e-flux video rental
a project by Anton Vidokle and Julieta Aranda
e-flux video rental (EVR) is a project comprising a free video rental, a public screening room, and a film and video archive that is constantly growing. This collection of near 700 works of film and video art has been assembled in collaboration with over 60 international artists, curators and critics. Orignally presented on New York, at 53 Ludlow Street in 2004, EVR has been presented in Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Seoul, Istanbul, Canary Islands, Austin Texas, Budapest, Antwerp, and Miami.
Every time EVR is installed in a new city, local arts professionals are invited to serve as selectors, choosing artists whose work is added to the collection. In addition, a program of screenings of works from the EVR collection is part of the project.
In the 1960s and 70s, artists were drawn to working with video in part because it was cheap to use and easily reproduced and distributed. But video art has become increasingly assimilated to the precious-object economy of the art world. EVR is an exploration on the current processes of circulation and distribution of video art, and is structured to function like a regular video store, except that it operates for free. VHS tapes can be watched in the space, or, once a viewer fills out a membership form and contract, they can be checked out and taken home. A changing selection of works showcasing the depth and breadth of the collection is screened during all times the exhibition is open to the public.
Selected by Elena Filipovic, Dynasty, New Object and Weak In The Presence of Beauty, from the series Home Movies, will be available for viewing from March 2007 with e-flux video rental.
