Raoul Hausmann’s Optophone and Nam June Paik’s Electronic Television: Expanding Communication

Abstract

Nam June Paik’s major contribution in art has been highlighted on his use of television broadcasting information and images. His work shown on television screen is considered to have magnified the aesthetic quality of electronic images, thereby broadening the scope of visual art. Instead of the aesthetic novelty in his art, this paper pays particular attention to Paik’s creative use of invisible electronic signs in his experiments with electronic television. From a media archaeological point of view, it investigates the techno-epistemic relation between Berlin Dadaist Raoul Hausmann’s optophone and Nam June Paik’s electronic television by focusing on their shared visions in new machine art. Although Paik’s work is regarded as Neo-Dada in music, this paper focuses not as much on Dada’s destructive forms as on Dada’s insight for future. While challenging the concept of art, Hausmann also pursued experiments with technical media embracing machines. This paper intends to uncover the forgotten optophone, which envisioned the expansion of senses, the reconstitution of time-space perception, and the extension of the range of communication by utilizing tele-technology. It further argues that Paik’s electronic television realized the avant-garde vision of optophone at a technical level. Based on his solid understanding of electronic transmission technology, Paik sought to explore the possibilities of art as communication.