Caroline Langill, Shifting Polarities/Exemplary Works of Canadian Electronic Media Art Produced Between 1970 and 1991

[Marlon Barrios Solano]

Great essay and Video interviews by one of the most prolific Canadians Researchers on electronic art.

The canon of visual art is always a site of resistance for artists who have been excluded from it. It is in flux, it is contestable, and it is inevitable. My intention for this research project has been to reconstruct the history of Canadian new media art through an assemblage of pioneering works produced by artists working across the disciplines of art, science, and technology. Canada’s important contribution to the history of this genre has not been recognized by its art historians, curators, or collectors. While this is not intended to be a comprehensive list, the artworks described herein have been significant in establishing Canadian artists as pioneers of new media art. The anti-canonical and anti-institutional nature of electronic media art raises the question: Why propose a canon of electronic media art at all? If canons are inevitable and created through “official” channels such as academic scholarship, curated exhibitions, and museum collections, and if there are no attempts made to reconstruct the excluded history, then electronic media will suffer the same consequences that others excluded from the canon, such as women, have experienced.

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Interviews: