During the 70’s video recording was fairly new to the scene. It was the beginning of Video Art introduced to the Art world. It was also a time for social change and new technology. Mostly displayed on TV were ads that portrayed women in their stereotypical role of a “housewife”, maid and broadcasting lies to the public.
David Hall and Chris Burden both wanted their video artwork on TV by breaking the rules of television and presenting their video artwork.
In 1971, David Hall made ten TV Interruptions for Scottish Television that were randomly broadcasted. One of these pieces was a glass tank that was being filled with water from a faucet and then emptied. David Hall did not credit this video art piece. These interruptions were random and did not hold any purpose aside from having TV exposure to a broader audience.
In 1973, Chris Burden created a 10-second video called TV AD Piece in which he had a bikini underwear, and he is dragging himself across the floor filled with glass while his hands are behind his back. The reason for these “ads” according to the artist was to gain exposure on TV. His ad was displayed four times a week for four weeks.
David Hall’s TV Interruptions focus was on materialistic things such as the water, tank and faucet and also the sound of the water being poured in and poured out. These scenes were non-personal. However, Chris Burden’s TV AD Piece was focused on his body, body movement and grunts as he dragged himself on the floor. These scenes made you feel scared or hurt since you can relate to a human; you get an idea that the man is in pain.