Magnetic North

A compelling exploration of experimental video in Canada, one of the most exciting arenas for independent film and video.

Film/Art

A compelling exploration of experimental video in Canada, one of the most exciting arenas for independent film and video.

Occasionally shocking, often funny, and above all genuinely experimental, this groundbreaking collection explores exciting developments in the field of Canadian video often overlooked in the United States. With critical essays on video theory and practice by senior and emerging media arts critics, theorists, and artists from the United States and Canada, Magnetic North offers an in-depth look at this vital art form.

Magnetic North includes early Canadian video art from the 1970s to the present, providing historical perspective and the basis for positioning this work in an international context. More than forty artists are represented, spanning divergent regions, eras, and genres that range from innovative documentary to conceptual art, from experimental narrative to performance video. This compendium not only illustrates an important exhibition of established and emerging Canadian video artists, but also provides new scholarship and criticism in the field of contemporary art practice.

Critical essays by Peggy Gale, Nicole Gingras, Bruce Jenkins, Victor Masayesva, and Chris Straayer create a rich context for the work and cover topics such as the history of Canadian video, voice and language, materiality and hybridity, indigenous aesthetics, and the body and performance. A unique feature is impressions and responses to the work from a number of prominent filmmakers, artists, and writers, including George Lipsitz, Yvonne Rainer, and Carrie Mae Weems, which were commissioned for this volume. Also included are excerpts from scripts and fiction by some of the artists, as well as work in other media.

Contributors: Rebecca Baron; Marjorie Beaucage; Wendy Clarke; Sara Diamond; Peggy Gale; Nicole Gingras; Bill Horrigan; Bruce Jenkins; Gary Kibbins; George Kuchar; Ernest Larsen; George Lewis; George Lipsitz; Victor Masayesva; Sherry Millner; Na Maka o ka Aina; Catherine Opie; Yvonne Rainer; Chris Straayer; Carrie Mae Weems; and Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupton.

Published in collaboration with the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and Video Pool, Winnipeg.

Translation Inquiries: Walker Art Center