Video Viewpoints Records
in The Museum of Modern Art Archives.

The Museum of Modern Art Archives
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019-5497
https://www.moma.org/research/archives/

©2025

The Museum of Modern Art Archives

Finding aid prepared by Meagan Connolly, 2025.

Historical Note

Video Viewpoints launched in 1978 as a lecture series where video artists and critics would screen their work and discuss new techniques, theories, and advances in video art. It was conceived by curatorial assistant Barbara London, who would go on to become an associate curator in the Department of Film, and later an associate curator in the Department of Media. The first lecture and screening took place in March 1978 with a presentation by Steina Vasulka; following lectures would feature the work of artists such as Vito Acconci, General Idea, Bill Viola, Philip Mallory Jones, and Joan Jonas. Themes and discussions varied, often covering subjects such as image processes, performance, installations, and documentary work. The program would be grouped by season, one season including between three to six lectures. The entire series featured work by two hundred and fifty artists and twenty-five critics over the course of twenty-four years. In 2003, Video Viewpoints was renamed MediaScope.

A note on departmental history: The Department of Film was founded in 1935 as the Film Library and renamed in 1966. . The Museum began exhibiting video in the galleries in 1968, when two works by Nam June Paik were included in the exhibition The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age. Under the Museum's Projects series, an initiative launched in 1971 to showcase the work of emerging artists, Barbara London—while holding the title Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books—began ushering video artists into the Museum's collection. In 1974, her first Projects show, Video II, featured tapes by Gilbert & George, Joseph Beuys, Ulrike Rosenbach, and Rebecca Horn. The following year, she began acquiring video, including works by Joan Jonas and Lynda Benglis. In 1977, a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation enabled the Museum to extend the scope of its video program and define the program's structure, needs, and responsibilities. London undertook the study in cooperation with Ted Perry, then Director of the Department of Film, and with the committee of representatives from all the curatorial departments that was responsible for the Projects series of exhibitions. London then left the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books and transferred to the Department of Film. She was the curator focused on video for a number of years, with Sally Berger joining the department to assist in this area in 1986. In 1994, the department title was expanded to the Department of Film and Video. In 2001, it was briefly renamed the Department of Film and Media. In 2006, it returned to its previous name as the Department of Film, and a new stand-alone Department of Media (today the Department of Media and Performance) was established, with Klaus Biesenbach as the Chief Curator, and Barbara London as an Associate Curator.

Scope and Contents

The Video Viewpoints Records document the creation and operation of this lecture and screening series. This program, created by curator Barbara London, ran from 1978 to 2002, before the name changed to MediaScope in 2003. The records in this collection are organized into two sections of a single series.

The first part of this collection, folders I.1–I.44, contains records concerning full seasons, including planning and scheduling notes, memoranda, and official documents such as programs, press releases and program notes. These folders are arranged chronologically. The second part, folders I.45–I.210, concerns specific lectures, which are arranged alphabetically by the artist's last name. The contents of these folders typically contain correspondence with the artist, notes and research, and memoranda. Transcripts of the programs are included in separate folders, when available. Lectures held in relation to other film programming or gallery exhibitions are noted with the corresponding program. While this collection contains a large portion of the events, this is not a complete record of all the lectures included in the Video Viewpoints program. Additionally, audio recordings of the majority of Video Viewpoints lectures can be found in the Sound Recordings collection in the MoMA Archives.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.

Related Collections

Within The Museum of Modern Art Archives, the Sound Recordings collection contains audio recordings of the majority of Video Viewpoints lectures. Other related materials can be found in the Department of Public Information / Communications Records. Additional mentions of the Video Viewpoints program are included in the Archives Pamphlet Files and the Kynaston McShine Papers.

Administrative Information

Provenance

The Video Viewpoints Records originated in the Department of Film, then were inherited by the Department of Media at its inception in 2006. They were sent by Barbara London to the MoMA Library in 2011, who then transferred them to the MoMA Archives. They were processed and described in Fall 2025.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Long version: Video Viewpoints Records, [series.folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York. Short version: Video Viewpoints, [series.folder]. MoMA Archives, NY.

Processing and Condition Information

The collection as a whole is in good condition. In processing, staples and other metal fasteners were removed; photographs, negatives and other photographic materials were rehoused in polyester sleeves; and acidic and other unstable materials were isolated or encapsulated as appropriate. The core of the collection had been rehoused in acid-free folders before transfer to the Archives; additional materials added were similarly rehoused. All files have been kept in their original order when possible. Folder titles reflect the original written title of the folder before processing and rehousing.

Container List

Box and Folder List

File numbers marked by an asterisk (*) indicate oversize material that has been separated to the end of the collection. Researchers should include the asterisk when issuing a request for such material.

Series	Folder Range	Box
I	1–10	1
I	11–24	2
I	25–36	3
I	37–43	4
I	44–64	5
I	65–102	6
I	103–131	7
I	132–165	8
I	166–194	9
I	195–210	10