Extra Credit - Becoming Robot

The “Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot” exhibit at the Asia Society was certainly a fascinating exhibit. It is, no doubt, commentary on the 21^st century world that we now inhabit and a criticism on how focused our world is on receiving information and utilizing technology.

One installation that really interested me was “Three Camera Participation/Participation TV.” It is composed of a video monitor and projector and it doesn’t truly perform its art until some enters and activates in.

When you walk in front of the cameras, an image appears. It is an image of you, existing as three hazy colored silhouettes (green, red, & blue.) If you step out of the camera range the image disappears. It is a piece that seems to signify nothingness and the ephemeral nature of the ‘self’ and existence. Another charming piece of work is Paik’s “Family of Robot” which consists of robots made up of older televisions and radios. I interpreted this to be both a criticism on the way that we are all turning into appliances and becoming consumed with our technology but also the fact that appliances seem to be acquiring consciousness and human behaviors. However, since the exhibit is named “Becoming Robot,” I’m leaning towards the first theory. Another piece that I enjoyed was “TV Buddha.” It is a gold statue of Buddha who is portrayed in a sitting/meditation position looking at a television with his face projected back onto it. I took this to be commentary at how we are sort of meditating or praying towards entertainment culture and in a way, worshipping it, as well as what it reflects back to ourselves.

Paik’s work is particularly relevant to culture now. It seems as though everyone is obsessed with the new apple product that is coming out and technology as a whole. It is consuming culture and people, turning them into robots as they become more reliant on technology to do even the smallest things. This happens so much so that people NEED their technology, it becomes a part of them, and essentially they become it. This exhibit was very interesting to see and analyze.