A Pioneer of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik as Musique Concrète Composing Researcher

Byeongwon Ha Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia, the United States [email protected]

Abstract recorder. Errki Huhtamo considers Paik’s responsive Nam June Paik is mostly known as the father of video art. At the “cybernetics” sculptures and closed circuit video- same time, he can also be regarded as a creative pioneer of installations points of origin for interactive art. [4] interactive art. Unfortunately, most scholars and art historians still Although these artists and scholars contend that Nam neglect Paik’s remarkable achievement in interactive art with his June Paik is one of the significant pioneers of interactive musical background. Especially, Paik’s experience with Musique art, they do not profoundly explore how his background Concrète was a core springboard to develop his interactive pieces. However, among Paik’s artistic backgrounds Musique Concrète is encouraged him to make interactive art, and how he hidden by well-known influences from John Cage, Karlheinz developed interactive art without any preconception about Stockhausen and Fluxus. Based on Musique Concrète, Paik typical interactive pieces. Fortunately, Paik wrote his idea created basic elements of interactive art such as database, non- about interactions and interactive art in several books and linearity and sensorial translation at Paik’s first solo show, magazines. In his articles, his interactive art simply did not Exposition of Music – Electronic Television, in 1963. These are originate from a technophile’s passion, but a gradual still considered fundamental properties to make interactive pieces. In this regard, Paik as an interactive artist can be a significant development based on his art theories and art practices in contribution to finding an origin of interactive art since art the academic fields in both Asia and Europe. In other theorists have started to explore its genealogy. words, this paper does not describe a genius’s creative method to make interactive pieces. Instead, it deals with Keywords the energetic artist who gradually developed his idea of Interactive Art; Musique Concrète; Nam June Paik; Random making interactive art. The progressive musical influences Access; record Shashlik; Participation TV from Arnold Schonberg’s serialism, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s electronic music and John Cage’s indeterminate music to Paik are relatively well known in Introduction books and articles about him. Unfortunately, Musique Even though Paik is not generally considered an interactive Concrète is usually omitted in those literatures. However, artist, it is not altogether a new idea to see him as a pioneer in a material perspective, the music is regarded as an early of interactive art. Some interactive artists and theorists influence to a video collage. [5] In this regard, video artist agree with Paik’s importance to this field. An artist duo Bill Viola stresses the inherent difference between film and Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau frame Paik’s video. Whereas film chemically comes from photography, Magnet TV (1964) as one of the oldest interactive artworks, video electronically derives from music. They share the in which viewers are invited to manipulate images on same electromagnetic technology. [6] While Viola television by using a powerful magnet. [1] Art historian explores the material relationship between video and music, William Kaizen describes how Paik tried to overcome the Chris Meigh-Andrews historically traces the relationship 1 passive aspects of mass communication by using a between Musique Concrète, Fluxus and video art . microphone as a visual manipulation interface in Participation TV (1963). [2] Christiane Paul argues that 1 Chris Meigh-Andrews traces the relationship between Musique Paik anticipated the revolution of non-linearity in digital Concrète and video art in chapter 5 “Musique Concrete, Fluxus art through Random Access (1963). [3] The project and Tape Loops”. A History of Video Art : The Development of Form and Function. (Oxford: Berg, 2006). In the chapter, the displays cassette tapes on the wall, which allows audiences founder of Musique Concrète, Pierre Schaeffer, was described as to playback the sound with a hand-held head of a cassette a seed germ for the experimental phenomenon. The author also Especially, before the Cage shock, the exploration between given experimental sound in order to emphasized our Musique Concrète and Nam June Paik can articulate how dependence, no longer on preconceived sound abstractions, Musique Concrète influenced Paik’s interactive art. By but on sound fragments that exist in reality and that are tracing the relationship between them, Paik’s contributions considered as discrete and complete sound objects.” [10] to interactive art can be reappraised. Schaeffer created the database music with recordings of daily-life sounds like bells ringing, trains, and humming Nam June Paik in Both Music and Musicology tops, which were manipulated using various sound editing Nam June Paik studied diverse courses from philosophy, techniques, including reverse recording, changes of speed aesthetics and