A contemporary art expert’s guide to buying video art for your home

Video art – a medium that has its origins in experimental 1960s New York – is increasingly being featured in homes, thanks to the latest technology designed to put moving images in the spotlight. But when it comes to buying your own video art, you don’t need to know your Daniel Crooks from your Christian Thompson.

“Buy what you love,” says Serena Bentley, curator of the video art program at the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, when asked about her golden rule for investing in video art for the home. “Don’t ever let the market dictate what it is you bring into your home. It has to be something that resonates with you personally. Go with your gut and if you respond to an art work, then that is almost certainly the work for you.

“Another thing I’ve noticed is there might be more subtle works nearby, so allow for that slower burn and for an art work to creep up on you. Give yourself time to appreciate the works that don’t scream out for attention straightaway.”

Bentley says one of the most interesting things about video art is that it has the gift of duration; rather than telling a whole story in a single frame, the medium offers the luxury of time to express an idea.

“Video art can be quite immersive and meditative, depending on how you look at it and how you encounter it,” says Bentley, who also worked as assistant curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Victoria.

“There are so many different kinds of video art. It doesn’t have to be film-based, you can invest in animation and explore things that aren’t possible physically or in reality.”

How to display video art

Advancements in screen technology mean that home collectors can invest in a major and comprehensive collection of video art without needing a huge amount of space. Showing a whole range of work is possible by just plugging a file into a computer, flat-screen TV or monitor mounted on the wall, meaning you can insert the medium into your domestic life with ease.

Designed by Yves Behar’s studio Fuseproject, Samsung’s The Frame television is a new way art lovers can integrate art – video or otherwise – into their home, via a smart TV that looks uncannily like a canvas when switched off.

In an interview with Dezeen when The Frame was launched, Behar described the design as particularly useful for apartment dwellers or those who have limited wall space for art.

The Frame sits flat against the wall and has a display that adjusts to ambient light, the presence of people, and is customisable to each individual’s style. Billed as “the most beautiful TV you’ve never seen”, when in art mode The Frame presents like a beautiful work of art.

While a black rectangle TV can dominate a space when it’s turned off, The Frame presents as a colourful interactive centrepiece framed by a customisable border available in white, black and wood veneer and designed to blend in with the surrounding interior. It’s also available in a range of sizes, meaning that buyers can choose the size and ratio of the art they display.

Bentley says as well as purchasing what they love, buyers should consider how video art works will fit in their home from a practical and experiential perspective.

“Buyers will also have to consider the space,” she says. “Do you want to see the art work all the time? Do you want it in your living room or your home office? On a pragmatic level, you don’t want there to be too much light either as that will compromise the image that you are looking at.”

Video art versus other art forms

Bentley says what she loves about the medium is its ability to engage viewers directly with the subject, and the fact it isn’t always apparent and on display.

“It’s a matter of personal taste as to how you show off your video art,” Bentley says. “It might be built into a cabinet or cupboard so you can surprise visitors with it. You might have a monitor mounted on the wall and surrounded by other art works so that it blends in. You don’t have to have the work playing all the time and I love that flexibility.

“If you are collecting video art you have a lot of freedom to chop and change because all you need to do is swap over a file and you can experience an entire new work, which is much easier than hanging a painting and patching a wall.”

Whether it’s a landscape of bald green hills against a backdrop of sky washed blue or dreamlike depictions of clouds, Bentley says she is delighted the medium is gaining momentum beyond the confines of gallery walls.

Bentley recommends that those curious about collecting video art, visit the Sydney Contemporary, regarded as Australia’s premier international art fair.

Sydney Contemporary is on at Carriageworks Sydney, September 7-10.