they hit me with a truck

After looking into the work of pioneer video artist Nam June Paik, I was particularly struck by the intersection of various art forms  and concepts in his art.  Though probably most famous as a video artist, Paik combined the medium of video with sculpture (living and inert) and performance in works like “Cello” and “Techno Buddha.”  In contemplating video art it had not really occurred to me the level of interaction possible between an artist and video could go so far beyond the original conception and creation of the on-screen images.  His collaboration with Charlotte Moorland highlights the interaction of viewer and material as her living form was often part of the piece, to the point where she was arrested for participating in “Opera Sextronique” topless.  In his very first participation in a conceptual art show (Exposition of Music- Electronic Television)  he manipulated  images on television monitors with magnets, creating an experience in which the video was not the final product, but merely the first step in a more complex piece.  Not only is there a deeper level of participation in Paik’s videos, but the orientation and configuration of the monitors themselves is important to the whole sculptural nature of the presentation- the monitors are often arranged in specific shapes or settings that facilitates viewer interaction with the piece while simultaneously distancing the viewer from the content of the video. 

While Paik and Andy Warhol were working in video near the same time, their approaches could not have been more different.  While Paik collaborated with Moorland in a significant, lasting way, Warhol was known for his production of the “superstar” characters like Edie Sedgewick and Baby Jane Holzer, who were essentially disposable.  Also, Warhol’s films were videos presented as such, and thus relied almost exclusively on their content (and the mythos surrounding the Factory) rather than any outside participation from the artist.  In Warhol’s case, this distancing of the viewer from the artist was essential to the Pop Art concepts of superficiality and celebrity, but for Paik it is the layers he creates with multiple interactions that generates the power of his work.