Housed by the Red Gallery, "Deconstructing Video: Pioneers of the Digital Realm" is a showcase of video artists from the Electronic Arts Intermix archive. A leading resource for artists' media and interactive media, EAI's core program is the international distribution of a major collection of new and historical media work by artists. Founded in 1971 as a nonprofit media arts center, EAI also offers a video preservation program and a screening room/study center. The online catalog is a comprehensive resource of 175 artists and 1,000 works.

"Deconstructing Video" features nothing less than the seminal video work by artists such as Bill Viola, Nam June Paik, William Wegman, Dara Birnbaum, Gary Hill, Joan Jonas, Beige and Radical Software Group and Chris Marker.

Not surprisingly, the footage on display is as varied as the artists themselves. "Low Level All-Stars: Video Graffiti from the Commodore 64 Computer" by Beige and Radical Software Group is a collection of examples of the nearly forgotten genre of hacked video game intro screens of the 1980s. "As long as video games have been sold they've been cracked," explained the group in their artist's statement. "Crackers are the fearless geeks who remove a game's copyright protection so that it can be copied for free. Crackers often leave behind modified start-up screens called intros as evidence of their trade. This special cracker graffiti both documents the intrusion and provides a platform to showcase the cracker's skills." According to Beige and Radical Software Group, who are loosely defined ensembles of artists and programmers working collaboratively in digital media, "Low Level All-Stars" showcases their favorite intros chosen from over 1,000 games available for the Commodore 64 computer.

Birnbaum's "PM Magazine/Acid Rock," on the other hand, has been called a spectacle of visuals and sound, a delirious collage of appropriated television imagery and dynamic pop music. Originally produced as one of four simultaneous video/music channels for Documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany, "PM Magazine/Acid Rock" draws from a Wang computer store commercial and the Doors' "L.A. Woman" for its frenetic energy.

A sampling of Hill's work from the 1970s acts as an explanation for his reputation as one of the most important contemporary artists investigating the relationship between words and electronic images. "Full Circle," "Mouthpiece," "Elements," "Primary," "Picture Story" and "Equal Time" are evidence of Hill's sincere and often poetic inquiries into linguistics and consciousness.

Jonas' 1988 "Brooklyn Bridge" relies upon still photographs, live video and superimposed drawings to bring to life this visual poem dedicated to a New York City landmark. Jonas is both an acclaimed multi-media performance artists and a major figure in video art.

Although best known for his 1962 film "La Jetée," Marker's "Bestiaire" trilogy, shot between 1985 and 1990, are as suggestive of his highly regarded position in experimental figures as his early classic. Said Marker of "Chat écoutant la musique," which stars the artists beloved cat, "He was fond of Ravel (any cat is) but he had a special crush on Mompou. That day (a beautiful sunny day, I remember) I placed Volume I of the complete "Mompou by Mompou" on the CD payer to please him."

Paik's video sculptures, installations, performances and tapes are said to comprise one of the most influential bodies of work in the video art medium. Both "Button Happening," Paik's earliest extant videotape, and "Lake Placid '80," which was commissioned by the National Fine Arts Committee of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, explore the juncture of art, technology and pop culture.

"Selected Works: Reel 4 and Reel 5" by William Wegman, who is known best for his portraits of Weimeraner dogs, feature deadpan conceptual monologues, parodic commercials and absurdist anecdotes with the artist's dog, Man Ray.

"Deconstructing Video: Pioneers of the Digital Realm" is on display at Red Gallery, 201 E. Broughton St., through Dec. 1.