Title: The More the Better
Photographer: Nam June Paik
Date: 1988
Written Response:
My initial reaction when I saw this photograph was that my eyes were drawn in to the small white squares of the television screens. I was also drawn in by the shape of the whole object within the photograph, to me; it seemed to resemble a fountain. When I saw this photograph, I didn't understand what it was meant for, since ordinarily the use of television and media in a photograph is usually used in a way to state that media is taking over our lives. I noticed how there was a pattern in the image and the symmetry was pleasing to the eyes.
In this photograph you see a tower shape in the centre of the image, with hundreds of television screens on and piled on top of each other in the shape of a tower. From the top, the rings grow thicker as they progress to the bottom, until on the bottom the screens are so tiny, there are four rows of screens instead of just one. The photo seems to be taken from near the top of the tower looking downwards in a bird's eye view, and there are rings around it that appears to be a part of the building that the tower was constructed inside of. Looking closely at the screens you can see that the screens are repeated channels that come in sets of four and three (the designs themselves are difficult to see). Near the base of the structure, there are four orange lights positioned in a similar semi-circle to the rings above it.
In this photograph we can see dominance, since the object is the largest shape in the picture and takes up the most space. The photographer also used contrast that can be seen in the bright lights of the television sets that contrasts to the dark background behind it. We see space when we 'look down' the photograph so the base of the television set made structure which gives the illusion of distance, and also see that the whole structure is closer to us than the cement rings behind it. There is symmetry in the picture, since if you cut down the middle of the tower-looking structure; both sides appear to be the same. You can also see that the photograph grows darker when we move from the left side to the right side where the shadows are. We see depth in the photograph, since the television screens closer to us appear to be larger than the ones near its base which gives the illusion of the photograph being three-dimensional. There are shapes in the television sets and also shapes in the design of the building where the rings are circles, connected by cylinders. We also see movement in the picture since the picture has so many television screens, the audience imagines that the screens are on and working just as normal ones and that the characters would be moving on the sets. Also, there is the assumption that the flashing pictures would cast lights on the objects around it as the characters moved from dark sets to light sets changing the brightness of the screen, which is another form of movement. The author also creates a path for us to follow since our eyes look immediately to its bright center and moves downwards to where there are more bright television sets. Paik’s materials were television sets, a steel structure and lights near its bottom. I think he chose the television sets to convey his message that he was talking about media, and he chose the steel structure background so that it wouldn’t draw the audience’s attention away from the main aspect of his photo.
The theme of the artwork is media, and it seems to either be saying that we are fully absorbed in media and that the more we use it, the more we appreciate it’s convenience and develop more technologies to better convenience us. I think that is why he chose the title ‘The More the Better”, because he seems to be expressing that technology is good, and most people feel that we should have more. Much like how today, some families have television in each room and six laptops for a three person family. I think the artist is interested in technology and how quickly it seems to be progressing, however it’s difficult to tell if he is interested in the way that he is proud, or if he feels that our growing technology is bad for people and his title is one chosen out of sarcasm.
The artist created his work to show that he believed South Korea was being too desperate in trying to become more well-known as a developed nation. After seeing this my thoughts about the photo changed because I see that the meaning of his title is negative, and he feels that instead of media being a good thing or a bad thing at all, he means that the desire to be seen as a developed country is in the center of Korea’s mind and he feels that it shouldn’t be.
In this image I really like how the photographer user symmetry and contrast in the picture to bring our attention to the object in the center. I feel that the symmetry made the picture seem like two sides of a whole and not something that was incomplete since the whole shape was shown. I also think that the small bits of color on the screen made the photo seem more life-life and not a picture that was taken with a Greyscale setting, but a photo that was taken where there were actually very few colors, which tells you that it was a choice made by the photographer.
Paik, Name June. Nam June Paik Studios; Thursday, September 16. 2010
<http://www.medienkunstnetz.de.works/wrap-around-the-world/images/8/ >
