New American Video Art : A Historical Survey, 1967-1980

Hanhardt presents a chronological survey of video art from the 1960s through to the 1980s. He points out the most common features of early video, emphasizing the medium's potential for creating a new aesthetic discourse

Dark Rooms

Noting pre-and proto-cinematic devices and early film work, Hanhardt foregrounds the recent critical examination of the film apparatus in relation to the viewer and describes the engagement of installations by nine American and Canadian artists with these ideas

Frank Gillette

Hanhardt analyses Gillette's video installation and points out different techniques and the use of metaphors of plants and animals. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 5 bibl. ref

Rita Myers

Focusing on the installation "The Allure of the Concentric", Hanhardt describes how Myers combines video images, natural materials, and dramatic architectural motifs to evoke the enduring legacy of ancient archetypes. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 10 bibl. ref

Joan Jonas

Hanhardt considers how Jonas's video installation translates mythologies of popular culture and mass media into a new narrative form. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 6 bibl. ref

Roger Welch

Hanhardt briefly examines the implications of symbols such as the Cadillac car or the drive-in movie screen in a film installation by Welch. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 11 bibl. ref

Dara Birnbaum

Hanhardt begins by describing how Birnbaum's video "Technology/Transformation" provides a formal and ideological investigation of commercial television. He then considers her video installation "PM Magazine", emphasizing how it explores the hidden attitudes towards women found within the broadcast medium. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 7 bibl. ref

Margia Kramer

Hanhardt describes Kramer's video installation "Progress (Memory)", focusing on its critical exploration of video culture's relationship to television and other information-processing technologies. Artist's statement. Biographical notes. 8 bibl. ref