“Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot”

Who Nam June Paik and why was he so obsessed with the machine and its place here within humanity?

Paik was a progressive Buddhist, artist, composer and a machinist of sorts, but above all it seems that Nam June Paik was an entertainer.  Paik was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1932, moved to Hong Kong in 1949 and then migrating to Japan a year later. At Tokyo University, Paik studied art and music, and then pursued further musical studies in Germany. Eventually he was based in New York City art Scene of the mid-60s.

Not only did he compose music, he began experimenting with sculpture and performance. Using the technology of the time, Paik fused front-edge electronic media: television, personal videotape recorders, and primitive home computers, by combing them with a sensationalist flair slanting to a popular audience. He maintained this perspective by working with same wavelength human collaborators, mostly artists, and those open to his abstract world of circuits and video. The most important being was Charlotte Moorman his main collaborators and muse who was in her own right an eccentric and talented cellist artist, who paired with Paik on several projects.

At first glance I did not know what to think of the primitive interface of his creations. Wires and lights projecting from this skeletal frame of moshed up metal that barely resembles a manly figure. The exhibit walls bare sketches of robots, personal notes and electronic remembrances of Paik’s futuristic mind, of man and machine living in unison as a collective. His use of video as an art form portrays itself in such disturbing yet cohesive manner of Television bodies and Visuals as a platform to incite and perplex.

 Upon entering the exhibit I came across Paik’s first automated robot. Robot K-456, this robot was programmed to walk, talk, and poop beans.  K- 456 functioned through twenty radio channels and a remote control. It was understood that Paik intended to shock viewers with the robot’s ability to interact with humans.

I myself upon viewing one of the monitors felt a certain way seeing this robot gliding across Madison Avenue as on lookers were shocked seeing  this entity be hit by a car various times. You can see the concern for this A.I become all too human. I actually felt connected for a quick second with K- 456. If Paik’s intention was to fuse if only momentarily humankind with machine through empathy, I personally feel he has succeeded. I am very glad I came to see this innovative Artist, who laid the ground work for future digital expression to evolve.

 

Final Project

This film was  loosely based  on  busters Keaton's Silent film Dr.Jekel, and concepts from the story boards of Andrew Kimler. The protagonist in this narrative is Steve Robayo who did amazing job in listening to the directions of each sequence.

Somewhere, somehow, something went wrong when Steve became a man trapped in an app. No - Steve should not have never dared to touched that vortex app, but Yes ! he did, now Steve is a man in an app. Will steve ever recovery and zap himself out of that app? We may never know, since all that is left I from this incredible work of art is this rare black and white sequence from the original "mann in an app" 1995 version.

man in an app : The black and white sequence. from Bella Souls on Vimeo.

Dario Argento - opening of Suspiria 1977

   For me I find Dario Argento to be one of the most influential Italian Filmmakers of the late 60’s and 70’s. his flair for the macabre borders the psychotic to the absurd, his visual technique for cinematography and over all composition synthesis of music and color give the viewer a sense of unsettling dread.The clip that I will be analyzing for its Aesthetic value is the opening sequence of Dario’s Argentos 1977 Giallo film Suspiria.

        In the sequence, Suzy Bannion, an American ballet student, arrives from her flight in Munich, Germany on a stormy night to enroll in a prominent dance academy in Freiburg.  As she arrives we are immediately thrown into the mysterious airport that seems ominous with its low key lighting and accompanying film score by the rock band Goblin. The sharp cuts between Bannions Point of view and the never-ending exit feels foreboding as if she should not leave the airport.  Argento plays with omitting sound and at given moments manipulating it, such as the swishing sound of the airports electronic door, and Bannions silent scene in a cross cutting editing process that sets the tone for the film. 

    The harsh elements that present Bannion on her way out of the airport escalates as she tries in a frenzy to get a cab at night in the torrential down pour. The depth of field serves to give a sense of immense loneliness and solitude, as no one stops to assist her. You can almost feel  the rain crash on her spirit. The contrast between her white attire and the dark surrounding makes her look as if she is an innocent being caught up in this dark harsh environment. Finally we cut to  the interior of the cab, where Bannion has gotten a break, or so we think. The wonderful use of vibrate color works well in this scene, the blues and reds dominate the mood of madness that will be surrounding Bannion later on in this film. Argento sometimes embellishes subliminal messages in his films. I will not say when but let’s see if you can catch him in this 2 minute clip. He is a very creepy individual, and I love it.