Video art began in the early 1960s, when consumer video recording technology first became available. The ability to record a moving image and immediately play it back was key to many of the seminal works of video art, such as Nam June Paik's recording of Pope Paul VI's procession through New York City in 1965 and Andy Warhol's filmed performance art happenings. As the years have made video technology more sophisticated and more accessible, video art has evolved into a fine art form with worldwide audiences and critical distinction.
Video art can take many forms. Some works are shot and edited just like narrative films. Other projects incorporate live, real-time video streams. Images may be scripted and staged for the camera or shot as slices of life. Imagery may be abstract or concrete. Some video art exhibitions involve a single video image, but many incorporate more than one stream of imagery, and may take advantage of several screens. Video artists often project images onto non-traditional surfaces and incorporate other art forms such as painting, sculpture, music and performance.
Leading figures in the world of video art include Bill Viola, whose "Buried Secrets" was included in the 46th Venice Biennale, and Gary Hill, whose video installations have been exhibited worldwide. Jenny Holzer is known for incorporating text into her video works, which have been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum. Matthew Barney's epic "The Cremaster Cycle," also exhibited at the Guggenheim, incorporated five feature films along with sculpture, photography, drawings and books.
Although video art is classified as a visual art form, critics have speculated that video art extends the artistic experience of a painting or photograph both in time and in space. Single-channel pieces, which involve only one video stream, extend the visual experience of the viewer temporally. Video installations create unique environments for an audience, incorporating multiple monitors and architectural elements to force audiences to consider their physical relationship to the imagery.
The development of popular video sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo is facilitating the development of video art into a popular art form. Video art classics are now accessible to the general public, outside of the gallery space. At the same time, the average person now has the tools to create and share video art with the world, spurring the continued evolution of video art as a creative platform.