Everyone everywhere seems to be either copying their old VHS tapes onto DVD, or recording their entire video library as digital-only files. The physical media which once held this video data (for example, the video tape), is being binned en-mass. You could argue that this is the triumph of digital video over its predecessor, as the contents of the video tape is remediated into the computer platform.
However, what if the reverse were also possible? My latest idea is to take content available online, and record this onto VHS tape, on which it is archived/kept.
Just as digitising from VHS onto computer must be carried out in real time, so must this recording from computer onto VHS; the computer would need to output a video stream of the web content in order to do this, which is then connected to the input of the video recorder.
My aim here is to bring balance to the direction of remediation (at least a little). Although I can not change the way the masses consume contemporary media products, perhaps I can carry out processes that could help the masses think, and perhaps increase the ‘value’ of many contemporary video products which, due to their extremely temporal lifespan, are intended to expire quickly in order to make way for the next consumer release.
Tags: archive, art practice, consumer, media, Remediation, temporal, VHS, Video