musicology at the University of Tokyo. He and removal of the attack and decay, recording loops of was overwhelmed by the twelve-tone serialism, in which these sounds onto discs. [11] This experimental music duration, pitch and color were aspects of the same thing, [7] incorporated using noises and daily life sounds as well as a since he had been in high school. In the description of his manipulated sound database. The blurring boundary project, My Jubilee Ist Unverhemmet (1977)2, he confessed between life and art was also a main idea of a global avant- that he was disappointed in Schonberg’s piece when he garde art group, or Fluxus. Nam June Paik who was one of the early Fluxus members had the same idea, and listened to it first. The reason why he likes Schonberg is 4 that he is extremely progressive. Schonberg gave Paik very independently studied Musique Concrète. By using ambivalent feelings. However, Paik still dreamed to be a prerecorded sounds, a composer does not need a skilled musician with Schonberg’s progressive method. He musician any more to make a final sound. Instead, he can graduated from the University with the thesis on Arnold create music with his wide range of database. This Schonberg’s serialism. After being rejected from a music appropriation method breaks an interrelationship between competition in Japan, Paik decided to study musicology, signified and signifier as Marcel Duchamp’s conceptual art. which is mainly in a theoretical field, instead of music, This is a very phenomenological experiment due to direct which is mostly in a practical field. In 1956, when he went sound experiences without visual and contextual references. to Munich to study music history3, he could change his Even though Schaeffer could not eradicate the indexical mind because he thought, “I can compose at least as bad as point from the objects, he made a creative way to mix they do.” [8] This study abroad experience thoroughly readymades in the sound field. [12] Unlike Duchamp’s encouraged Paik to study music in a practical way and conceptual art, Schaeffer experimented with a lot of demystify the absolute Western music. This fluctuation led databases, which consisted of more than 500 records in him to simultaneously study music in both a theoretical 1950. [13] After the records project, he adopted slicing tapes between two different sound data with the same field and a practical field. In 1958, he went to the 5 Musikhochschule Freiburg in Cologne to study music in a envelopes to make a smooth transition by using tapes progressive way. Professor Wolfgang Fortner at the school instead of 78 rpm records after 1951. [14] This new referred him to the Studio for Electronic Music of the West medium provides audiences with a soft montage sound. German Radio where electronic music was born. In his Ultimately, he dreamed a huge cybernetic-like machine reference paper, professor Fortner mentioned that Paik was that could achieve millions of combinations. [15] This interested in Pierre Schaeffer’s experimental music in the haptic manipulation and cybernetic idea based on a huge beginning of 1959. [9] database are the main elements for Paik’s interactive art such as Records Shashlik (1963) and Random Access Musique Concrète (1963). To articulate these elements, Nam June Paik as a Musique Concrète composing researcher is an important Musique Concrète was a progressive music style in Paris approach. during the late 1940s created by Pierre Schaeffer. He coined the term to “compose with materials taken from emphasizes the material similarity between Musique Concrète 4 Nam June Paik and George Maciunas were interested in the and video art. After that, Meigh-Andrews stresses John Cage’s progressive music before they knew each other. Refer to critical influence to Fluxus and video art in the chapter. Friedman. Ken, The Fluxus Reader, (Chicester, West Sussex ; 2 The project is a hundred of limited editions of the LP records. New York: Academy Editions, 1998), 183-184. 3 Paik continued to study philosophy, aesthetics and musicology 5 It is hard to mix two different sounds because each sound has its as he did in Tokyo. Nam June Paik Fluxus/Video includes his own envelopes. To reduce a spectral transposition, Schaeffer study books, which shows courses that he took in the University connected with each other by finding similar envelopes. Refer to of Munich. However, Decker simplified his courses as music Palombini. Carlos, Machine Songs V: Pierre Schaeffer- From history. In Video n’ Videology, Paik wrote his academic career in Research into Noises to Experimental Music, (Boston: The MIT German from 1956 to 1958. However, he continued to study Press, Computer Music Journal Vol. 17, No. 3, Autumn, 1993), music in the University of Cologne from 1960 to 1962.!! 15. The Relationship Between Nam June Paik and passion of unity toward tones in serialism was expanded to Musique Concrète unity between noise and music. For Paik, the year when he wrote the article is very Nam June Paik posted his articles about new music in a 6 meaningful. First, he moved from Munich to Cologne to Korean newspaper several times when he studied musical study more progressive music. Second, he finally met John composition in Cologne. He was also a foreign 7 Cage in the yearly International Holiday Courses for New correspondent for two music magazines in Japan . In this Music in Darmstadt festival in 1958. [16] Third, he also regard, he introduced progressive European music changed his major musicology into music composition in tendencies to Korean and Japanese readers. His exhibition 8 the same year. This was the year that Paik started to create catalogue, Nam June Paik: Videa 'n' videology, 1959-1973 , experimental works, especially Homage à John Cage, included a copy of Paik’s article from the Korean which consists of a diverse sound collage like Musique newspaper in the appendix part. A simple description in Concrète10. Even though the article is short in a Korean English was added to the article: 1958. “A report on the newspaper, it predicts Paik’s future toward Musique Paris studio of Pierre Schaeffer and Musique Concrète.” 9 Concrète and electronic music. After the article, he Chayushinmun, Seoul, Korea . performed as both an independent artist and a collaborator Since the article is not translated from Korean into with his contemporaries in Germany. Especially, in English, most Western scholars cannot understand what the Stockhausen’s Originale (1961), as a guest performer, Paik article means. However, the English description practiced the idea of Musique Concrète with a sound significantly provides them with an important clue to the montage from two recorders as well as throwing beans into relationship between Paik and Musique Concrète. the audience to fight against bourgeois music. [17] Paik Furthermore, the content of the short article includes expanded his action music with the idea of Musique critical elements to trace his influence from Musique Concrète. Concrète. First, Paik has deep knowledge on the trajectory of the progressive music that is composed with records and tapes. He enumerates diverse composers who use records The Idea of Paik’s Interactive Art and electronic music such as Paul Hindemith, Pierre Interactive art is mostly under the umbrella terms, digital Boulez, Pierre Henry and Karlheinz Stockhausen to art, computer art, or new media art. Interactive art is still explain what Musique Concrète is in the article. Second, he ambiguously characterized by artists and scholars alike. titled himself as a Musique Concrète composing researcher Unlike painting, sculpture, or ceramics, interactive art is at the end of the article. It explains that he was seriously seldom a discipline that is represented by academic engaged with the new experimental style, and studied not departments in institutions of higher education in the only about the theoretical method of Musique Concrète, United States. When represented, the field is usually but also about the practical method of composing it. Third, included in art and technology, digital media, emerging art, the main title of the article is ‘The Foremost Contemporary or digital art. Due to the lack of academic foundation, art Musician Who Gives Power to Noise.’ The title implies historians and theorists hardly consider interactive art as a that he is interested in noise, a daily sound, as a key separate field of artistic research and practice. This fact has element of music. In this regard, it predates two important been instrumental in the lack of attention paid to influences of his artistic life such as John Cage and Fluxus. interactive art in the academic discipline of art history. Paik’s interest in Cage’s chance music, which not only Compounding this is the myth that interactive art relies incorporates noise in music, but also is theorized with exclusively on computer devices. Art historian Soke Asian philosophy, the Zen Buddhism. The progressive Dinkla proposes that “interactive art refers to a category- penchant continues Paik’s Fluxus participation, which specific designation for computer-supported works in blurs a clear boundary between art and daily life. Paik’s which an interaction takes place between digital computer systems and users.” [18] On the other hand, “some authors 6 ask whether computer-supported art should even be called The newspaper was Chayushinmun, which means liberal newspaper in English. The company was owned by Paik’s big interactive at all, insofar as there are numerous art forms brother. that activate the recipient to an even greater extent without 7 http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNT the support of technical media.” [19] In this regard, N_CD=A0001872542. This fact was posted by Hyungsoon Kim interactive art is not fixed yet, and it can be a from a Korean newspaper, Oh My News in June 5, 2013 comprehensive definition, which understands interactive 8 The Everson Museum of Art, (Syracuse; and Galeria Bonino, Ltd., New York), January, 1974. 9 Since the article has a number of binary code page in the 10 Nam June Paik: Videa 'n' videology, 1959-1973, The Everson catalogue, the translation the binary-code number into the Museum of Art, Syracuse; and Galeria Bonino, Ltd., New York, decimal-code one is 83. January, 1974. 81 art more generally as that which involves the behavior of different sound sources, between which they can freely participants in the final outcome of a work. circulate. The free time leads the music necessarily to the In this regard, Cybernetics, which is one of the most space-music (room-music) because the free time requires important elements in interactive art, fundamentally more than two vectors (directions), and two vectors supports defining interactive art. Originally, in 1947, constitute necessarily the space (room). [23] Norbert Wiener coined the term Cybernetics from the The unrealized exhibition consists of sixteen imaginary Greek word kubernetes, or “steersman.” According to art rooms in which viewers are invited to experience various historian Edward Shanken, “The scientific discipline of senses from acoustic, visual, tactile, and olfactory events, cybernetics emerged out of attempts to regulate the flow of which popular multi-sensory approaches now prevail in information in feedback loops in order to predict, control, interactive media labs. For example, Paik placed different and automate the behavior of mechanical and biological media such as a live hen, readings from detective stories, systems.” [20] In the same context, art historian Katja walls covered with national flags and erotic underwear, Kwastek insists that cybernetics opens up new perspectives prepared pianos, tape recorders with diverse sound collages, on processes of interaction. [21] Paik philosophically and television. [24] Audiences could choose any room in a explained what cybernetics is with the Buddhist ideas like nonlinear way, and experience diverse senses in each Karma and Samsara, which means relationship and room. Furthermore, among the rooms, Paik suggested metempsychosis. several rooms where viewers could take part in making Cybernated art is very important, but art for cybernated sound and experiencing tactile senses from audio life is more important, recorders, contact microphones on the floor and and the latter need not be cybernated. . . . readymades such as toys, whistles and instruments. [25] Cybernetics, the science of pure relations, or relationship Although the project does not fully provide viewers with itself, has its origin in interactions as recent interactive art does, Symphony for 20 karma. . . . rooms explains Paik’s own artistic direction toward The Buddhists also say freedom for audiences. For this reason, art historian Karma is samsara Manuela Ammer insists that Symphony for 20 Rooms Relationship is metempsychosis [22] anticipated prime importance for Exposition of Music – Cybernetics can be interpreted as the Buddhist idea in two Electronic Television: the active involvement of visitors in different ways. First, cybernetics can explain a relationship the performances and the exhibition in general. [26] between human beings as well as a relationship between a Strangely, Paik did not mention Musique Concrète human and a machine or computer. In this regard, Paik’s anymore in his writings. In the artistic life of Paik, cybernetics has a concrete relationship with relational Musique Concrète was hidden by other influences. aesthetics, which Nicolas Bourriaud defined. This art also Returning to the Paik’s Musique Concrète article, he needs a viewer’s interaction. However, the interaction is regards artistic phenomenon as a debauched bastard the more related to a social relationship by breaking a link parents of which we do not know. He deliberately thought between daily life and artwork and between a participatory that the progressive style was intertwined with diverse project and its participators. Relational aesthetics does not factors such as, the futurist experiments, the industrial need any electronic devices to interact with as Paik development and so on. Paik defers to find a simple cause interpreted. Second, metempsychosis can be translated to a of the new music style easily. Instead he definitely insisted relationship between 0 and 1, or on and off in the digital that without Schaeffer, we could not write a history of age. Paik’s idea on cybernetics incorporates any contemporary music. Paik used the same sentence with relationship from human beings to high-tech electronic bastard in a different article to explain Symphony for 20 devices. For these reasons, Paik’s interactive art has both rooms. However, in this article, Paik uses the sentence in qualities from interactive art and relational aesthetics. This an opposite way to credit his first spatial interactive project perspective can contribute to bridging the gap between to Cage and Stockhausen11. Unfortunately, he omitted the these two different fields now. founder of Musique Concrète, Pierre Schaeffer, afterward. When Professor Fortner referred him to WDR studio, he Musique Concrète as Inspiration for Interactive mentioned Pierre Schaeffer as well as John Cage in the Art beginning of 1959. The moment is identified with Paik’s Paik explored how to give audiences more choices to make them more active. As a result, he planned a specific music 11 Nam June Paik, “To the Symphony For 20 Rooms”, an environment. anthology, ed. La Monte Young, 1963, unpaged. “With respect In 1961, I have written a sketch to the “Symphony for 20 and appreciation I note Cage’s and Stockhausen’s priority in this rooms”, where the audience has a choice of at least 20 respect; although art is often a bastard the parents of which we do not know.” other article about John Cage in the Korean newspaper. In