Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
Nam June Paik practised from 1953 to 2006 when he passed. The work i have chosen is the Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii produced in 1995. Which can be seen in detail in this youtube video
How was the photo or video authored? For instance, with a photo, this would involve understanding the device used to record it and the technology used to prepare the image for publication. Included in this observation may be how the image was recorded (like in a mise-en-scene analysis).
This piece of work is a installation in an art gallery that was constructed of 336 televisions, 50 DVD players, 3,750 feet of cable, and 575 feet of multicolored neon tubing. Paik used technology and video in a way no one had ever before in art and he manipulates the video that is being played on the screens by synthesisers to create unique eye capturing effects. “Nam June Paik is hailed as the father of video art and is credited with the first use of the term “electronic superhighway” in the 1970s.” (Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2018) He had a perspective like no other and that is what got him known. Also the use of television sets in combination with the manipulation of the content shown on the screens was the focus of his series of works at the time.
How was the photo or video published? For example, with a photo, this would involve understanding the medium the photo was published in, like for instance – was it print media or the World Wide Web? Was the photo printed? If so how does this printing process affect the photographer’s practice?
His work was published in the form of an exhibition in a gallery which could both limit or benefit his works, depending on the space he had available. This meant he could adapt his work to the space by having the main section of the “map of america” on one wall of the gallery and then “hawaii” section etc. on another wall nearby such as the youtube video above shows. Altering the layout of the piece can also give a different meaning, but not necessarily in this case as Paik was trying to showcase the USA as being influenced through how it is portrayed in TV and film and how that affects our perspective of it too.
How was the photo or video distributed? For instance, with a photo, this would involve understanding how the photo is distributed to multiple viewers. Like for instance, if the photo was printed in a periodical magazine – how is that magazine marketed and distributed to viewers?
Since this piece of work is an installation, it was available for viewing at a gallery. At this moment it is currently on show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and was a gift from the artist in 2002. The exhibition was on display in 2012 at the museum which is located in Washington DC and therefore gets a lot of traffic from day to day. The museum is very popular because of its location. I can only assume that a similar amount of traffic was attracted through all the previous museums it was showcases such as The Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which the piece premiered at. (Newmedia-art.org, 2018)
References:
Newmedia-art.org. (2018). Nam June Paik. [online] Available at: http://www.newmedia-art.org/cgi-bin/show-art.asp?LG=GBR&ID=9000000000066871&na=&pna=&DOC=expo
Smithsonian American Art Museum. (2018). Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii. [online] Available at: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/electronic-superhighway-continental-us-alaska-hawaii-71478