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| Nam June Paik. Li Tai Po |
And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you...”
In the Art world Nam June Paik is widely understood to be the "Father of Video Art." Maybe it would be better if we revised that title to the "Father of Television Art." When this Korean born artist began working in this medium in the late 1960's there were several other contemporary artists (like Andy Warhol) who were experimenting with film as a medium. What separated Nam June Paik from the rest of the field was that he was not only interested in the video or film that played on the television screen, he was also interested in the old cathode ray tube television set itself as an object. He treated the television as both a two dimensional canvas of moving images to be manipulated and a three dimensional sculptural object to be stacked in duplicate. He was even interested in broken TV’s. This is where Nam June Paik still stands out unique from any video artist that followed him. He made one form of art that allowed the viewer to witness another form of art… yet all in the same medium. The fullness of this experience was one that the original viewers walked away from knowing that they had witnessed something that would change history. They experienced this moment just by watching. That is the nature of witnessing; it begins with watching. That is the power of being a witness; it begins with watching. At least that’s what the New Testament’s idea of what witnessing and being a witness is. Luke 24:35-48 tells the story of one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances and those who witnessed it. The fullness of this experience was one that the original viewers walked away from knowing that they had witnessed something that would change history. They experienced this moment just by watching.
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| Nam June Paik, Magnet TV |
"...But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet..."
Nam June Paik/s video art was born from death. Luckily it wasn’t
the death of the artist or anyone close to him. It actually wasn’t the death of
a human at all. It was born from the death of a television set. The seemingly
and antiquated kitsch box television sets that Paik used in his early works
were state of the art at the time. Even so they came with several fatal flaws
and when the cathode ray tube went out the screen would fail to emit the desired
image…yet it still emitted an image. So Paik stumbled upon his genre-defining
medium by accident. He indeed was intending to use a television in a fluxus
performance piece but the television broke. It only displayed a gray screen
with a vertical light beam. Paik decided to turn the television on its side and
include it in the show. He realized that even in this diminished state the TV
still retained visual power. Even in its death it emitted a light. The same can
be said of Christ. When he appeared to this gathering of his followers they
find it hard to believe that he is the same Jesus that they saw die; the same
Jesus that was rumored to be resurrected. The evidence that Christ uses to
witness them is the marks of his suffering. They witness of the truth and power
of Christ is the light of his suffering.
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| Nam June Paik, Dadaikseon (The More the Better) |
"...But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence..."
Nam June Paik’s largest work makes me think of food. Maybe it’s
just me. Nevertheless it’s still about a type of consumption. In a piece
entitled “Dadaikseon (The More the Better)” Paik fills
the atrium of the National
Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea with a multi-screen video
installation that towers throughout the space like a gigantic wedding cake.
This piece is not about the consumption of food but rather the consumption of
images. In the consumption of images we consume popular culture. In consuming
popular culture we form ideas (in agreement and opposition). Indeed we are what
we eat. This identity forming consumption is experienced by watching. Jesus’
second witness in Luke 24:35-48 takes the form of food. The story follows the
episode in Emmaus when the two disciples realize who Jesus is “in the breaking
of the bread.” So when Jesus appears to them again (while they are witnessing
to a room full of their fellow followers) he uses food again. The food that
Christ consumes to reveal his identity (this time) is fish. These may seem like
isolated episodes in history but they are actually harbingers of precedent.
They look pack to the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine at the
Last Supper (which in itself looks back to Passover), while simultaneously
looking forward to the continual Christian practice of celebration the
Eucharist (communion). When we eat the bread and drink the wine as the body and
blood of Christ as members of the body of Christ we witness to the suffering of
Christ. We witness of the truth and power of Christ that is in the light of his
suffering.
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| Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway |
"...Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem..."
Nam June Paik (just like Andy Warhol) was one of those twentieth
century artists who wasn’t just famous for his artworks but for his words…words
that had an uncanny ability to be predictive of the future. Andy Warhol was
famous for having foreseen a day when everyone would be famous for fifteen
minutes, Our contemporary world sees this as being fulfilled in the viral video
phenomenon, reality TV and instant celebrity culture. Nam June Paik was an
early adaptor of he term ‘electronic super highway.” It appears that Paik’s
obsession with images lead him to foresee the internet and the “information
super highway.” Paik’s words were a witness of things to come. Jesus’ third
witness that he presents in today’s scripture reading is a reading of scripture
past. He tells of the greats of the Old Testament and how their words witnessed
of things to come. Truly the written Word of God (prophesy) witnessed to the incarnate
Word of God (Jesus), When we read to the Bible today, we must do so
understanding that it is not just a random sampling of cultural narratives, it
is not just a book of promises for our personal motivation; it is an Divinely
intentional document with an end in mind. That desired end is the revealing of
Jesus Christ. It witnesses of the truth and power of Christ that is in the
light of his suffering. And that revelation of Christ has an end goal in mind
as well…
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| Nam June Paik, TV-Buddha |
"...And you are witnesses of these things."
Nam June Paik’s most famous work is entitled TV-Buddha. Like
many of the artists that I cover on this blog, Nam June Paik was not a
Christian Yet like many of those other creators, there is a parallel to the
story of the Creator in their own stories Nam June Paik was a Buddhist Though
he practiced art in several parts of the world, his television works occurred
when he moved to the United States. It was a time when Buddhism (and Eastern
religions) became en vogue amongst many in the Western artistic and academic
crowds. For Nam June Paik it was not something exotic and new but rather
something that he had witnessed since birth. If not personally and religiously he still
understood Buddhism and its founder Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
philosophically and culturally. So he incorporated the Buddha in several of his
TV pieces. In them a Buddha statue sits in front of a camera while
simultaneously facing a live video feed of itself on a TV screen. It is a
depiction of a presumed deity watching himself. As you may be aware, I am a
practicing Christian, however I see a parallel behind the image of this video
sculpture and the intention of today’s scripture. Jesus is the true Deity that
watches to witness his the duplication of his image. When Christ said to his
followers in that room, ‘You are
witnesses of these things” he was also speaking to us. We are witnesses to the
things that he has witnessed to us. We are witnesses to the things that his
disciples and followers through the ages have witnessed to us. We are witnesses
of his suffering. We are witnesses of his meal. We are witnesses of his Word.
We will be witnesses to the change that he brings in our own personal lives. Just
like Nam June Paik’s sculptures, Jesus desires to sculpt us into his own image
bearers. Our lives are to depict his power, truth and mercy on their surfaces.
God is watching for our witness. And witnessing begins when we start watching.
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