Bits, 1977
Video (color, silent); 2:59 min.
Our visual field is dominated by gossamer layers that become distorted in fluid motion, break off, begin anew and continually change color. As we continue looking, they break down into seemingly amorphous constructions. We see details, textures and patterns from curtains, whose form responds to air movements and whose color alters through manipulation. Through or behind the veil-like fabric we can make out plants. As our gaze is increasingly directed outwards, we momentarily discern trees, branches, twigs and undergrowth before they vanish into electronic interferences. Hill uses video shots of these motifs as a basis for his artistic experiments in electronic alienation, overriding the colors and tone values to such an extent that the recorded structures become distorted and dissolve beyond the limits of their identifiability.
Broeker, Holger, ed. Gary Hill: Selected Works and catalogue raisonné. Wolfsburg: Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2002, GHCR 21, p. 67.
“Beau Fleuve,” organized by Media Study/Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. Travelled to: Center for Media Art, American Center, Paris, France, December 3 – 7, 1979; L’Espace Lyonnais D’Action Culturelle (ELAC), Lyon, France, December 10 – December 14, 1979; Musée Cantini, Marseilles, France, December 17 – December 21, 1979; Media Study/Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, January 14 – 18, 1980.
Solo exhibition. Center for Media Art, The American Center, Paris, France, December 13 – 15, 1983.
Solo screening. Espace lyonnais d’art contemporain (ELAC), Lyon, France, July 26 and September 27, 1988.
Solo exhibition. “OTHERWORDSANDIMAGES,” Video Galleriet, Huset, Denmark and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 20 – May 13, 1990.
Solo exhibition. Center for Contemporary Images, Saint-Gervais Genève, Geneva, Switzerland, September 9, 10, 1998.
“Gary Hill: Video Works,” NTT InterCommunication Center, Tokyo, Japan, February 16 – March 31, 1999.
Solo exhibition. Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 17 – June 4, 2000 (May 24, 2000 screening).
Solo exhibition. Museo Caraffa, Córdoba, Argentina, July 7 – 30, 2000 (July 8, 2000 screening).
“Hill(scape),” Extra Microwave Media Art Festival (organized by Videotage), Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall, Hong Kong, January 14 – 31, 2001 (January 21 screening).
“l’écriture vidéophage – les bandes vidéo de Gary Hill,” La Compagnie, Marseille, France, May 1 – 31, 2001 (May 1 and 3 screenings).
“Gary Hill: Selected Works 1976 – 2003,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2 – August 24, 2003.
“Videographies – The Early Decades,” EMST (The National Museum of Contemporary Art), Athens, Greece, July 13 – December 31, 2005.
“Jacques Perconte 1,” La Cinémathèque Française, Paris, France, October 28, 2011.
Jenkins, Bruce and John Minkowsky. Beau Fleuve. Buffalo, New York: Media Study/Buffalo, 1979, p. 5.
“Beau Fleuve: Five Programs of Work by 27 Film and Video Makers from Buffalo.” Media Study/Bufflao (January – May 1980), p. 11.
Oeuvres vidéo de Gary Hill en sa présence. Center for Media Art. Program notes. Paris: American Center, 1983, unpaginated.
Gary Hill: Video Works. Tokyo: NTT InterCommunication Center, 1999, pp. 14 – 16.
Gary Hill en Argentina: textos, ensayos, dialogos. Buenos Aires: Centro Cultural Recoleta, 2000, p. 7, 8.
Gary Hill: Instalaciones. Córdoba: Ediciones Museo Caraffa, 2000, p. 72.
Hill (scape): Gary Hill’s video screening, performance and installation exhibition. Program notes. Hong Kong: Videotage, 2001, p. 8.
Gary Hill: Selected Works and catalogue raisonné. Wolfsburg: Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2002, pp. 67.
Unfolding Vision: Gary Hill, Selected Works 1976 – 2003. Taipei: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2003, pp. 76 - 77.