New Tube

January 14, 2008
New Tube
Like it or not, the "blue chip" art world is far too often focused on events in New York City, Venice, or the locale of the art fair du jour. Enter New Art TV , an online "channel" that provides contemporary art content to the web. Creator Robert Knafo, who used to be a writer and editor of various art and culture magazines such as Slate, Art in America and GQ, was also the brains behind another online art project Studio Visit. Launched this past summer, New Art TV is host to numerous mini-documentaries (5 to 15 minutes) including interviews with artists, curators, and collectors, exhibition walk-throughs-- notably a few from the 2007 Venice Biennale-- and documentation of several performances. A wide range of artists are represented, including Bryan Zanisnik, William Anastasi, Richard Serra and Dana Schutz, to name a few. Media art is covered here somewhat proportionally to its! presence within contemporary art: currently marginal but growing. For example, New Art TV conducted an extensive interview with multi-media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, who has mounted evocative works that combine light, video and surveillance technologies, during his installation at the Mexican Pavillion in Venice, as well as a profile of the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery at Scope Art Fair in Miami which focuses on new media art in the art fair context. Of course, this isn't the only online channel that seeks to capture contemporary art. Vernissage TV , for one, has provided coverage with a great degree of success for the past few years. Despite the slant towards the blue chip art work and the lack of contextual information which might aid those unfamiliar with the subject matter, New Art TV is a strong entrée into a group of online art vlogs that are connecting those without geographic or VIP access to contemporary art. Let's hope as the cov! erage and audience for contemporary art expand, so will its bo! undaries . -- Caitlin Jones
http://www.newarttv.com

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Love,
Seth