Dara Birnbaum. PM Magazine (detail). 1982. Four-channel video (color, three channels of stereo sound; 6:30 min.), two chromogenic prints, Speed Rail® structural support system, aluminum trim, one wall painted Chroma Key Blue, and one wall painted red, dimensions variable. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired with support from The Modern Women’s Fund Committee, The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, and through the generosity of Ahmet Kocabiyik. © 2014 Dara Birnbaum. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris. Installation view, Cut to Swipe, The Museum of Modern Art, October 11, 2014–March 22, 2015. Digital image © The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Jonathan Muzikar
There has been no shortage of commentators noting the effect of the increasing circulation of images on the development of artistic production. From the current “Art vs. Image” issue of Texte zur Kunst to Hito Steyerl’s influential 2009 essay “In Defense of the Poor image,” contemporary art’s concern with mobile images has grown with the proliferation of technologies that facilitate it, both hardware (laptops, smartphones) and software (Tumblr, Final Cut Pro).