Abstract

Despite over a century of struggle against the myth of the artist as a singular genius, there persists a tendency to disregard the impact of circulation and viewership on the meaning of an artwork. This thesis proposes that the materiality of media and the methods by which it circulates are decisive factors in the way moving image works become lodged in the social memory. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework established between the fields of film studies, media studies, cultural theory, and art history, these themes are developed through the analyses of three video works: Todd Haynes’ Superstar; The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983), and Hito Steyerl’s Liquidity Inc. (2014). An exploration of the general relationship between social processes and technology leads to an analysis of the material characteristics of magnetic tape, and the impact this had on access and circulation. By tracking these historical developments through to the increasing dematerialization of digital video in the present day, this work elucidates the implications on, and entanglements between, image, economy, labour, and psyche in the contemporary moment. This thesis works to redistribute a portion of agency to those who bootleg, analyze, archive, view, and share artworks. It reveals how the materiality and circulation of images are important indicators for how these processes will be conducted, and ultimately dictate the way these films influence socio-historical memory.