The technology behind teletext has been around for a long, long time but hasn’t ever really taken off as an artistic medium for expression. Due to the growing trend of artists utilizing older technologies, perhaps as a response to the clean and crisp images we’ve become accustomed and desensitized to, this forgotten medim as might be facing a sort of a renaissance as an art form.
Considering that teletext has been used by millions of people daily during its 40 years of existence, it has so far remained a relatively unexplored territory for artistic creation. Ever since it was launched by the BBC in 1973, there have been several serious efforts to open up teletext for art but even if teletext has had a steady stream of fans within the artistic community, including some well-known names such as the Jodi artist collective, it has never gained the status it deserves as an art form. Now that High Definition has become established as a standard and the race towards crisp images has slowed down, a growing number of artists have returned to the basic structures of electronic art. This can be seen as the main reason for the revival of teletext in this context.
While the show is currently on view in Berlin until September 15th at ARD Hauptstadtstudio it can be viewed easily online in its entirety by visiting the festival’s website here. (Images: TeletextArt)
