When first exposed to, say, the work of a Chinese performance artist named Zhang Huan, who explores exploitation and oppression via physical endurance tests, a collector might be forgiven for an initial sense of repulsion. Slowly though, the subtle beauty of Zhang’s images, reminiscent of Eugene Delacroix’s twisting animals that are simultaneously grotesque and lovely, draws one in, as does the quiet strength of the artist. But not all media art aims to repel. An installation and video work called Without (2001) by Amy Jenkins, completely immerses the viewer in a dreamscape. The work – an immense pale blue sky with wispy clouds – is projected on the gallery’s ceiling while large pillows lay scattered over the floor for visitors. Lying on the floor, focused on the sky above as human figures drift by and muffled voices hold conversations just beyond reach creates an entirely different experience than if the work had been projected more traditionally on the wall, or viewed on a small monitor.
“12 Square Meters” by Zhang Huan
Picture: Courtesy of the Artist
New media art is meant to be new, and different. Like the concept of lying on our backs on the floor to fully experience a work of art, it changes everything about our relationship to art; how we make it, how we view it, how we collect it, and how we preserve it. In recent years the world’s appetite for new media art has grown in tandem with the number of collectors in this stimulating medium. There are now galleries such as Postmasters, Bitforms and Bryce Wolkowitz, devoted to new media art. Internet galleries are flourishing alongside not-for-profit web organizations including Video Data Bank, The Kitchen, and rhizome.org. New media has come to be an integral part of international art fairs. Museums continue to show and collect works, while art schools have professors dedicated to the discipline. As artists incorporate cutting edge technology into installation, performance, and mixed media art, new media promises to become entwined with private collecting.
“Without”
Sequence from “Without” (2001) by Amy Jenkins
Picture: Courtesy Kustera Tilton Gallery, New York.
Collectors have about forty years of work from which to select. New media art emerged from the traditions of film and performance art in the 1960s. The introduction of television and portable recording cameras enabled artists such as Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, and Bill Viola to explore ideas relating to “real time” fluidity, transformation and interaction. These ideas were better explored in time-based media than in traditional media such as painting and sculpture. With video art, images can be edited into a narrative (linear or disjointed) that lasts for a particular amount of time. Images can be diced and spliced, faded into view and out, and combined with sound and light in a manner that provokes thought and questions accepted ideas Time-based art is usually designed for a museum or gallery setting (vs. a movie theater) and works can run from 3 to 30 minutes. In a world where the average person spends 3 seconds in front of a work of art, new media art often requires a different kind of attention than an oil painting
Because of its unique qualities and the increase of accessibility thanks to digital technology, new media art increased in popularity during the mid-1990s. It is not isolated to video but encompasses all sorts of technology including sound, light and interactive, computer-generated imagery. Often utilized by conceptual artists, these media are frequently integrated into a performance or an installation, and as exciting as new media is, it is also confusing for collectors and not-for-profit institutions. In a genre so reliant on machinery, what happens when an object becomes obsolete? Is the work of art still authentic and valuable if it is not shown on the original monitor, or if it is copied from Beta to a DVD? How are these objects to be conserved in the future?
Bill Viola, who began working with video in 1970, recently illustrated the issue in an essay for the Getty Conservation Institute. In 1998, Viola was asked to organize a retrospective of his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He later wrote, “[I] realized with horror that some of the pieces I produced less than twenty years ago were no longer playable in their original form. The tape on which they were recorded had deteriorated beyond repair. Most were made on formats that are no longer being manufactured.”
Fortunately, contemporary artists have recognized this concern, and many offer solutions alongside their work. Artists now provide installation instructions or equipment specifications. Video and installation artist Tony Oursler has added information to his website so the type of projectors and bulbs used in the equipment along with the service telephone numbers for Sony are listed. Art dealers and galleries give similar support with some offering to make back-up copies or find additional equipment for collectors. Likewise, a gallery might be able to offer advice on finding a conservator. For older works, a conservator may be able to assist in transferring the piece onto newer technology like a VHS to a DVD. Conservators, however, continue to develop ways to address the unique challenges of new media art and its rapidly changing technology.
Like conceptual art in the past, many new media works are intangible. The work is sometimes an idea, or a software code or sound. It can be uncomfortable for collectors to buy, for example, a collection of light and sound rather than a traditional painting or sculpture. To ease this trepidation, it is important to get as much information as possible from the artist and dealer when buying art. Many works are sold in editions like prints or photographs. Collectors can ask for a letter of authenticity or an artist’s signature on the work’s hardware. For example, a video by Pipilotti Rist sold recently at Christie’s contemporary art sale. Entitled My Boy, My Horse, My Dog, this work, which was the third in an edition of three, included video projection, VHS player, slide projection, and audio system. With an initial estimate of $27,000 - $37,000, the piece sold for $40,000 with premium.
The market for new media art, while growing, is still an affordable place for buying original work. Over the last few years, the contemporary art market has appreciated. Interest and buying remain steady with auction houses showing new records for many artists. A recent auction of Bill Viola’s Mater, a diptych of hinged LCD panels showing two women in conversation recently sold for over $200,000 at auction. Other established artists can demand similar prices. In comparison to an impressionist painting, however, contemporary and new media art are an accessible genre where work by emerging artists can retail for a few hundred dollars to around $15,000.
When pondering new media art as a commodity, it is clear that the genre is appreciating, but, as with all art, unpredictable. Most contemporary art collectors will tell you that the decision to buy is a personal one – not a financial one. Like other genres, there are perceivable market trends and expert opinions in new media art, but the final decision rests on the collector’s passion for the artist’s work and the desire to bring that art into the home.
New media art appears to be here to stay, and with technological advances it will be fascinating to watch it evolve. It offers a chance to collect work that utilizes the same materials we use everyday – computers, televisions, Ipods – recombined with artistic energy and vision. By taking the media that is often used to sedate (via TV sitcoms and action adventure movies) and kidnapping it to posit and question a variety of ideas, artists have the tools to turn culture on its ear. And, never an “easy” medium, it should also give conservators and collectors food for thought for years to come.
