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Violin Power

Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Steina Vasulka, born Reykjavik, Iceland 1940
Exhibition Label
Steina Vasulka, who was trained as a classical violinist, describes this work as “a demo tape on how to play video on the violin.” Violin Power weaves the audio signal into the video image, linking sight with sound and outlining a new electronic aural-imaging “syntax.” The video ties the two senses together in a single signal and demonstrates natural assumptions about what is seen and what is simultaneously heard. As the tape progresses through three performances, audio wave forms produced by the musical instrument begin to affect the video image and eventually become the video generator itself.
Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2015
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company
Copyright
© 1978 Steina Vasulka. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
1970-1978
Object number
2008.21.12
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Media Arts
Medium
single-channel video, black and white, sound; 10:04 minutes
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Time-Based Media Art
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Performing arts\music\violin
Figure female\waist length
Object\musical instrument\violin
Record ID
saam_2008.21.12
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk72af6994f-8e5c-4e0e-8a8b-54615726e82d

Related Content

  • Violins and their Makers

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

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