19th March 2011, was the night I had to tuck in my thick brown curtains when moon made it’s closest approach to earth in twenty years due to the phenomenon, called lunar perigee or Super moon, the natural satellite was only 221,567 miles away from our planet, which made me realize why “Moon is the Oldest TV” the work I had seen at Tate Liverpool at the retrospective of one of the most innovative artist of the twentieth century –Nam June Paik (1932-2006)
Exhibition showcased ninety works from different phases of his life with letters, photos and other documentary materials giving an insight in to his work process. The exhibition focuses on his contribution as inventor of media art exploring its wide possibilities. With works such as TV Buddha & Video Fish where he not only used the technology but exploited the use of TV sets as physical element as well in his work highlighted his concerns about east & west, old & new, nature and the technological.
In his student days in Germany while working on his avant-garde music and performances he had met Karlheinz Stockhausen and particularly John Cage, who encouraged Paik to incorporate chance & silence in to his compositions, which became unique feature of his work. Schallplalten Schaschlik (Random Access) brought in strongly the concepts of public participation and questioned the conventional view that a piece of music should always progress in a linear fashion from start to finish. These ideas prefigure the technique of sampling & mixing sections of different compositions found in Hip Hop music today. Another interesting work in show was Prepared Piano (1962-63) which had glued keys and its rigged pressing by had unexpected consequences like turning on fans, radio, projectors, moving hammers, creating a frustrating humorous experience gently mocking the instrument which symbolizes both the middle class household and European classic music.
In 1963 he had his first solo exhibition Exposition of Music-pinnacle of his interdisciplinary experimentations using physical and electronic manipulations of cathode-ray tube monitors, as can be seen in Zen for TV, became his primary interests in this period. In his 1960 performance of Etude for Pianoforte at the artist Mary Bauermeister's studio, for instance, Paik experimented with breaking down the boundary between performer and audience, jumping up in the middle of the piece and cutting off John Cage's tie with scissors. 1961 onwards along with Joseph Beuys and Yoko Ono, Paik got involved in organizing and performing personally in many Fluxus “actions” in Europe after meeting American artist George Maciunas, the founder of Fluxus, with whom he shared the ideas to shake institution establishments and merge national & cultural boundaries, opening the definitions of what art can be.
TV as medium provided critical potential exploration of artistic manipulation. His emphasis on participation of viewer as crucial to completion of his works was revolutionary in itself.
1963 visit to Japan brought in “video-synthesizer”, producing and modifying digital images. In late 1960s this led to employing closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in his video sculptures, creating an enigmatic technological interpretation of Zen Buddhism also interlocking contrasting ideas such as the spiritual and the technological.
On his collaboration with cellist Charlotte Moorman Paik reflected in 1969 : 'The real issue implied in "Art and Technology" is not to make another scientific toy, but how to humanize the technology and the electronic medium … TV Brassiere for Living Sculpture (Charlotte Moorman) is also one sharp example to humanize electronics … and technology. By using TV as bra … the most intimate belonging of [a] human being, we will demonstrate the human use of technology, and also stimulate viewers, not for something mean but stimulate their phantasy to look for the new, imaginative and humanistic ways of using our technology.'
His Zen belief, that eventually there will be no distinctions between nature and technology, inspired him to juxtapose television sets with live plants and fish in his large-scale installations, merging the interconnected and ambiguous. Works like TV Garden and Moon is the Oldest TV reflect emergence of an alternative technology closely linked to nature and its principles of continual and unpredictable flux and change. Paik stated: 'my experimental TV is not always interesting but not always uninteresting. Like nature, which is beautiful, not because it changes beautifully, but simply because it changes'. The fascinating work Video fish has 7 monitors fitted with 7 aquariums functioning as lenses through one views the videos. The work can be seen as a reflection on the narcissistic way in which humans interact with TV a persistent observation in light of the much later phenomenon of “reality TV”. Additionally it shows blurring of the real and unreal , technological and natural.
In 1963 Beuys famously smashed a piano into pieces at Paik's first solo exhibition. Their artistic collaborations and close comradeship continued until Beuys' death in 1986. Both Paik and Beuys believed in the power of art to shape a better society, and sought to establish a direct connection with audiences through 'actions' and performances. They also shared a keen interest in shamanism, emphasizing the role of artist as healer and mediator.
On display is also the Family of Robot composed of multiple TV sets reflecting generations of family. In 1964 Paik created his first robot work, Robot K-456, the robot often appeared as Paik's alter ego in events or performances. Family of Robot was first shown in 1985 later it included specific historical or artistic figures demonstrating Paik's continued exploration of the complex interrelations of the human and the technological.
“Skin is becoming inadequate in interfacing with reality. Technology has become the body’s new membrane of existence” , well said Nam June Paik.
Nam June Paik was initiated and developed by Tate Liverpool and museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, curated by Sook-Kyung Lee and Susanne Rennert. The exhibition was presented in Liverpool by Tate Liverpool in collaboration with FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology). It was on at Tate Liverpool
