Gary Hill
Encyclopedia
Gary Hill is an American artist
who lives and works in Seattle, Washington
.
One of the pioneers of video art
, Gary Hill has exhibited his video and video installations worldwide (Artfacts 2007). He is represented by Donald Young Gallery of Chicago.
An anthology on the work of Gary Hill by Robert C. Morgan
was published by Johns Hopkins University
Press in 1999.
Gary Hill's work is especially significant due to his incorporation of text in video art, evident in works such as Incidence of Catastrophe 1977-78. Hill began working with video, text and sound in 1973. He was influenced by the intellectual orientation of conceptual art which dominated art of the 1970s. His reading of the writings of Maurice Blanchot
, in particular, provided him with ideas relating to the way in which language impinges on phenomenological experience, and a notion of 'the other' stemming from the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas
. Such reading informs Hill's visual-poetic explorations of the interrelationships between language, image, identity, and the body. For example in Cabin Fever he uses the binary opposition of light and darkness to convey the notion of an interaction between a self and an ‘other’. He has also explored immersive environments, as seen in his 1992 piece Tall Ships.
Hill's work thoroughly exploits the capacity of video to offer complex nonlinear narratives that encourage active engagement on the part of the viewer. In Roland Barthes
' terms, Hill’s video narratives can be understood as ‘writerly’ texts.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who lives and works in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
One of the pioneers of video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
, Gary Hill has exhibited his video and video installations worldwide (Artfacts 2007). He is represented by Donald Young Gallery of Chicago.
An anthology on the work of Gary Hill by Robert C. Morgan
Robert C. Morgan
Robert C. Morgan is an American art critic, art historian, curator, poet, and visual artist.-Background:Robert C. Morgan received his M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1975 and his Ph.D. in contemporary art history from New York University in 1978...
was published by Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
Press in 1999.
Gary Hill's work is especially significant due to his incorporation of text in video art, evident in works such as Incidence of Catastrophe 1977-78. Hill began working with video, text and sound in 1973. He was influenced by the intellectual orientation of conceptual art which dominated art of the 1970s. His reading of the writings of Maurice Blanchot
Maurice Blanchot
Maurice Blanchot was a French writer, philosopher, and literary theorist. His work had a strong influence on post-structuralist philosophers such as Jacques Derrida.-Works:...
, in particular, provided him with ideas relating to the way in which language impinges on phenomenological experience, and a notion of 'the other' stemming from the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
. Such reading informs Hill's visual-poetic explorations of the interrelationships between language, image, identity, and the body. For example in Cabin Fever he uses the binary opposition of light and darkness to convey the notion of an interaction between a self and an ‘other’. He has also explored immersive environments, as seen in his 1992 piece Tall Ships.
Hill's work thoroughly exploits the capacity of video to offer complex nonlinear narratives that encourage active engagement on the part of the viewer. In Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...
' terms, Hill’s video narratives can be understood as ‘writerly’ texts.
Selected bibliography
- Quasha, George and Charles Stein. An Art of Limina: Gary Hill’s Works and Writings. Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafa, 2009. Foreword by Lynne Cooke.
- Ramos, María Elena. Gary Hill. Caracas: Centro Cultural Chacao, 2009.
- Gary Hill / Gerry Judah. Paris: Somogy Publishers / LTB Holding, Ltd., 2007.
- In French : Paul-Emmanuel Odin, L’absence de livre [ Gary Hill et Maurice Blanchot – Écriture, vidéo], France, Les presses du réel, 2007
- Gary Hill: Resounding Arches / Archi Risonanti. (Catalogue and DVD.) Rome: Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Soprintendenza archeologica di Roma, and Milan: Mondadori Electa S.p.A., 2005.
- Gary Hill: Scritti / Interviste. Milan: Mondadori Electa S.p.A., 2005.
- Mind on the Line: Gary Hill, George Quasha, Charles Stein, Aaron Miller and Dorota Czerner. Wroclaw: WRO Art Center, 2004.
- Unfolding Vision: Gary Hill, Selected Works 1976–2003. Taipei: Museum of Contemporary Art, 2003.
- Barro, David. Gary Hill: Poeta da percepção, poet of perception, poeta de la percepción. Porto: Mimesis, 2003.
- Quasha, George. Gary Hill: Language Willing. Barrytown, NY: further/art and Boise: Boise Art Museum, 2002.
