Body, Sign and Double: a Parallel Analysis of Elaine Shemilt’s Doppelganger, Federica Marangoni’s The Box of Life and Sanja Ivekovic ́’s Instructions N°1 and Make up - Make down

Body, identity, self-representation, sexuality, stereotypical images of women portrayed by the society and the media, and the condition of female professional artists: these themes were expressed and developed in several early video works in the 70s and early 80s by women artists that didn’t have direct knowledge or contact between each other. This simultaneity of thematic is an unusual phenomenon that reveals common, contemporary sensibilities within both Europe and the USA

Approaches, Strategies and Theoretical and Practice-Based Research Methods to investigate and archive video art:Some reflections from the REWIND projects

This paper will discuss methodologies, approaches and issues, emerging out of three major research projects that have investigated early histories of video art in Europe: REWIND (2004 ongoing), REWINDItalia (2011-2014) and EWVA (2015-2018). The paper will discuss how the projects have engaged with the history of the apparatus, the identity and status of the artworks, preservation methods, and the legacy of these video artworks today. A particular focus will be on semi-structured questionnaires for interviews structured to capture oral histories, memories and recollections, that in some cases would have been otherwise lost to future knowledge and the uncovering of lost artworks and their available documentation. The speakers directly involved in the projects - will discuss solutions, risks and experiences encountered in the projects and future research perspectives for re-covering, collecting, archiving and narrating the histories of early video art in Europe. The paper will discuss also different practice-based research methods, platforms and engagement strategies, including re-installation and re-enactment