Diffusion via Video

In contrast to the video pioneers of the early 1960s subsequent generations have grown up with daily soaps, serious news broadcasts and fantasy figures from Disneyland. Small wonder that today’s TV generation demands a new language from the medium. The over 17 works in the exhibition examine the creative potential that TV and cinema images can develop if they are not consumed passively but interpreted imaginatively. The artists are all in their mid-thirties and from French language speaking countries, which are justifiably renowned as the most innovative in video. This is confirmed by the collection of the Fonds national d’art contemporain, which owns the works on display. The Fonds national d’art contemporain [FNAC] has been answerable since 1981 to the Delegation aux arts plastiques [DAP] and is responsible for acquiring major works by contemporary artists on behalf of the French government. So far some 80,000 works have been collected. Occupying a special place is the video collection of over 200 installations and video tapes, which include many works by French artists. While thematic video works have been systematically included in the collection since 1972, their numbers increased noticeably in the 1990s. One of FNAC’s main tasks apart from its purchasing, lending and documentary activities is the organisation of exhibitions at home and abroad, such as the present cooperation with the ZKM, which provides an opportunity for the collection to be presented outside France. Curated by Jean-Marc Prevost, Inspecteur de la création artistique, Délégation aux Arts plastiques, Ministère de la Culture and FNAC.