Image Processing in Chicago Video Art, 1970–1980

The author chronicles historical developments in Chicago video art during the 1970s by highlighting the role of artists in the investigation of the expressive potentials of new video tools. Daniel Sandin’s invention, a video synthesizer that artists could build themselves, thereby facilitating the autonomous production of artworks, is discussed. Videotapes generated on the Sandin Image Processor have been exhibited internationally and have received numerous festival prizes. However, these artworks and the circumstances of their making have only been sparsely documented. This article serves to redress this lack by describing key works, including background information about the artists and the technology they used, and by providing references to some exhibitions and video performances, while situating their work in a historical context.