Nam June PaikMatthew Sweetman

Period 57 April 2014

Electronic Superhighway• Created by Nam June Paik (1932-2006) in 1995 C.E.• Depicts a model of the contiguous United States highway system laid out via neon lights and images from video monitors• Piece has no patron, but was made independently as a tribute to the influence of Film and Television on American Pop Culture• Was created in New York City, but now resides in the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.; Paik’s intention was for it to be viewed publically by all Americans as a celebration of culture• Consists of 336 unique TV monitors interconnected by steel beams and neon lights. Each State’s monitor(s) displays a special and unique part of American culture that can be traced back to that state. For example, Kansas displays scenes from The Wizard of Oz (1939)• Work is approximately 15 x 40 x 5 ft in size. It was intended to be a quasi-monument for the American public• As said above, this work’s purpose was to commemorate 20th Century Americana and American pop culture; Paik became enamored with American culture in his early 30’s , after American military personnel permanently occupied South Korea after the Korean War. Paik moved to America in 1964 and created this to celebrate its culture.• This piece, though its composition is abstract and odd, is very straightforward and forthright in its conveyance of its message. It is a 20 th Century piece of electronic video art for 20th Century people• Colors are varied, luminescent, and alternating: neon lights provide extremely vivacious and effervescent color to the work• Space is tightly packed and dense, yet it is geographically faithful and exact; the shapes are asymmetrical (like the states) , three dimensional, and extremely confined

Ommah• Made by Nam June Paik in New York City in 2005 C.E.• The work consists of a video shown on a 19” LCD monitor that is covered in a silk robe• Has no patron, was independently produced, and now resides in the National Gallery of Art in • No consensus exists on what the work’s message is, but it is generally thought to be a comment on the confluence and assimilation of Asian (and more specifically, Korean) culture in the 20 th century by the technology and culture of the Western world (including and especially the United States)• One of Paik’s last works before his death in the January of 2006

Egg Grows• Created by Nam June Paik from 1984 – 1989 • Is made from 8 monitors, all varying in size and lined up diagonally (except for the last three) in order from smallest to largest, all the while separated by giant light bulbs designed to look like eggs. All monitors display the same image: a fetus inside the womb, crouched in the fetal position• Was made in New York City but now resides in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) • The exact meaning is disputed but common theory regards the evolution and ascendancy of humanity from primitive beginnings to the electronic luminescence of the 20th Century, albeit remaining confined within the limits of our little perceptive bubble• This is considered Paik’s most controversial work, as it seems to purport contraindications and implications of human technological advancement

TV Buddha• Created by Nam June Paik in New York City in 1976• Made for a Paik’s Kaldor Public Art Project with Charlotte Moorman, funded by John Kaldor• Portrays a Buddha statuette that belonged to John Kaldor being displayed by and looking into a TV monitor made specifically to appear futuristic • Resides alternately between New York City and Cologne, Germany today• This specific work is thought to be of similar theme to Ommah, which was probably influenced in part by this work• The message herein is generally considered to pertain to the assimilation of Eastern Asian culture by Western culture and technology, as is evidenced by the stark contrast of the ancient Buddha and the futuristic monitor