PERFORMING ARTIST IDENTITY THROUGH VIDEO ART: KASSARAM TURBULENT AND DOKU

Authors : D. Alper Altunay, Elif Turan

Pages : 1488-1509

Doi:10.20488/sanattasarim.1828148

View : 77 | Download : 229

Publication Date : 2025-12-01

Article Type : Review Paper

Abstract :Since the mid-1960s, video has not only been a medium of mass communication but also a means of artistic expression. With many video works created by the pioneer artists of the period, on the one hand, the characteristics of the medium were tried to be revealed, and on the other hand, the possibilities of electronic technology began to be used for the first time in the process of combating the stereotypes that existed in the art world. During this process, while artists rediscovered the unique characteristics of video within art, they began to produce different works within the changing cultural structure. In the first applications of the avant-garde approach, it is possible to come across different examples in a wide range of areas, from feminist video works to recordings on ethnic identity, from alternative video works targeting television broadcasting to guerrilla video recordings questioning male-dominated art. This study examines the artist’s identity as a construct shaped by social, cultural, and individual factors through the lens of video art. The study analyzes three video works through their medium-specific approaches and the artist’s constructed identities. The video works that are analyzed: Thania Petersen’s Kassaram (2020), which critiques colonial stereotypes through collage and fragmentation of the body; Shirin Neshat’s Turbulent (1998), which deconstructs gender roles through the contrasts in form and content; and Lu Yang’s DOKU The Flow (2024), which reimagines identity through digital art and Buddhist teachings. The research illustrates how video artists challenge and redefine identity, integrating form, content, and the historicity of the medium as an artistic expression.
Keywords : Video sanatı, Sanatçı kimliği, Thania Petersen, Shirin Neshat, Lu Yang.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL