For the last ten years New York City's Art in General has been host to an annual Video Marathon - a weekend-long intensive look at the state of video art. The next in a line of guest curators to produce the event, Norwegian independent curator Hanne Mugaas has been chosen to organize this year's 10th Year Anniversary edition. Mugaas' inclusive approach to video, which extends beyond the confines of tape and dvd, is indicative of a new generation of curators identified by artist Olia Lialina in her essay "Flat Against the Wall" (2007) as those who "studied JODI at University". (JODI being the seminal computer art collective who emerged in the mid-90s.) As such, the Marathon frames video as an ideology and process that cover a selection of practices, including work on the web. Over the weekend, Art In General's galleries will host ongoing exhibitions, as well as screenings and lectures. The first exhibition, Artist Looking at the Camera, curated by Mugaas and Fabienne Stephan, is an examination of video as a conceptual forum for the production and distribution of facts and history. The second exhibition, Transitional Objects, curated by Thomas Beard, considers the fluidity of electronic art within political, aesthetic, and technological realms over the last decade. Critic Ed Halter's lecture Regarding Jeff's People takes Jeff Krulik's cult documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986) as an entry point into a discussion of public access television, underground VHS bootlegging, and the formation of subjectivity within fan culture. Mugaas and artist Cory Arcangel will present their performance/lecture Art Since 1960 (According to the Internet), which pieces together the past 48 years of art history through its fragmented representation on the web. And in a performance entitled Flipped Chips, artist collective Lovid, whose live shows involve manipulating audio and video, will frame their own work within that of video art pioneers, such as Dan Sandin, Nam June Paik, Steina and Woody Vasulka, who created image processors long before Apple made solarizing easy for the rest of us to do. The Marathon begins January 10th--see the website for details. - Caitlin Jones
Ida Ekblad, National Treasure, 2007