I had the opportunity to visit Buffalo's AKG Gallery about two weeks ago. The plan was to see the entire museum, but my time there was overwhelmingly consumed by Steina's Playback collection of video artworks- see photos attached. Keep in mind that all of what you see was created in or around the 1970s. While these sorts of images might be common and easily creatable now, Steina's works were perhaps the first of their kind- she's a true trailblazer.
I think there's something deeply disturbing about what Steina has created, especially in seeing such works in person. I do not think the goal was to create something so viscerally terrifying, but I also do not think Steina and her collaborators weren't making something they knew to be upsetting. If that makes any sense at all. My interpretation of Steina's body of work is that she is attempting to show us, the viewers, something that would otherwise be literally impossible to see outside of a digital medium. In sitting down to watch one of her works, you will constantly be trying to apply sense, and make shapes where there are none. It's pattern recognition pushed to its limits. It's the irrationality of it all that, I think, inspired such a powerful reaction in me on seeing it. Humans weren't 'supposed to' see this. We weren't brought into this world to comprehend it, and yet, we live in an age where we're asked to, and I believe that's Steina's message in showing us her work. If you're able, I'd recommend viewing some of Steina's work online. Or, if you're in the Buffalo area, visit AKG. There's even more to enjoy there behind the topic of this recommendation.