Processual Video, 1980
Approx. 12 min.
Processual Video was performed by the artist as a lecture on his work for the Video Viewpoint series at the Museum of Modern Art. It was an attempt to circumscribe his work and working methods by reflecting those ideas in the structure of the “lecture” itself.
A white piece of paper with a single black straight line is mounted on a turntable. The artist recites the text of Processual Video, 1980, while manually turning the turntable. A camera is set up on a tripod and adjusted to put out a negative (reverse) signal of the image on the paper of the turntable, i.e., a white line on black background. (Note that this can also be achieved with an external keyer.) Numerous correlations can be drawn between the text and the position and detailed edges of the line/image as it rotates. The output of the camera is viewed on a large monitor or projected.
Broeker, Holger, ed. Gary Hill: Selected Works and catalogue raisonné. Wolfsburg: Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2002, GHCR 38, p. 89.
“Video Viewpoints: Processual Video,” Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, February 26, 1980.
2e Semaine Internationale de Vidéo, Saint-Gervais Genève, Geneva, Switzerland, November 16 – 21, 1987.
Speakeasy Cafe, Seattle, Washington, September 19, 1996.
“Image et language,” Louvre Auditorium, Paris, France, January 14, 2005.
"Full Circle Performance," MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology) | Turbine Hall, Lisbon, May 16, 2018
Gary Hill: Selected Works and catalogue raisonné. Wolfsburg: Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2002, GHCR 38, p. 89.