space and/or(=) vacantly filled space – consummation, his article, he reported Cage’s chance music in the yearly purge, ejection, stop, crashing, etc… of the interpreter, International Holiday Courses for New Music in Darmstadt which all usually constitute the main substance, (or a- festival in 1958. The first meeting came to be of substance) of the conception, (or a-conception) of so- exceptional significance to Nam June Paik with “Silence,” called freedom. [30] “Noise,” “Chance” and “Indeterminacy” on Music. [27] Paik emphasized that audiences as passive listeners could Pierre Schaeffer vanished in Paik’s writing soon after Paik not find a difference between indetermined music and met Cage. Furthermore, Paik moved into Cologne, the classic music since they are all a one-way performance. At origin of electronic music. The long-standing Franco- the end of his statement, he mentioned that even though he German antagonism could not be neglected when Paik was highly respected for Cage and Cage-friends, he had not in the center of the electronic music. [28] Finally, even composed any indetermined music. He ended with the though Musique Concrète and electronic music share variation of Abraham Lincoln’s famous phrase: “Music for similar ideas such as manipulation of tape and collage, they the people, by the people, of the people.” His aspiration have different approaches. While Musique Concrète is toward a two-way art is reinforced by the idea of the based on phenomenology, which tries to eradicate data’s American democracy in Paik’s interactive art. [31] Finally, indexical information, electronic music focuses on he applied his Musique Concrète experiences to his synthetic aspects of the electronic quality as well as sine interactive art at Exposition of Music – Electronic wave, which is generated from an electronic device Television. without any physical instruments. Paik’s transitions from Musique Concrète to electronic music and Cage’s Paik’s Interactive Art indeterminate music naturally made Paik forget the name, Exposition of Music – Electronic Television was held at the Pierre Schaeffer, in his artistic trajectory. Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal in 1963, where an architect, Although Paik forgot Musique Concrète, it was apparent Rolf Jährling resided12. Paik exhibited Record Shashlik, that he actively utilized his Musique Concrète experiences Random Access, Participation TV (1963) and other to make his early interactive pieces. To understand the television projects, which encouraged audiences to interact relationship between his Musique Concrète experiences with. He created interactive pieces to overcome the and his early interactive pieces, it is necessary to explain limitation of audiences’ freedom rather than artists’ the process of making Musique Concrète. freedom. In his work, passive audiences became active There was usually a rack from which hung pieces of tape participators. We can read the growth of audiences’ role in that had not yet been spliced together. Holding a strip of these projects, especially, Record Shashlik and Random tape in your hand was like seeing and touching sound. Access, also meta-Musiuque Concrète pieces. They utilized You could manipulate this normally elusive phenomenon the process of making Musiuque Concrète with in ways that were previously unavailable to composers. It fundamental materials of it. By unfolding the sound was a technological, psychological, and social database in two different ways in the gallery, he gave breakthrough without parallel for music [29] audiences a chance to be a Musiuque Concrète composer This visually describes how to prepare to make Musique in a nonlinear way. These converted graphical materials Concrète. From diverse musical databases, Concrète into sounds. In the opposite way, Participation TV musicians choose tapes, and splice them with the haptic converted audiences’ voices into abstract images. This experience. Since Paik several times created this kind of sensorial translation created a mutual interaction between music for his progressive performances, a collaborative different media as well as audiences’ interaction with a performance with Stockhausen, a part of performance for piece. the Fluxus festival and his unrealized first solo exhibition, he could not avoid the process of creating Musique Record Shashlik Concrète with the hapticity. Paik’s statement in Decolage 3, which his fluxus colleague, Wolf Vostell, published, Paik’s experiments for interactive art finally led him to the supports his idea toward interactive art. nonlinear access of Record Shashlik. Shashlik is a The audience cannot distinguish the indetermined time or worldwide food from Asia to Europe, which consists of sounds of the interpreter, form the determined time of the skewers threaded with meats and vegetables. Like shashlik, interpreter. The audience cannot fully co-feel the 12 waiting, surprising, disappointment, hesitation, Jährling partly used his house as a gallery space. However, shuttering, expecting, jumping, flee, deviation, jetting, Paik used a whole of Jährling’s house as his exhibition space. Refer to Manuela Ammer, “In engineering there is always the betting, choosing, pushing, being pushed back, other – The Other.” in Nam