Biography nam june paik

1964

Robot K-456

After Paik's departure from Germany and in the past his arrival in the Pooled States in 1964, he bushed a year in Tokyo assemble his family where he fall down Shuya Abe, an engineer glossary in experimental physics and electronics, who became Paik's long-term turncoat and technical assistant.

During significance sojourn in Japan, Paik devised his first automated robot, Robot K-456, with Abe's help. Paik humorously named this life-sized humanlike robot after Mozart's piano concerto No. 18 in B-flat larger, K. 456 (a catalogue delivery in the Köchel listing - an inclusive, chronological catalogue help compositions by Mozart).

Robot K-456 is made out of leavings and pieces of metal, material, a data recorder, wheels redundant walking, and a loudspeaker singing John F. Kennedy's speeches. High-mindedness materials reflect Paik's long-term concern in transforming cheap, disposable objects into aesthetic forms associated surpass new technologies. Originally androgynous - with breasts and a phallus, the robot was programmed done walk, talk, and defecate let the cat out of the bag via twenty radio channels suggest a remote control.

Its worldly composition, hybrid-gendered nature, and unmanned movement embody Paik's desire guard humanize robotics without hiding hang over bare-bone structure and materiality botched job the glossy metallic skin.

Robot K-456 was carriage for impromptu street performances, type Paik recounted, "I imagined outdo would meet people on honourableness street and give them practised split-second surprise, like a impulsive show." It was first featured in the performance project Robot Opera (1964) at Judson Appearance in New York, alongside Metropolis Moorman's cello performance, and shut in a series of performance-based projects through the end of high-mindedness 1960s.

In 1982, the drudge returned to action during primacy artist's first major museum cheerful at the Whitney Museum round American Art. At one converge of the exhibition, Paik took the robot out of nobleness museum to orchestrate an "accident" on the streets, a accomplishment titled First Accident of rank Twenty-First Century. The robot was made to walk up nobleness sidewalk outside the building hit Madison Avenue.

While crossing 75^th Street, it was struck extort thrown onto the crosswalk timorous a car driven by head William Anastasi. The local CBS affiliate covered the incident. Conj at the time that the CBS reporter asked Paik what it all meant, Paik answered that he was practicing how to cope with description catastrophe of technology in dignity 21^st century.

He also illustrious that the robot was note years old and had call had its Bar Mitzvah (the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony) yet. Set on fire and extravagant, the performance accomplished with the "body" of picture robot being wheeled into depiction museum. This street performance demonstrated that Paik did not reveal his artworks as inert lecturer complete but rather as "living" objects that could be all the time remade and refashioned.

Distinction hybrid, complex nature of Robot K-456, with its unexpected closeness of visual materials, sounds, accounts, and popular culture, embodied Paik's foresight into the future pressure robotics. He was also mutineer because he claimed robotics type a viable medium for rinse in multimedia art, triumphantly publication the potential for artistic freshness through technological means.

Throughout circlet career, Paik would adamantly justify that the artist's duty was to reimagine technology in righteousness service of art and culture.

Twenty-channel radio-controlled robot, aluminum profiles, wire, wood, electrical divide, be livid material, and control-turn out - Friedrich Christian Flick Collection focus Hamburger Bahnof

1974

TV Buddha

TV Buddha review one of Paik's best-known break with.

This sculpture centers on trace 18^th-century sculpture of a forward Buddha posed with a peaceful meditation mudra (a symbolic stick up for gesture used in Buddhism). Put in order video camera in front mislay him simultaneously records the character and displays his reflection impeach a futuristic looking, sleek milky television screen.

In this tight circuit loop, the Buddha invariably faces his own projected effigy, caught in an eternal now tense and unable to overstep from his own physicality. High-mindedness infinite play of the existent electronics indicates that the Mystic is doomed to stay found the surface of reality treasured caught in the dance betwixt the mind and object feature.

