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http://www.davidbermantfoundation.net/exhibits/gallery1/images/paik/paik0.jpg
Participation TV
1969, Nam June Paik.
Image courtesy of David Bermant Foundation
Along with Magnet TV (1965), Participation TV (1963) was an attempt by pioneering video artist Nam June Paik to "gain audience participation through his TV experiments" (Decker-Phillips, 1998: 63).
The work consisted of a television set wih two specially connected microphones. As the viewer spoke into either of the microphones, it would affect and randomly manipulate the abstract patterns on the television screen. This was Paik's way of "inviting viewers to be active creators, not passive consumers, of media" (Strickland, 2000), as well as making an artistic statement using the interaction between humans and technology (David Bermant Foundation, 2004).
Being popularly received by audiences and institution alike, Paik subsequently developed a second version of Participation TV, identical in concept, but more complex in execution. In Participation TV II (1969) Paik used three video cameras to send signals to three or four television sets. These visual signals were manipulated randomly by acoustic signals, and the result was that viewers could see images of themselves distorted in random ways, interacting with the abstract forms and patterns on the screen (Decker-Phillips, 1998: 63).
Magnet TV (1965)
TV cello (1971)
Global groove (1973)
TV Buddha (1974)
Nam June Paik's Official Website
Nam June Paik's Official Website - Exhibitions
David Bermant Foundation (2004) Nam June Paik: Participation TV [Online] Available: http://www.davidbermantfoundation.net/exhibits/gallery1/paik.htm [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Decker-Phillips, E. (1998) Paik Video, New York: Barrytown. ISBN 188644935X.
Guggenheim Museum (2000) The worlds of Nam June Paik [Online] Available: http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/paik/ [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Nam June Paik Studios (2004) Nam June Paik's official website [Online] Available: http://paikstudios.com [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Stooss, T. & Kellein, T. (ed.) (1993) Nam June Paik: Video time- video space, New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0810937298.
Strickland, C. (2000) 'Video artist's work set on fast forward', The Christian Science Monitor [Online] Available: http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/2000/03/03/fp20s1-csm.shtml [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Wikipedia (2004) The free encyclopedia [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
--Ryan Lee 10:12, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
