Abstract:
In the last decades, screen media art has gained momentum both among artists
as practice and among scholars for critical assessment. However, the role it
plays within the museum context has not received much academic attention.
The aim of this study is to bring together concurring theories that see in screen
media art the grounds for new models of spectatorship. The pinpointed behavior
is that of a self-conscious spectatorship, where the viewer is at the same lost and
in control of time and space. This is allowed by the physical conformation of
the gallery space, allowing the viewer to move around and away, and by the
nature of the artworks, drawing the viewer to and into them. By combining how
various scholars conceptualize this tension inherent to screen media art, a new
model of spectatorship is then advanced. Through the use of two case studies,
When the body says Yes (2022) by melanie bonajo and First Rain, Brise-Soleil
(2021-in progress) by Thao Nguyen Phan, the combination of these conjecture
is tested, and its validity assessed.
