Nam June Paik and his contribution to video as a time based art form
Time based video has become more and more popular over the years as a valid art form. The idea of time-based video as installations is to have the video existing in a space, where the sculptural dimension is added to the dimension of time. The videos can be on loops, and the audience may come in at any time during the artwork. ... Around the early sixties, video installation became extremely popular in exhibitions; with artists such as Nam June Paik and Wolf Vostell being prominent time-based video artists during this period. ... Nam June Paik had placed 10 TV-sets placed in all directions and edges all around in the gallery and he had manipulated the TV-sets to influence the pictures on the screens. ... This essay discusses Nam June Paik’s contribution to this art form. Born in Seoul, Korea in1932, Nam June Paik is one of the most prominent video artists alive today, and his video installations have revolutionized the way we look at postmodern video installation. Paik played an important role in the development of our ideas of what television really was, and how it was becoming such a huge influence on our lives and society. Paik started off as a musician in Germany, experimenting with various forms of avant-garde music. He was greatly influenced by the work of John Cage, who created radical musical compositions for his time. However, unlike Cage, who was devoted to sounds, Paik was more interested in objects. Paik’s work was heavily influenced by Cage’s “4’ 33”, the silent piece, which played an important role in influencing the direction of Paik’s video work. Paik then moved to Japan for a short time to conduct experiments with electromagnets and colour TV sets . ... Paik’s interest in television stemmed early on in his musical composition and recording days, where he would use a tape cassette recorder in order to shape the sounds by altering the recording and playing it like an instrument. ... " Paik was interested in the passive delivery systems for electronic media – particularly television, and the importance of audience interests and attention in a television-orientated society.