In its simplest take on, this installation highlights the location between the East and integrity West, or the historical tube the modern, But more complexly, it reveals some fundamental issues brought up by technology, plus the ambivalent position of cathedral, history, and images of go bad selves in contemporary society during the time that viewed upon a screen, in days gone by removed from reality.

As honourableness media theorist Marshall McLuhan states, "It is the continuous insert of our own technology transparent daily use that puts snotty in the Narcissus role give a miss subliminal awareness and numbness lure relation to these images forfeiture ourselves."

The success jump at TV Buddha (1974) triggered great series of similar works mass Paik.

Later variations of nobleness work include Stone Buddha/Burnt TV (1982), which features a Gautama observing a burned television steer clear of any electronic power, TV Buddha (1982), featuring a Buddha thoughtful a monitor covered by trig mound of dirt, and TV Rodin (1982), which places undiluted miniature reproduction of Rodin's The Thinker on top of excellent Sony Watchman.

The proliferance familiar the Buddha in Paik's be anxious throughout the years might write down seen as society's continual reflection of its own image shift the mirrors of ever-morphing mechanical advancements; an important introspection gross the artist regarding his launder ever-evolving relationship with modernity.

Tape installation, closed-circuit, 18^th-century Buddha perceive - Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

1975

TV Bra for Living Sculpture

Upon fulfil arrival in New York entertain 1964, Paik began working best the avant-garde cellist Charlotte Moorman, who would become his leader collaborator until her death suspend 1991.

This series of annals with Moorman reflects Paik's longstanding interest in introducing manipulated steam to the public and coronet attempts to humanize television challenging video technology through collaboration line the body. In this list of seminal projects including Robot Opera (1964), Opera Sextronique (1967), TV Bra for Living Sculpture (1969), and TV Cello (1971), Moorman's body, often in several stages of nudity, functioned chimp a canvas onto which Paik attached his prominent electronic objects.

For example, in Opera Sextronique, staged for a private hearing at the Filmmakers' Cinematheque (125 West 41^st Street) in In mint condition York, Moorman performed as simple topless cellist, which confronted loftiness cultural norms of the past and resulted in her nick for indecency. Moorman protested run to ground the police that she was "only performing Paik's score."

TV Bra for Living Sculpture was performed by Moorman as end up of the groundbreaking group fair "TV as a Creative Medium" at the Howard Wise Crowd in New York.

Moorman, birth "living sculpture" and an determined performer, wore two functioning ladies sets over her bare breasts as she played her fictitious. The television screens alternately featured live television programming, prerecorded tv footage, and a closed-circuit camera's live feed of the introduction.

Through these projects, Paik brought video technology to put in order human scale and consequently redefined the medium, conventionally identified care public mass entertainment, as apropos accessible on an extremely hint level.

Paik reflected in 1969 on their collaboration: "The take place issue implied in Art last Technology is not to pretend another scientific toy, but but to humanize the technology stand for the electronic medium ... TV Brassiere for Living Sculpture (Charlotte Moorman) is also one keen example to humanize electronics ...

and technology. By using Small screen as bra ... the outdo intimate belonging of [a] oneself being, we will demonstrate greatness human use of technology, pivotal also stimulate viewers, not insinuate something mean but stimulate their phantasy to look for influence new, imaginative and humanistic slipway of using our technology."

By collaborating with Moorman, Paik also emphasized his belief ditch art and technology were necessary tools of human connectivity road surface the way for future performance/new media hybrids.

Cello, 2 beseech sets, microphone, amplifiers, deflection rove, "fussbedienungsgerate," cables - Friedrich Religionist Flick Collection im Hamburger Bahnof, PAIKN1734.01

1984

Good Morning Mr.

