Requiem for the 20th Century
Paik, Nam June
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Date
1997Description
Overall three quarter view from the right with roof sail and support for multimedia; In Requiem to the 20th Century, Paik merges art, music, and technology. Requiem pays homage to technology and the rise of two predominant inventions of the last century, the automobile and the television. A silver-painted 1936 Chrysler Airstream sedan is frozen in time, engine removed, insides gutted and immobile. A continuous video loop runs on multiple television monitors set in the windows, presenting themes central to Paik's work: consumerism, mobility, world-wide communication, advertising, and obsolete products. Mozart’s final and unfinished work, Requiem Mass in D minor, K.626, emanates quietly from speakers inside the car as an elegiac ode. Source: DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum; http://www.decordova.org/ (accessed 5/8/2013)
Type of Work
installation (visual work)Subject
contemporary (1960 to present), engineering and industrial design, manufacturing, Automobiles, Transportation, technology, television, Twentieth century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only