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Helen de Witt
Melting Media: Artists' Moving
Image and the Digital Dream.
Artists have always been highly concerned about
the viewing situations of their work. Indeed, exhibition conditions can
radically effect the reception and significance of the work itself. For artists
working in the moving-image the issue has always been more complex and more
pressing than for those working in plastic or performing arts. This is because
of the apparatus required in order for the work to be screened. New digital
technologies however, erase the distinction between the work itself and the
technology required for it to be delivered. As a result of this, we are moving
into a situation where distribution and exhibition collapse into each other;
thus leaving the viewer in a more powerful position in terms of the way the work
is experienced. Using specific examples of recent British artists' moving-image
work, this paper investigates the implications of digital delivery systems for
artist, distributor, exhibitor and viewer.
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