Nam June Paik
Watching the piece with Merce Cunningham, as well as Paik’s video film concert was really interesting. I’ve truly never seen anything like it before. I found both to be quite bizarre, yet mesmerizing. I couldn’t seem to look away. Paik’s video films were almost relaxing, with the visuals playing over the classical music. The Merce Cunningham piece was a bit more overwhelming. The visuals in the background of Paik’s broadcast, plus the sounds, and Cunningham’s dancing all together was a lot. I found it very intriguing, but hard to follow with everything going on all at once. That was definitely part of the idea though, to make the viewer uncomfortable and unsettled.
Nam June Paik is considered the father of video and installation art. He saw technology as a way to open up the world and to share art with everyone, beyond borders and cultural differences (Tate, 0:28-0:35). His “goal was to eliminate traditional music and performance practices altogether” (Decker-Philips 28). Paik created experimental, boundary breaking art that rebelled against norms and broke taboos. His art is really incredible to see, even if you may not understand it fully.
I definitely think they were relaxing to me as well. But I had a lot of trouble sitting through them. It was difficult to focus all the way through. I can imagine his art being projected during a DJ set or existing outside of the museum/film aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteWe have done alot of popular film this term so it is alittle strange to end on someone who is really using a museum aesthestic and working more from the perspective of the art avant-garde. Still I think, as you say, there is quite alot of stuff in his material that speaks to the viewer in an uncomplicated way. I also find many of his videos relaxing.
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