Organized by Hanne Mugaas

Art in General’s 10th Video Marathon explores the current state of video art, situated in-between institutionalized ‘Video Art’ and the work emerging from the flow and dynamism of the Internet. Taking the title of Haskell Wexler’s film of 1969, which suggested a critique of Marshall McLuhan’s distinction between ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ media, Medium Cool suggests that video is an idea rather than a technology – as an umbrella term for a particular set of practices, it promises democracy while at the same time threatening to reduce images to information. Through screenings, lectures, and a dedicated website, the Marathon looks at a range of video practices, including early experiments within the media itself, while dealing with issues of video distribution and copyright, the making of (art) history and legacy through moving images, and the general impact of technology on contemporary culture.

In keeping with this tenth anniversary of the Video Marathon, the screening Transitional Objects, curated by Thomas Beard, looks back on the past decade of electronic art as a way of thinking about a medium that has remained in flux—politically, aesthetically, and technologically—since its inception, while Artist Looking at the Camera, curated by Hanne Mugaas and Fabienne Stephan, includes the work of artists who use the medium to explore the creation and distribution of facts and history. The Marathon opens on Thursday 10th January with a lecture by Ed Halter, and ends on Saturday 12th with Art Since 1960 (According to the Internet) an event by Hanne Mugaas and Cory Arcangel, and Flipped Chips, an event curated by the artist collaborative LoVid.