For the inaugural installment of YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video , a curatorial team from the Guggenheim weeded through more than 23,000 submissions from 91 countries to come up with the 125 videos on the shortlist (which you can view now on the YouTube Play channel). “We focused on works that really were conceived from the start for an online medium, so not necessarily works that were to be projected in a museum space or works that simply documented a performance,” explains Joan Young, associate curator of contemporary art at the Guggenheim. “The idea really is working with the medium.”
Beginning today, their selections will play at the various Guggenheim museums around the world; a jury that includes Darren Aronofsky, Animal Collective, and Takashi Murakami will narrow down the list to 20 videos that will be presented at a special celebration the Guggenheim in New York on October 21. These finalists will be on view to the public October 22 through the 24th, as well as online. Click through to check out our top picks.
“CARDBOARD” by Sjors Vervoort
“Wonderland Mafia” by Waambat
“Words” by Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante
“Human Mirror” by Improv Everywhere
“The Huber Experiments – Vol 1” by Erik Huber
“Noteboek” by Evelien Lohbeck
“Stoop Sitting” by Everyone Forever Now
“Birds on The Wires” by Jarbas Agnelli
“Hulachess” by Jennifer Shahade
“Strindberg and Helium at the Beach” by Eun-Ha Paek