Nam June Paik

 Nam June Paik

Technology:

There are 25 silent televisions stacked inside of a black shinny cabinet. Vibrant flashing images blink in rhythm producing a compositional element which makes sense because Paik started his art career as an avant-guard musician.

Tubes, hoses, copper piping, and plastic buttons and doohickeys adorn the steel covered plywood cabinet. The silver and copper colors give the piece a futuristic feel.

Technology’s gothic inspired arches and points put the viewer in mind of both medieval architecture and space exploration. Paik is famous for his juxtaposition of past and present in his works. The images that flash on Technology’s 25 TV screens are a memory bank for the future showing both the failures and triumphs of technological advances made by humans. Call it what you will object or art Technology is a remarkable Technicolor summary of our civilization.

K-456:

During the 1960’s Nam June Paik started work on the Family of Robot series which he continued to add on to until his death in 2006. K-456 was the first member of Paik’s Family of Robot, K-456 traveled with Paik to exhibitions around the world until his demise in 1982. Out side of the Whitney Museum as a part of Paik’s retrospective exhibition K-456 was struck by a moving car. Paik describes him self as having “been rather successful finding a new combination of machine and man.”

K-456 was built in Japan and was supposed to be an interactive piece of art where it would interact with pedestrians on the street. K-456 is a relatively simple construction with a basic anamorphic figure. His body consists of metal tubing that form thick squat legs, square shoulders and a rectangle head. Wires and electronic components are strung along his legs arms and torso that connect in a large mass at the bottom of his left leg. There is a fan where a belly button would be and a speaker in place of a mouth.

Electronic Superhighway: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii:

Electronic Superhighway: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii was created in 1995 and is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. This map of the United Stated has political boundaries that are sectioned off with multi-colored neon lights. Televisions are positioned within the different state lines and show constant loops of film. Each state has different video loops that correspond to the area. For example scenes from wizard of Oz repeat from inside the Kansas border.

Paik’s sculpture is done on a massive scale, 15 x 40 x 4 ft, it fills an entire wall of the museum. The looping video images Paik suggest that American culture is heavily influenced by film and television. This statement is exemplified by the state specific looping clips that represent each region. Constant maintenance and upkeep is needed to preserve the tube televisions. Electronic Superhighway: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii epitomizes American culture and whether it is a positive or negative critique is debatable.