Electronic Superhighway
Nam June Paik. 1995 C.E. Mixed-media installation (49-channel closedcircuit video installation, neon, steel, and electronic components).
It is an enormous physical object that occupies a middle ground between the virtual reality of the media and the sprawling country beyond our doors.
FORM:
49-channel closed circuit video installation, neon, steel, and electronic components; video footage, 336 televisions, 50 dvd players, 3750 feet of cable, and 575 feet of multicolor neon tubing
FUNCTION:
tribute to the United States; challenges viewer to look with new eyes at the culturemap of the U.S.
CONTENT:
states have distinct identities - different scenes for each state; U.S. influenced by television and media; viewers filmed while watching; occupies a middle ground between the virtual reality of the media and the sprawling country beyond our doors
CONTEXT:
Paik born in Korea in 1932, studied art in Europe, moved to New York in 1964; interstate highway was very new 1995
NAM JUNE PAIK:
- a South Korean artist who lived in New York City
- one of the first people to use televisual materials to create art (video art)
- interested in maps, travel, & culture -- fascinated by the US interstate system
- "In these and other projects, Paik’s goal was to reflect upon how we interact with technology, and to imagine new ways of doing so."
- Essentially, a map of the United States outlined by vibrantly-colored neon lighting.
- each state has its own unique video feed:
- a total of 50 different video clips -- often chosen based upon their relevance to the state they're shown in (Kansas = The Wizard of Oz, Iowa (where the presidential elections always begin) = political candidates)
- 313 total television monitors
- these clips have made the Electronic Highway a record of the culture of the 90s
- In New York, there's a hidden camera so the video feed is actually the viewer -- this turns the spectator into a participant
- Paik uses neon to evoke connotations of hotel & restaurant window signs (& uses multiple colors to outline the states to mimic the design of many US maps)
- compares the use of highways to transport people & goods with the use of technology to spread ideas
