Video Art
Pipilotti Rist
Pipilotti Rist (born Elisabeth Charlotte Rist in 1962 in Grabs, Switzerland) is a pioneering Swiss visual and video artist whose groundbreaking work in experimental video and immersive installations has been influential since the mid-1980s and continues today. Rist began making art videos and films while studying art and design in Vienna and Basel in the early 1980s, and by the late 1980s she was already exhibiting internationally, with major recognition coming throughout the 1990s with works such as Ever Is Over All (1997) and Sip My Ocean (1996). Her work — vibrant, surreal, and deeply sensory — blends color, sound, and space to explore the body, emotion, gender, and perception, inviting viewers into environments that transform traditional gallery experiences. Rist remains an active and influential figure in contemporary art, with exhibitions and new projects continuing into the 2020s.
Works:
- I'm Not the Girl Who Misses Much link
- Ever Is Over All link
- Pipilotti Rist - Ever is Over All, 1997 - YouTube link
- Pipilotti Rist; 'Sip my Ocean' - YouTube link
- Pipilotti Rist - Ever Is Over All (excerpt) - YouTube link
More info:
- youtube: Meet the trailblazing visual artist Pipilotti Rist (2:35 min)
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1vZgXYioTs
Bill Viola
Bill Viola is a pioneering American video artist whose career, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing today, explores the depths of human experience, including life, death, and consciousness. Known for his immersive video installations, Viola uses slow motion, sound, and light to create profoundly emotional and meditative experiences that draw viewers into a heightened awareness of the present moment. His works, such as The Crossing (1996), where a figure is engulfed by fire and water, and The Reflecting Pool (1977–79), which plays with perception and time, exemplify his ability to bridge technology and spirituality, inviting audiences to reflect on themes of birth, transformation, and the passage of time.
Works:
More Info:
- Bill Viola home page link
- Bill Viola Wikipedia link
- Bill Viola Interview: Cameras are Keepers of the Souls - YouTube link
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik (1932–2006) was a pioneering Korean-American artist and a central figure in the development of video art. In the 1960s, he began experimenting with televisions and video cameras, creating playful and provocative works that blurred art, music, and technology. Notable pieces include TV Buddha (1974), where a Buddha watches its own image on a live video screen, and Electronic Superhighway (1995), a vibrant, immersive installation mapping the United States with neon and video screens. Paik’s inventive approach reshaped how artists think about media and continues to inspire experimentation today.
Works:
- Nam June Paik: Electronic Superhighway - YouTube link
- Nam June Paik - Global Groove, 1973 - YouTube link
- Nam June Paik, "Art in Process" featuring Joseph Beuys video performance, Gagosian gallery NYC 2022 - YouTube link
More Info: