Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik seemed like a very interesting character and his work was very inspirational for me. I love the idea of video installations that incorporate multiple monitors and are not just interesting videos themselves, but they have been edited and time-lapsed and altered to make the presentation of them even more interesting. I also liked hearing about Paik’s life and how he had started his career as a musician but later began exploring video because he felt his ideas in music were not translated as well as they were through the video medium. I thought his work really did hit me at a subconscious level and was not just a bunch of fluttering images on screens but actually made you think about what he was trying to say with the pieces.
McLuhan’s Wake
I’ve also thought Marshall McLuhan to be a very interesting and bright person and I thought this documentary shed an interesting light on his life. The way the video moved and transitioned was interesting, with animations etc., and furthered the idea of a mysterious and imaginary man with great ideas. I think I have been most affected by his work The Medium is the Message and I think this video really brought to light some of those ideas that he talked about. But it was also nice to hear about his own personal life and how he would become very immersed in his work and block out everything else. I think most creative artists feel the same way in that respect.
William S. Burroughs Documentary
I don’t know a lot about William S. Burroughs and of what I do know I find very hard to understand. I think that is why through much of this documentary I was at a loss of what to think and couldn’t really connect with the video as much as I would have liked.
