Nam June Paik
- the prophecy of the future projected through cathode-ray tubes
Writer: Yang Yuhao
Image taken by Yang Yuhao (2021)
“Skin has become inadequate in interfacing with reality. Technology has become the body's new membrane of existence.”. The integration of technology into society was prophesied by Nam June Paik in 1974. Almost 50 years later, his quote adequately described our relationship with technology today. Truly, we live in an era when Google knows you better than yourself. While we enter the new digital age of metaverse, we once again find ourselves questioning the role of technology in our lives. Perhaps the answers to our current queries can be found in the works of our pioneers as the new exhibition “The Future is Now” takes us into the world of modern artist Nam June Paik.
Image taken from https://prenjpac-en.ggcf.kr/archives/artwork/n143
Born in the “first digital age” (when televisions and telecommunication devices were beginning to be commercialized), Nam June Paik sought to define the role of technology in the rapidly changing world of the 20th century. As a pioneer of the Neo-Dada movement, Nam June Paik explored the relationship between technology, music, religion and society.
Paik’s early explorations explored the relations between music and technology. His first solo exhibition “Exposition of Music - Electronic Television” in 1963 marked the birth of video art. However, the 12 television sets attracted little attention from the visitors, instead, the star of the show was his 4 “Prepared Piano” installations. Partially deconstructed, the keys of the pianos were modified to perform different functions (such as playing the sound of the wind, turning on and off a light in the room or even connected to absolutely nothing). Through playing the piano, the audience becomes part of the performance as they modify, in real-time, the conditions around the room. The “music’ produced then transcends the dimensional barrier of the prerecorded music, into something that is simultaneous with reality and ever-changing. “Prepared Piano” is Paik’s attempt at evolving music to fit the digital age. His later explorations such as “TV-Bra for Living Sculpture” take a different approach as he tries to humanize technology through integrating TV-Bras into the performance of classical Cello, embedding the "grotesque" nature of technology into the beauty of the human body.
Departing from music, Paik’s explorations also sought to uncover the relationship between east and west, religion and technology. Being a lifelong Buddhist, Paik’s works often reflects Buddhist elements. Candle TV is a direct contemplation of Buddhism in the digital age. As candles are used as a timekeeping device for meditation in Buddhism, the act of looking into the candle TV represents participation in the act of meditation. However, the role of the candle is undermined by framing it in a TV box, equating it to a television programme. At the same time, TV programmes are elevated by the direct act of “meditation”. TV is thus given a veil of divinity, symbolizing the act of TV watching as a “religious” activity. This concept of religion and technology is further explored in his later works, most notably the “TV Buddha”. This installation not only discusses the concept of east versus west, historical versus modern, but it also delves into concepts such as vanity in modern times and constant surveillance in the digital age. The viewers complete the artwork by decoding Paik’s embedded transmissions in this installation through their personal experiences which differ from person to person based on their cultural backgrounds and life experiences.
Images taken by Yang Yuhao (2021)
Through his series of explorations with televisions, Paik amplified the impact of technology by weaving elements of human existence through his “electronic superhighways”. Revealing to the audience our (somewhat dystopian) reality. The dialogue regarding technology’s role in our society continues today as our generation navigates the ever-changing landscape of our digital age. Topics such as privacy, interconnectivity and sustainability are pushed towards the forefront of our “electronic superhighway”, as we see more works of architecture tackling these contemporary issues, constantly negotiating our “spaces” to accommodate and adapt to our technology.
“The Future is Now” is currently running in the National Gallery until 27th March 2022.