Why Visual Ambient?

If you feel bombarded by all the visual noise constantly vying for our attention, you might understand why I created Visual Ambient.

I wanted something in my home that could occupy “media” spaces and be interesting to look at. While I love nature, I find the most comfort in alternative environments: abandoned parking lots, graveyards, shipping ports.

Back in high school, I remember when Duran Duran’s Girls on Film was released on Betamax. What stuck with me was reading that the band wanted to create something visually appealing to play in New Romantic clubs.

Later, in college, Jeff Reed would fill the art studios late at night with a 90-minute cassette of him tuning and detuning an analog radio—much to the annoyance of those not on the art track.

After grad school, my close friend Lily had TV sets scattered around her Upper East Side apartment, each tuned to random channels—mostly static (remember when you could use an analog dial to hunt for channels?).

All these moments made me think: I want something to fall asleep to, to put on at dinner parties, to actively ignore. What would Brian Eno or Tom Waits enjoy in their home while tinkering with a machine?

Visual Ambient is my contribution to those thoughts and gestures.

Who is Visual Ambient?

Primarily, it’s me, John Zavocki. Soon, I’ll start adding films from other artists I know or meet. You’ve probably never heard of us—but we’re out here, making art … “even without a record deal” (as Nas would put it).

When I’ve gathered a dozen or so contributors, I’ll add individual About pages so you can easily see who does what. Of course, most of the profit from the app will go to them.

If you’re a subscriber … super duper thanks.