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Steina and Woody Vasulka
Noisefields, 1974
Single-channel video with sound (excerpt above)
Courtesy Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts, Amsterdam

Noisefields, an important example of the Vasulkas' early formal experimentations with sound and image manipulation, is a visualization of the materiality of the electronic signal and its energy. Colorized video noise (or snow) is keyed through a circle, producing a rich static sound that is modulated by the energy content of the video.

Steina Vasulka
Violin Power, 1970-78
Single-channel video with sound (click here to play excerpt)
Courtesy Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts, Amsterdam

Violin Power shows the classically trained Vasulka performing for the camera with a violin that is connected to multiple image-processing devices. The sound and vibrations of the violin affect the image that we see, thus creating abstractions of the footage that Steina refers to as a “demo tape on how to play video on the violin.”

Steina Vasulka
Trevor, 1999
Single-channel video with sound
Dimensions variable (image above)
Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York

The juxtaposition of the recent Steina Vasulka video, Trevor, with two earlier Vasulka videos finds this artist continuing her exploration of the relationship between processed sound and image. In this work, she manipulates video footage of musician Trevor Wishart; she electronically slurs his words into unrecognizable stutters or stretched out abstract sound. Over time, the incomprehensible utterances begin to seem like a rhythm that highlights correspondences between seeing and hearing, while also drawing viewers’ attention to their own expectations about performance and installation.