Media → Art / Art → Media
Forerunners of media art in the first half of the twentieth century
Dieter Daniels

The mutual influences between media and art have started long before the popularization of television. There were technical and conceptual forerunners of media art in the early twentieth century,and there was radio which almost exploded into being in the 1920s -all of this shows the power wielded by these distribution and production instruments. This text unfolds the panorama of the forerunners and early utopias that were linked to the rise of mass media. At the same time, it serves as a historical introduction into the topical field of media art. [more]

Media replace art—art responds to media Why do artists use media? Forerunners of media art Manifestos and utopias From utopia to practice From the 1920s to the 1960s Politicization and propaganda in the 1930s The ideologization of utopia A fresh start from 1950 onwards The utopian-emphatic strategy: Lucio Fontana and television The receptive-analytical strategy: John Cage and radio The critical-destructive strategy: Guy Debord and film Three media, three strategies