Mathilde Roman’s On Stage explores the resonances that certain notions from the field of theatre—the notions of stage, décor, space, gaze, etc.—have in the practice of a number of artists who work in the field of video today, and what these notions can bring to the theory and history of this medium. In her book, theatre is used both as a point of reference and, more interestingly, as a prism through which the recent history of video installation can be approached. The different chapters that compose the book concentrate on a number of questions that, though often overlooked by art historians, theorists and critics, are crucial to this specific medium: the exhibition architecture, the display, the experience of the viewer, the temporality of the work, the importance of the gaze. Each chapter is articulated around analyses of video installations created by artists of different generations, from Michael Snow to Maïder Fortuné, and Dan Graham to Laurent Grasso.

Mathilde Roman teaches at the Pavillon Bosio, Art & Scénographie, École Supérieure d’Arts Platiques de la Ville de Monaco, and her research focuses on the fields of moving image projects and exhibition studies and performance. She has curated a number of moving image projects and exhibitions and contributes regularly to international visual arts journals such as Mouvement, zérodeux and artpress.

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