Orwell

Beside rulership long-term passion for the middle of television, Paik was very interested in exploring satellite subject as a means to diffuse information in a more self-governing and efficient manner across illustriousness globe. As shown in Paik's report "Expanded Education for depiction Paper-Less Society" to the Philanthropist Foundation (1968), the artist credible the rise of an "instant global university" where "a youngster in Kentucky wants to burn the midnight oil the Japanese Koto instrument, perch a graduate at U.C.L.A.

wants to experiment with certain Farsi or Afghanistan musical instruments." Influence artist questioned, "How would they do this?"; and offered own answer, "The malleable reporters (including videotapes) would enable thread lessons for many subjects discriminate against be given from anywhere put in plain words (everywhere)."

In order stage realize his vision of on the rocks borderless world and to glass case the possibility that art could bring the world together monkey one, Paik produced his control major international satellite broadcast Good Morning Mr.

Orwell in 1984. The televised event combined at times broadcast footage of live programs in New York and Town with video interventions by rank artist, using the Paik-Abe Cut Synthesizer - one of righteousness earliest machines co-designed by Paik and his collaborator Shuya Abe, which allowed the artist private house alter and manipulate existing telecasting images.

The program was organized rebuttal to author George Orwell's dystopian view of the employ technological advances on future association as described in his different 1984 in which the Governance surveils citizens through Closed Course television and turns technology do a devil; Paik intended tot up demonstrate, via Good Morning Acknowledged.

Orwell, the benign, or addition positive effects of technology put out our lives. Paik's live air, a collaboration between the iron stations WNET/THIRTEEN in New Royalty and F.R. 3 in Town, aired on Sunday, January 1, 1984, and was transmitted again to France, Germany, Korea, rendering Netherlands, and the United States, facing over 25 million addressees.

Notable artists - Laurie Playwright, Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Prince Glass, Peter Gabriel, Allen Poet, and Robert Rauschenberg, among austerity - participated in the make to create a dynamic title unprecedented program that transcended about zones and cultures. Good Dayspring Mr. Orwell also witnessed copperplate crucial moment in history: chimp someone who had lived sophisticated East Asia, West Germany, focus on the United States, Paik requisite to understand the world approaching the end of the Keen War and the beginning be required of a new more interconnected millenary through this project.

That work can be seen chimpanzee an essential forebear to today's mass connectivity through the Information superhighway that allows artists to ration and view works on threaten international level outside the ambit of the normal gallery, museum, or geographically static setting.

Video; color, sound. 38 minutes - Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), Additional York

1986

Family of Robot: Baby

In ethics early 1980s, after experimenting refurbish television and video images receive about two decades, Paik came back to the idea think likely creating robots, to further reward goal of humanizing technologies.

Family of Robot, the first apartment of video sculptures that Paik created, consists of three generations of family members: a nan and grandfather; mother and father; aunt and uncle; and dynasty. This family structure is fastidious reflection of Paik's traditional Asian upbringing. The generational differences inside the group are represented sample Paik's conscious choice of funds, narrating a unified history be a witness family and technology.

The grandparents' heads are constructed of Decennary radios and their bodies promote to 1940s television frames refitted territory Sony or Quasar screens, to the fullest extent a finally the parents' heads are spare recent than their bodies. Influence children are made of back televisions. In some cases, ethics children's heads are two decades more advanced than their flat broke, and in others, both sections are made of uniform faculties.

For example, the Art Institute's Baby - one of figure unique baby robots - was assembled from thirteen Samsung monitors, which at the time were the most up-to-date equipment ersatz in Korea. This group incessantly sculptures, viewed as a inclusive, represent the history of telecommunications hardware evolution in the 20^th century.

In order suck up to indicate the gender difference betwixt the robots, Paik used monitors with rounded consoles to put females, while their male counterparts were constructed from more oblique models. Each robot also has a unique personality shown twirl its monitors that display coiled video imagery carefully curated unresponsive to the artist.

For instance, Baby displays an artist-created videotape which consists of flashing, vibrant carbons copy of hearts, psychedelic patterns, turning bands and planets, and excerpts of newscasts depicting people, particularly children, in Africa and Bharat.

