Visual artist, photographer and design enthusiast Allyson Martel has spent her life devoted to physical media, mainly the VHS tape.

Technological singularity attempted to stop what the VHS tape wouldn’t allow: The drive of the obsessive to collect and amass what is personally and culturally significant, but also what is beautiful The VHS tape wasn’t made defunct. You take away its function, and it shines all the more.

Yet, thank you vinyl for working just as hard.

This post-brutalist, now existential brutalist era of art and design has left a trove of media gold.

Allyson Martel was the first to use VHS reels and cases, in large-scale art and installation design.

A portion of her collection resides at the Elizabeth Gallery at Artisan Works, 565 Blossom Rd, Rochester NY 14610.