A History of Video Art is a critical introduction and guide to artists' video. It covers the period from the early 1960s - when video art first appeared as a distinctive medium - into the 1990s - when digital technology merged video's distinctive practice with that of independent film-making and photography. This artistic history is also a technological and a cultural history. A History of Video Art also sets its analysis of artistic practice firmly within the context of both the development of electronic imaging technology and the changing political and social climate. Richly illustrated, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in art history and contemporary art practice.