Communicative Arts Seminar

Alternate Fieldtrip Assignment

1117-497(01)

Nam June Paik: Can Video Be Art?

Part I Visit the three video installations in the Smithsonian American Art Museum at Gallery Place by Nam June Paik. Bring this sheet with you to make your notes. Enter the G Street Lobby. Take the elevator to the 3rd floor, and locate each of the video installations. Spend at least five minutes at two* of them. Feel free to ask the information desk, security guards or museum docents for directions.

1) Megatron Matrix 2) Zen for TV 3) Electronic Superhighway

In 60-80 words, describe each* of these artworks. (* - You can describe one of the three in a much shorter paragraph)

Part II -- Answer the following questions in an essay format of at least 1,200 words. How do these artworks use Television to comment on the culture of television? Which of the three artworks do you think makes the best point? Why? Name at least three familiar video clips, which are used in the artworks. Had you seen them before? How did this new context (i.e. being part of a large video wall) change what they mean? If Art is defined as any form of media, which makes you, think in a new way, which (if any) of these

video installations are art? Why/why not? How did Nam June Paik utilize stereotypes and clichs? Which are the most obvious? Are any offensive to you? Do you think any might be offensive to others? Define representation. How accurately do you think each of the video clips represents each of the U.S. States in Electronic Superhighway? As an example, name one (1) clip which you think does a QuickTime and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor job at accurate representation and one (1) clip good are needed to see this picture. which you think does a bad job at representation. What video did Nam June Paik choose to represent D.C.? Could it ever be accurate? Why/why not? Is this artwork cool or lame? Explain your answer.

PART III Do some research about Nam June Paik. Wikipedia is a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik But do a little more research. Look around the Smithsonian webpages, and some other art galleries, the FLUXUS Movement and Nam June Paiks studio homepage. http://www.si.edu/opa/insideresearch2/articles/V12_America.html http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/paik/paik_top.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxus_movement http://www.paikstudios.com/ Answer the following questions in an essay format of at least 1,500 words. What were some of the key ideas that Nam June Paik demonstrated with his artworks? As an example, name at least two (2) of his artworks not on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. What was the FLUXUS Movement? What was/is it trying to accomplish? How was/is it using technology to do this? Are they fighting against stereotypes and clichs, or reinforcing them? In you opinion, are Nam June Paik and the FLUXUS Movement it doing a good job? Why/why not? What would you do to make video art that is more accessible and meaningful for todays urban media audience? Briefly describe what type of video installation art you would create if you were going to make a similar statement. What clips would you choose? How would you configure the monitors? Would you use any particular stereotypes and/or clichs?

All written assignments must be typed, double-spaced and follow standard American English grammar conventions. Please see the syllabus for detailed information and academic honesty policy. Submit your written assignment to the instructor by 7pm on March 15 (the Ides of March), either as a hardcopy during class meeting time or via e-mail or the Blackboard digital Dropbox.