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One of the key differences between video art and theatrical cinema is that video art does not rely on many of the conventions that define theatrical cinema. Video art does not necessarily use actors, may not contain dialogue, may have no discernible narrative or plot, or adhere to any of the other comfortable conventions that construct cinema as entertainment. This distinction is important because it delineates video art not only from cinema but also from the sub-categories where those definitions may become muddy (as in the case of avant garde or short films). Perhaps the simplest, most straightforward defining distinction in this respect would then be to say that cinema's ultimate goal is to entertain (i.e., to get someone to watch the film) whereas video art's intentions are more varied -- be they to simply explore the boundaries of the medium itself (e.g., Peter Campus , "Double Vision") or to rigorously attack the viewer's expectations of video as shaped by conventional cinema (e.g., Joan Jonas , "Organic Honey's Vertical Roll").

Video art is said to have begun when Nam June Paik used his new Sony Portapak to shoot footage of Pope Paul VI's procession through New York City. That same day, across town in a Greenwich Village cafe, Paik played the tapes and (so legend goes) video art was born. Prior to the introduction of the Sony Portapak, motion picture technology was only available to the consumer (or the artist for that matter) by way of 8mm film -- which was not only more expensive but did not provide the instant playback that video tape technologies offered. Consequently, many artists found video more appealing than film -- even more so when the greater accessibility was coupled with the technologies with which it could be combined. The two examples mentioned above both made use of " low tech tricks" to produce seminal video art works. Peter Campus ' "Double Vision" combined the video signals from two Sony Portapaks through an electronic mixer, resulting in a distorted and radically dissonant image. Jonas' "Organic Honey's Vertical Roll" involved recording previously recorded material as it was played back on a television -- with the vertical hold setting intentionally in error. Video art saw its heyday during the 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around and 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends and it must not be forgotten that important video art simultaneously emerged in EUROPE with work by Wojciech Bruszewski (Poland), Wolf KahlenWolf Kahlen is a European video artist, that has been displaying works publicly since the 1960s. External link . (Germany), Peter WeibelVideo artist Peter Weibel was born in Odessa in 1944. He studied literature, film, mathematics, medicine and philosophy in Vienna and Paris. His dissertation was on mathematical logic (modal logic). From 1976-81 he lectured Theory of form at the Hochschul (Austria), David HallDavid Hall is a significant British video artist. He began as a sculptor exhibiting internationally and winning 1st prize at the Paris Biennale in 1965. In 1966 he was represented in the seminal minimal art show, Primary Structures, at the Jewish Museum, (UK) and others - for key early British work see the website http://ukvideoart.tripod.com . Although it continues to be produced, it is most frequently combined with other media and is subsumed by the greater whole of an installation (see installation artInstallation art is a genre of western contemporary art which came to prominence in the 1970s. Installation art incorporates any media to create a visceral and/or conceptual experience in a particular environment. Installation artists often use the space) or performance (see performance artPerformance art is art where the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time, constitute the work. It can happen anywhere, at any time, or for any length of time. Performance art can be any situation that involves fo).