In Motion. Video Art and Its Political and Social Dimensions. From VALIE EXPORT to Martha Rosler

Since its invention in the late 1960s, video has evolved into a medium of art whose relevance is virtually unrivaled today. Between mass-media image production and experimental counterculture, it has emerged as a fascinating mirror reflecting a changing world’s political and social dimensions. Showcasing major bodies of work by artists including VALIE EXPORT, Harun Farocki, Elke Krystufek, Bruce Nauman, Martha Rosler, and Heimo Zobernig, the exhibition sheds light on the political urgencies that have kept and still keep video art in motion.

The presentation turns the spotlight on the collections preserved at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg—the Generali Foundation Collection, the Austrian Federal Photography Collection, and the museum’s own holdings. Taken together, they have around five hundred works on video, one of the largest and most significant bodies of historic and recent video art. These collections allow for singular insights into the multifaceted nature and relevance of video art as an expression of developments in society and media technology.

With works by Vito Acconci, John Baldessari, Lynda Benglis, Danica Dakić, Lili Dujourie, VALIE EXPORT, Harun Farocki, Andrea Fraser, Dan Graham, Sanja Iveković, Elke Krystufek, Dorit Margreiter, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler, Mathias Poledna, Martha Rosler, Kara Walker, Peter Weibel, Heimo Zobernig, and others