audience. 

This idea of participation creates a unique connection between both the artist and participant and the participant and space. Unlike other arts, video provides the audience with a moving connection with the artist. This motion can transmit a variety messages that would be difficult to achieve through other means. Rush mentions how Doug Aitken’s electric earth had “a large digital clock with its numbers racing through time.” The idea of the numbers racing through time could be represented through other mediums; however, by using video, Aitken was able to literally show the numbers as they raced through physical time. Video also allows the audience to explore spaces that may not be reachable to everyone or anyone and breaks boundaries in that regard.

Rush concludes the introduction by saying that “we live in a time when ideas - and not specific media - are central to artists.” Video art can capture many different types of media and therefore provides a more powerful tool for artists. This idea that video art is of great significance currently is something of an understatement considering the means by which most people consume their leisure time. For artists to reach their audience, they must present their work in a manner both easily attainable and consumable for modern society and video art certainly lands itself at the top of the list.