Gary Hill, 58, is a leading figure in contemporary art. His work is a touchstone in the history of media art. Born in California, he has been developing video projects since the 1970s.
In this almost half-century of production, he has worked across various video formats and different modes of presenting video art, some of which have become inaccessible as devices such as the CRT television have disappeared.
Recently, Hill made much of his work available on the Internet. He promises to add more soon. Although he believes in the potential for accessibility promoted by sites such as Vimeo and YouTube, he also believes that democratizing creation can mean lowering standards.
In an interview with Trópico, Hill discusses his relationship with audiovisual social networks such as YouTube and Vimeo, the disappearance of certain technologies and its impact on preserving media artworks, and the popularization of video cameras. He says he is excited about new technologies and the massive spread of cameras, but adds: “At the same time, I am terrified of them. There are cameras and video cameras everywhere. When I go somewhere these days, I rarely take a camera. It is a way of not having something between the world and me. Perhaps it is a way to preserve a space for memories and experiences that are not confined to the plane of the image — nor retouched or cropped,” he says.