The Impact of Jewish Women on Video Art
"It is a true honor as an artist to show my work alongside these legends…I am truly humbled to be trusted with their art to create this unique multiscreen video installation."
— Sharon Balaban
March 20, 2023
“Veni, vidi, vici,” a declaration of masculine militancy and conquest attributed to Julius Caesar, has inspired the name of the new, all-female video exhibit now open at the JCC. The multimedia Veni, Vidi, Video, which opened at the start of Women’s History Month in March, highlights the role of Jewish female artists in shaping the field of contemporary video art.
The exhibit in The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery is made up of a series of screens placed throughout the lobby, which loop a compilation of contemporary video art pieces from 18 trailblazing American and Israeli Jewish female artists. Veni, Vidi, Video explores themes of human rights, gender, and social dynamics, contrasting works by founders of the contemporary video art movement from the 1960s and ’70s, like Dara Birnbaum, Shirley Clarke, and Martha Rosler, with those of newer Israeli artists who are utilizing the latest technologies and techniques, like Rona Yefman and Nevet Yitzhak.
Israeli artist Sharon Balaban, who curated the exhibit (and whose artwork is also on display), says it serves as “a great opportunity, as a video artist and professor, to share video works made by Jewish female artists who pushed the boundaries of contemporary art and whose works are a starting point for any conversation about video art and feminism.”
“It wasn't until we started research for this exhibition that I realized how impactful these female Jewish artists have been in paving the way for video art as a central medium in contemporary art,” says Udi Urman, director of The Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas. “This collective of artists broke the glass ceiling for so many to follow in their steps, and this journey is what we are exploring in Veni, Vidi, Video. It is fascinating to see that the themes of the works from 50 years ago are more relevant now than ever. Their artwork continues to push the right nerves and make you think. They inspire and ultimately impact the world for the better.”
The exhibit also includes artists Hilla Ben Ari, Keren Cytter, Maya Deren, Hadassa Goldvicht, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Hila Lulu Lin Farah Kufer Birim, Vivian Ostrovsky, Alix Pearlstein, Nira Pereg, Mika Rottenberg, Shelly Silver, and Anita Thacher.
“In our current TikTok era, it is inspiring to look back and acknowledge these pioneer artists, who recognized early on how technology can be used as a tool to deconstruct cultural norms, as a tool of defiance,” shares Balaban. “It is a great honor to showcase their work alongside video artists from Israel who followed in their path. The multiscreen installation will celebrate the impact of these trailblazing artists.”
Balaban, a senior lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, shares that “it is a true honor as an artist to show my work alongside these legends. The story of video art is told through their works; they are part of my education as an artist and they are part of my curriculum as a professor at the art academy. So it is overwhelming to me. This amazing project allowed me to create and research within the realms that I am most passionate about—feminist video art and experimental film. I am truly humbled to be trusted with their art to create this unique multiscreen video installation.”
A few of the exhibit artists attended the Veni, Vidi, Video opening night on March 9. Balaban, who traveled from Israel for the kickoff, was “especially moved to meet Ken Nochimson, the late Anita Thacher’s husband. Her beautiful work Loose Corner is part of the gallery, and I had the honor to host her at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem back in 2013. I was so moved to meet Ken and her gallerists from Microscope Gallery, Andrea and Elle.” Balaban also met artist Shelly Silver for the first time in person, as well as “longtime collaborator and amazing filmmaker” Vivian Ostrovsky, whose work The Title Was Shot is part of the exhibit. Balaban describes it as “both bold and hilarious.”
Women artists have long used video technology to explore what it means to be female in a patriarchal society. The camera allows them to subvert social conventions and deconstruct cultural apparatuses and narratives, manipulating viewers’ expectations of what to expect from “moving images.” Exploring work from a range of decades, Veni, Vidi, Video also showcases the development of technology and its infiltration into the art and everyday fabric of our society. These timeless videos remain relevant and continue to make audiences think and feel.
In 1967, Sony introduced the Portapak, an easy-to-use video camera that required no crew, beginning a period of tremendous experimentation for artists. In the United States, and especially in New York City, women dominated the field of video art from early on and were vanguards of the second wave of feminism. In Israel, the 1990s were a turning point in the dominance of female video artists, and signified a larger “opening up” of Israeli art into the international art world.
Balaban says that “photography and film were always a central part of my life. But it was video, with its ease of use and close to life, raw quality, that became my instrument. It was the perfect medium for me to explore, as a female artist, gender-related themes. I define my work as a video lexicon. Through my camera, I reexamine the body in relation to its surroundings, observing the day-to-day and banal to subvert visual structures and narratives that surround us. Video is a subversive medium that dominates our world. Using it as a tool to create art from an unrestricted stance as an artist is inspiring."
To continue celebrating Women’s History Month in March, follow Nora Ephron’s advice from her 1996 commencement speech at Wellesley College, her alma mater: “Embrace the mess…Be the heroine of your life…Make a little trouble.” Take time to reflect on the progress of women’s rights. Discover your inner heroine. Support art and media created by women.
Veni, Vidi, Video is on display in The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery through May 18, 2023, and is free and open to the public during JCC building hours. For more details, visit mmjccm.org/veni-vidi-video.
Photo credit: Jennifer Weisbord
Written by Lauren Magy. Lauren is the Director of Public Relations + Community Engagement at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. She has worked at theater and cultural institutions in DC and NY for the past decade.