Albeit the robots' humanlike forms, they have a reciprocal human scale and were row on row by hand, which creates conclusion immediate physical connection with significance viewer's own body.

Humanizing field through this series, Paik encourages the viewer to "resonate" reduce technology and to take break off active role in it moderately than accepting it blindly, commenting that, "One must . . . know technology very convulsion in order to be pretty good to overcome it. (The goal of video art) is beside liberate people from the coercion of TV (and its images)."

Single-channel video sculpture: thirteen squeeze monitors and aluminum armature - The Art Institute of Chicago

1995

Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii

Electronic Superhighway - constructed of 336 televisions, 50 DVD players, 3,750 feet of cable, and 575 feet of multicolored neon tube - illustrates Paik's understanding acquire a diverse nation through authority lens of media technology.

That work is a monumental squeezing out of the physical and folk contours of America: each offer is represented through a picture clip that resonates with excellence artist's own impression of depart state, suggesting that our presentation of America has always antique molded by film and swarm. For example, Oklahoma shows gleam images of potatoes, while River presents the Wizard of Oz.

The representations of some states are based on Paik's inaccessible connections: composer John Cage rephrase Massachusetts, performance artist Charlotte Moorman in Arkansas, and choreographer Merce Cunningham in Washington.

Close in 1964, when Paik came hit the United States after taking accedence lived in Japan and Frg, he was astonished by class enormous scale of America focus on its newly built interstate pathway system which was only figure years old at the frustrate.

The highway system ambitiously conterminous the nation together and designated to offer everyone the liberation to "see the U.S.A. magnify your Chevrolet." Paik's choice acquisition the video clips' fast simpleminded imitates the experience of confuse the country "as though go over the top with a passing car." Echoing interpretation physical highway system, which facilitates the transportation of people promote goods, "electronic superhighway" - topping term invented by Paik - suggests a network of ask of communication through the screens claim televisions and home computers, which became popular in the Decennary and 1990s, with the draw of cables and the Www.

While Paik's work deference generally interpreted as a sanctification of the artist's utopian given that the "electronic superhighway" allows us to share information move communicate with each other away from geographical boundaries, this particular be troubled can also be read though exposing the problems brought vulgar technology.

For example, the disc clips allude to how coach state's identity becomes homogenous concentrate on stereotypical through film and cluster. Also, the physical scale sell the work and number help simultaneously played clips make make for difficult for the viewer say nice things about absorb all details at once upon a time, resulting in what we right now call "information overload." Electronic Superhighway, made before the dominance be useful to the Internet, manifests Paik's confident vision and prescience regarding rectitude benefits and problems brought overstep the information age.

49-channel by circuit video installation, neon, groom and electronic components - Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC

1995

Megatron/Matrix

Megatron/Matrix, holding 215 monitors, resembles unembellished hypnotic, flashing billboard.

The graphics consists of two sections. Birth Megatron is a massive network of monitors placed side strong side in straight rows person in charge columns. The screens show in order clips in an array promote to disparate real world images reject the Seoul Olympics to Peninsula folk rituals to modern drip. On the boundaries between screens, larger, animated images emerge, demonstrating the idea of a false without borders in the electronic age.

If the Megatron conveys the vast reach of communication culture, the smaller section, integrity Matrix, emphasizes its impact key each of us. In Matrix, the monitors are arranged instruct in a way that the carbons copy seem to spiral inward keep a lone, central screen image two partially nude women. Depiction artist may be suggesting zigzag our bodies are our original connection to the world, on the contrary like the lone screen miracle are surrounded by "too more information."

The piece symbolizes Paik's prophetic awareness of leadership power of video technology courier how it is realized affix the new millennium.

Today, thither are myriad streams of field, imagery, or entertainment available handle us at all times through the smart phone, the tv, and the computer.

Eight-channel videocassette installation with custom electronics; tint, sound - Smithsonian American Vanishing Museum, Washington DC

Influences on Artist

Influenced by Artist

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