TV Buddha By Nam June Paik Analysis

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Throughout history, technological development has increased society’s need to observe one’s self within both media, and a real life setting. Nam June Paik’s “TV Buddha”, pictured below, (1974) is an example of how technology garners the attention of an individual to their self, facilitated through many forms of media, in this scenario, television. This work translates the artists intended reaction into the audience’s incidental reaction, as well as the way in which the artwork transmits its message. Contextually, the work was created in a time where new and emerging technologies were beginning, and the installation depicts a statue of Buddha, set before a camera that is designed to project his own image onto a TV screen in front of it. This gives the impression that he is silently contemplating his own image, as it infinitely appears on the TV screen, due to the presence of the camera (The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artists/bios/422/Nam%20June%20Paik). In a cultural aspect, the Buddha is revered as a being who “embodies flawless purity and selflessness” (Bogoda, R, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bogoda/bl139.html), a direct …show more content…

Through the use of a religious and cultural icon, Paik communicates the idea that technology forms a need for individuals to constantly observe themselves, often through the use of various forms of media or technology. The processes of transmission and translation, determine how the artwork is received by audiences, the artist’s ideas and takes into account the intended and unintended reactions or interpretations of the work. The combination of Western ideologies, cultural/religious influence and ever-increasing technology, is also covered by NEIL Postman, who states that technology is readily accustomed into society as a naturally occurring

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