Bill Viola, Transformation (Installation View), all images courtesy Farschou Foundation

On view at Farschou Foundation Beijing is a solo show by American video artist Bill Viola. Known for his large-scale, high definition, ultra slow-motion moving images, the artist has served as an innovator in the technological execution and exhibition of video art. His show in Beijing, titled Transformation will continue through March 22nd.

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Bill Viola, Tristan’s Ascension (The Sound of a Mountain Under a Waterfall) (2005) all images courtesy Grand Palais

On view at the Grand Palais in Paris is a group of works by celebrated American video artist Bill Viola, ranging in date from 1977 to the present day, making it  the largest retrospective the artist has ever shown during his long and productive career.

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Artist Joan Jonas will represent the United States at the Venice Biennale next year, the New York Times reports.  The pioneering video and performance artist was selected by the State Department’s bureau of educational and cultural affairs, and will create a site-specific work at the U.S. pavilion.   “Joan has been a visionary for such a long time,’’ says Paul C. Ha, the director of the M.I.T. List Visual Arts Center, and commissioner of the exhibition. “Yet she hasn’t had much exposure in Venice.’’ (more…)

The Guardian has posted a video interview with conceptual artist Simon Starling, showing the artist in the midst of production for Phantom Ride, an 8-minute video that explores the ongoing history of the Duveen Galleries of the Tate.  “The idea is to create a sort of historical collapse, so as to tell the story of the space in 8 minutes of film, to take artworks that have been shown here over a very long period of time, and to force them to coexist in the space.” (more…)

Peter Burr, Special Effect (2012), Courtesy of Peter Burr

Over the course of his career, video artist Peter Burr has worn many hats; founding avant-garde animation label Cartune Xprez, playing and animating for the performance art duo Hooliganship, and working on a variety of video projects and installations around the globe.  His newest work, titled Special Effect, will hold its U.S. premiere at the Museum of Moving Image on Friday, January 18th.  Taking the eerie, haunting film Stalker by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky as its jumping off point, the show is a multifaceted media presentation, incorporating music, live performance, projection, body mapping, and a selection of videos from contributors across the new media landscape.

Art Observed had the opportunity to speak with Burr about the show, his take on Stalker, and his approach to creating this ambitious work.

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Francis Alÿs, REEL-UNREEL (2011), via David Zwirner

In REEL-UNREEL, the recently completed film by Belgian artist Francis Alÿs, two Afghan boys race through the streets of Kabul, dodging traffic, pedestrians, and other children while military helicopters fly overhead.  Mimicking a game hoop-rolling, they push two large film canisters, a trail of film spilling out behind them as they go.  Winding through the streets and up into the hills of the Afghani capital, the reels of film take their fair share of abuse as they are dragged through dirt, puddles, and even a small fire before being mistakenly rolled straight off a cliff. (more…)

Peter Campus, Three Transitions (1973) via Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

Peter Campus has been working with video art and photography since the 1960s as a major contributor to the burgeoning New York-based video art scene. Throughout the span of his career, Campus has put forth a dynamic and diverse oeuvre, which was showcased last month at now and then, a major retrospective of his work at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York.  We had a chance to sit down with the artist in December and ask him a few questions, included here.

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David Bowie has just released the video from his new single, “Where Are We Now,” a collaboration with artist Tony Oursler.  The surreal video comes alongside the announcement of Bowie’s first new album in ten years, The Next Day  which will see release on March 12th. (more…)

Gillian Wearing, Self Portrait at 17 Years Old (2003). All images courtesy Maureen Paley.

On view through January 6^th at Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf is a survey of Gillian Wearing’s film and photographs. The 1997 Turner Prize recipient’s work explores the relationship between one’s public and private personas, and the difference between reality and fiction.

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William Kentridge, Installation View (2012), courtesy The Tate Modern

I Am Not Me, the Horse Is Not Mine by William Kentridge, consists of six individual projections juxtaposed against various walls of the Tanks in the Tate Modern. The projections cumulatively comprise a narrative that depicts the story of The Nose (1837), by Nikolai Gogol, whereby a spiteful nose departs itself from its owner’s face, tries to leave the city and is consequently arrested. However despite this, one morning when the owner wakes up, he finds his nose has returned.

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