Exhibition Statement

Introduction

From the moment it hit mass market, the television has been used as a tool to promote consumerism and perpetuate corporate america’s stranglehold on the mass consciousness. Advertisement infects every second of our screen-filled waking lives, and there is truly no escape. The television need not be the source of our capitalist woes, instead it can be a way to artistically rebel. “Hijacked Signal” aims to present this message through a user-interactive set of three televisions. By distorting the video signal fed into these televisions, the installation disrupts the conventional form and value of a television broadcast to create something entirely new. 

Literature Review

Politically, this project is related to the practice of DIY, in which one can subvert the capitalist agenda through the destruction and reformation of consumerist objects, like TVs, to create art. Alexander Fernandez’s journal article, “Circuit Bending and DIY Culture,” provided great inspiration for these ideas. By disassembling and altering the electronics of the television, “benders create new uses and possibilities for the devices in their hands,” expanding their technology beyond the pre-defined bounds and functions of consumer electronics (Fernandez). Even the circuits of this installation are anti-capitalist. 

This project is heavily influenced by the work of Nam June Paik, one of the first video artists. He is best known for his large-scale television sculptures and installations, which provided the initial inspiration for the project. “[Paik] found the opportunity to connect the “found object” of Marcel Duchamp to the object of the television set” through his incorporation of collected everyday items into his installations (Hanhardt). This, too, relates to the repurposing ethic of DIY. His beliefs in the importance of audience participation in the installation also fueled the idea to create an interactive art piece.

Methods

In addition to literary sources, this project incorporates original research. At the recommendation of their parents, former employees of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Oliver reached out to the Paik Archive of SAAM. He accessed Paik’s project notes and correspondences, and through this research gained considerable inspiration from Paik’s artistic process and political ideology. The interactive component of the installation draws inspiration from Paik’s correspondence with fellow artist Shuya Abe, in which they discuss the importance of interaction with TV. The technical discussion in their correspondence about their “video synthesizer” project also provided ample creative guidance. Using a combination of findings from Paik Archive and personal experimentation, Oliver designed a control unit “glitch video mixer” to allow the viewer to create the video amalgam. 

Audience & Impact

This project seeks to appeal to everyone who is victimized by television, which is, essentially, everyone. It is especially oriented towards the disillusioned television-watcher who feels oppressed by mass media culture. The installation imparts on the viewer the message that television can be transformed into a source of beauty. The viewer will step away from the contraption with greater insight into the importance of DIY. They will realize that taking creative agency over capitalist devices allows them to subvert the systems which oppress them. Through the course of this project, Oliver’s ideas about technology have changed greatly. He no longer sees them as consumerist instruments of placation, but as tools to create one’s own reality through art.

References

Fernandez, Alexandre Marino, and Fernando Iazzetta. "Circuit bending and DIY culture." Keep it simple, make it fast (2015): 17-28. 

Hanhardt, John G., et al. Nam June Paik: Global Visionary. Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2012. 

Acknowledgements

Heather Bremenstuhl

Harold Burgess

Brian Cooperman

Ana Clemmer