Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A overview of an art form born over 35 years ago and now ubiquitous. It is divided into three sections: the first examines how certain artists have used the video camera as an extension of themselves; the second deals with the use of narrative; and the third with the hybridization of technology.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 7)
• Chapter 1 Shaping a History (p. 13)
• Chapter 2 Video and the Conceptual Body (p. 63)
• Chapter 3 Video and the New Narrative (p. 125)
• Chapter 4 Extensions (p. 167)
• Chapter 5 Global Groove to Fully Global (p. 213)
• Notes (p. 244)
• Select Bibliography (p. 244)
• Chronology (p. 245)
• List of Illustrations (p. 251)
• Acknowledgments (p. 254)
• Index (p. 254)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In this overview of a still relatively new art form, Rush (director, Palm Beach Inst. of Contemporary Art) asserts that video art emerged as an important medium just as artists embraced conceptual and performance-based art. The popularity of video art marked a shift within contemporary art toward ideas and away from an interest in any specific medium. A key strength of Rush's analysis is his explanation of the link among performance, conceptual art, and video. Rather than exploring the technical qualities of film, artists stage performances on film to communicate ideas. Rush organizes this history around three major themes: the use of video cameras as an extension of artists' own bodies, the time-based qualities of video making way for new kinds of stories, and the combination of video with electronic, digital media to form new hybrid installations. Illustrated with examples from some of the best-known artists in the field, this thematic approach provides a clear conceptual grid to the potentially confusing world of film-based art. A beautifully illustrated book that builds upon the author's earlier, more general scholarship in New Media in Late 20th-Century Art, this is suitable for specialized public library collections and academic libraries.-Katherine C. Adams, Bowdoin Coll. Lib., Brunswick, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The significance of video (and, more recently, digital video technologies) in the development of narrative film is widely known and well documented. Yet although video has also created nothing short of a revolution in the fine arts, few satisfying histories of video art exist. Rush?s comprehensive volume gamely attempts to fill that void. Engagingly written, exhaustively researched and filled with hundreds of images of video works and installations, the book combines a trenchant historical overview with a more focused thematic analysis. Though Rush acknowledges the obvious fact that the video art boom was sparked by the sudden availability of affordable, portable video equipment, he?s quick to place video in a less arbitrary cultural context. The genre, he points out, actually combines any number of disciplines and art-historical categories. In this way, video art is very much a medium of its time. From its early stages as a means of deconstructing television (typified by such early practitioners as Frank Gillette), to the more personal and political work of the ?giants? of the field (Vito Acconci, Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Bill Viola), to the bigger names of today (Pipilotti Rist, Pierre Huyghe, Matthew Barney), the usual suspects are brought sharply into focus. Rush?s real success, however, lies in his discovery of what others have overlooked: the obvious yet oft-ignored contributions of Andy Warhol, for example, or the groundbreaking video work of Jean-Luc Godard. An ideal introduction to the history of and the formal/theoretical considerations behind video art, Rush?s book shines a light on the tiny details that make up the genre?s big picture. 383 illustrations, 296 in color. (Nov. 24) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

CHOICE Review

Artists have always used cutting-edge technology as an avenue of self-expression. They often push the limits of technology beyond what developers had imagined, which works to change and enhance the development process. Video technology has been no different. Rush covers the development of video technology from the bulky Sony Portapak to film, photography, digital video, DVD, and computer art, incorporating in his discussion prominent artists (particularly women) and landmark installations from tiny alternative galleries to huge warehouse-sized presentations. The author masterfully chronicles the history of video art in all its forms, following the careers of the world's most prominent video artists, among them Bruce Nauman and Mary Lucier, from the early 1960s to 2003. Copiously illustrated and complete with notes, the book includes a particular noteworthy chronology of technical developments, artist installations, and innovations. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Collections supporting the study of video technology, art history, and performance art; lower-division undergraduates and above. R. Davis Kent State University