Author: Pavel Slutskiy, Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Email: pavel.slutsky@gmail.com
Published: April 02, 2018
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.3.1.05
Citation: Slutskiy, P. (2018). Is Video-art Becoming a Form of Popular Art? The case of Apple TV's Aerial Screen Savers. IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.3.1.05
Abstract
In 2015 Apple unveiled its fourth generation Apple TV and presented a new screen saver with it, consisting of a collection of videos shot all over the world. A set of stunning slow-motion short videos depict aerial footage of some of the most famous skylines and landscapes from around the globe. This article looks at the question of whether these aerial videos represent a form of video art. If the answer is yes, then video art, which for more than half a century was struggling to find its place in popular culture (outside of high-brow contemporary art museums and galleries) is making an almost unnoticed entrance into millions of households, becoming a focal point in the endless number of living rooms. Given the adoption of larger LCD TV screens and the growing popularity of the Apple TV platform, aerial screen savers are becoming an art form that is dominating numerous interior spaces. Are we on the verge of the birth of a new kind of popular art?
Keywords
video art, screen savers, Apple TV, digital art