- Broeker, Holger, ed. Gary Hill: Selected Works and catalogue raisonné. Wolfsburg: Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2002.
- Gary Hill: Around & About: A Performative View. Paris: Éditions du Regard, 2001, and Limited Edition (Edition of 100, plus 20 artist’s proofs; signed and numbered).
- McAlear, Donna, ed. Gary Hill. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2001.
- Gary Hill: The Performative Image. Tokyo: Gary Hill Exhibition Committee, 2001, unpaginated.
- Morgan, Robert C., ed. Gary Hill. Baltimore: PAJ Books / The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
- Gary Hill: Instalaciones. Córdoba: Ediciones Museo Caraffa, 2000.
- Gary Hill en Argentina: textos, ensayos, dialogos. Buenos Aires: Centro Cultural Recoleta, 2000.
- Gary Hill: Video Works. Tokyo: NTT InterCommunication Center, 1999.
- Kold, Anders, ed. Gary Hill. Aarhus: Aarhus Kunstmuseum, 1999.
- Gary Hill: Midnight Crossing. Warsaw: Center for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, 1998.
- Ceruti, Mary. Gary Hill: 23:59:59:29 – The Storyteller’s Room. San Francisco: Capp Street Project, 1998.
- Gary Hill: HanD HearD – Withershins – Midnight Crossing. Barcelona: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 1998.
- Bélisle, Josée. Gary Hill. Montreal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 1998.
- Gary Hill: Midnight Crossing. Münster: Westfälischer Kunstverein, 1997.
- o lugar do outro/where the other takes place. Rio de Janeiro: Magnetoscópio, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, 1997.
- Quasha, George and Charles Stein. Viewer: Gary Hill’s Projective Installations—Number 3. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Arts, 1997.
- Quasha, George and Charles Stein. Tall Ships: Gary Hill’s Projective Installations—Number 2. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Arts, 1997.
- Quasha, George and Charles Stein. Gary Hill: Hand Heard - Liminal Objects. Paris: Galerie des Archives, and Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Arts, 1996.
- Vischer, Theodora, ed. Gary Hill: Imagining the Brain Closer than the Eyes. Basel: Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Ostfildern: Cantz, 1995.
- Gary Hill: Tall Ships, Clover. Stockholm: Riksutställningar, 1995.
- Thériault, Michèle. Gary Hill. Selected videotapes 1978–1990. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1994, unpaginated.
- Bruce, Chris, ed. Gary Hill. Seattle: Henry Art Gallery, 1994.
- Gary Hill: In Light of the Other. Oxford: The Museum of Modern Art Oxford and Liverpool: Tate Gallery Liverpool, 1993.
- Gary Hill: Sites Recited. Long Beach, California: Long Beach Museum of Art, 1993.
- Gary Hill. Valencia: I.V.A.M. Centre del Carme, 1993.
- Gary Hill. Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum and Vienna: Kunsthalle, Wien, 1993.
- Van Assche, Christine. Gary Hill. Paris: Editions du Centre Georges Pompidou, 1992.
- Gary Hill: I Believe It Is an Image. Tokyo: Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, 1992.
- Gary Hill, Video Installations. Eindhoven: Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, 1992.
- Sarrazin, Stephen. Chimaera Monographe No. 10 (Gary Hill). Montbéliard: Centre International de Création Vidéo Montbéliard, Belfort, 1992.
- Gary Hill: Between Cinema and a Hard Place. Paris: OCO, Espace d'Art Contemporain, 1991.
- Gary Hill: And Sat Down Beside Her. Paris: Galerie des Archives, 1990.
- OTHERWORDSANDIMAGES: Video by Gary Hill. Copenhagen: Video Gallerie/Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1990.
- Gary Hill: DISTURBANCE (among the jars). Villeneuve d'Ascq: Musée d'Art Moderne, 1988.
External links
- Gary Hill's profile and selected videos on Vimeo
- Gary Hill on artnet
- Gary Hill in the Video Data Bank
- An intelligent review of Hill's Between Cinema and a Hard Place by S. Brent Plate, originally published in Criticism, Winter 2003.
- 'Image, Body, Text' exhibition at the SFMOMA
- SFMOMA interactive multimedia feature on Gary Hill
- Gary Hill in the Mediateca Media Art Space
- Gary Hill biography on Media Art Net