Electronic Superhighway Analysis

The Electronic Superhighway by Nam June Paik is a postmodernism, mixed media installation. The artwork consists of multicolor neon tubing outlining an entire “map” tributed to the United States and was created around 1995. Through the artwork the artist, Paik wanted to challenge the viewers to look with new eyes towards the culture map, just like he did when he arrived in the United States from Korea. The enormous scale of the artwork suggest the large nation Paik was confronted with when he arrived. There was the idea of the interstate highway system as freedom because it allowed everyone to "see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet." The neon tubing that outline the states represent the multicolored maps and glowing enticements of motels and restaurants Americans would have seen

Paik has become known as the father of video through his use of television as a creative medium. This medium was seen as well-suited to the fast growth of the electronic modern world. The use of television as a medium allowed artists to create moving images quickly and allowed for recordings to be viewed almost instantaneously on a monitor, allowing viewers to see themselves “live”. Paik’s goal was to reflect upon how humans interact with the rapidly growing technology and to imagine new ways of using it. The artwork was a monumental record because of the physical and cultural aspects of America seen within each state of the artwork. With the states firmly defined and linked together the network reflects the interstate highways and how the U.S. was economically and culturally unified in the 1950s. But, the artwork also suggests that although highways were created for transportation of people and goods, the neon lights suggest society is slowly shifting towards unifying through electronic communication over