June Paik : Exposition of Music : determining, deciding, plunging into, vacant space, Electronic Television : Revisited, (Köln : New York: Verlag Der bathered space, common space, filled space, fully vacant Buchhandlung Walther König, 2009), 66.! Paik threaded several records in two different axis on a Access predicted a wall-size interactive screen as an table in Record Shashlik. He made a movable head for interactive interface. playing records in the rotating axis. Audiences could choose any starting point of the records. In other words, Participation TV they could access music databases in a nonlinear way. Nam June Paik used an inverse signal direction of Random They could compose an ephemeral music in real time. The Access in Participation TV. It allowed viewers to change method of access is similar to the process of making their voice sounds into abstract images on television in real Musique Concrète. However, Record Shashlik provided an time whereas Random Access encouraged viewers to unpleasant sound between two different sources, whereas change graphical lines into a sound piece. Paik explored Musique Concrète presented a soft sound with montage how to alter passive viewers into active ones by skills. For this reason, Paik did not provide viewers with a appropriating a television, the popular appliance. To final work, but made them take part in the process of escape the one-way medium, Paik used two microphones creating a music collage. This open work gave viewers as interactive interfaces. Viewers at that time could only active interactions. By providing audiences with diverse watch programs on television. They could not create any choices of sound databases, Paik created his own content or manipulate the images at all except for normal interactive piece. This project can be regarded as an functions such as controlling brightness, contrast, ascendant of interactive art with an electronic device, saturation, and simple color corrections. Their interactions which mixes and manipulates different sounds in real time. were limited to check the program schedules and to select their favorite programs. In this regards, viewers were Random Access passive audiences that had no right to change the content. Like Record Shashlik, Paik’s Random Access showed how Paik not only made this passive device the interactive to access sound databases in an analog way. However, Paik device, but also changed passive viewers to active used a different interface in Random Access, which was an participants. A viewer’s voice generated electronic signals. advanced Musique Concrète storage medium, Paik used them as an input signal to draw abstract images electromagnetic tape. After dismantling the tape recorder on television. Any viewers could manipulate images in and the cassette tape, he attached the tapes on the wall, and Participation TV. This became a very basic interface for made viewers interact with the graphical tapes using the interactive art. Most computer programming languages for recorder head. They could listen randomly to disturbing interactive art such as Max MSP Jitter and Quartz provide sounds depending on the position of the recorder head like the interactive environment as a typical example for the Record Shashlik. However, this project allowed audiences beginner. For example, artist and professor Golan Levin to change the speed of reading the tape strings. used the same interface in his interactive pieces several Furthermore, it visualized abstract graphics on the white times, especially Messa di Voce (2003), which made wall. Paik suggested a distinct interactive method in this audiences’ voices generate abstract images and manipulate project. He appropriated a passive white wall in the gallery their shadow on the screen at the same time. to make an active interactive interface. When audiences interacted with the white wall, they manipulated sound in Conclusion real time. The white wall as interactive canvas has been a Paik’s interactive art implies how artists can make popular interface for interactive art since the late 1990s as interactive pieces based on his Musique Concrète the projector has become more affordable. For example, experiences. Paik’s three interactive pieces experiment Camille Utterback’s Text Rain (1999) allowed viewers to with the two-way signal translations between sound and interact with small colorful rain-dropping texts on the image. In his first solo exhibition in 1963, Paik had already white wall as a digital mirror, which reminds us of one of suggested a non-linear approach, a database, a translation Paik’s early computer-generated art, Confused Rain 13 from sound to image and vice versa in interactive art. (1967) . They can change the position of dropping text These became typical methods to design contemporary images on the screen in real time. Ultimately, Random interactive art. Based on the methods, several interactive artists such as Utterback and Levin have developed their interactive projects. Furthermore, Japanese artist Toshio 13 Paik was a residential researcher at Bell Labs from 1967 Iwai created Tenori-On (2006), which is a visual musical through 1968. At the lab, he created Confused Rain, which was a device with LED grids. Since the portable device is printout of the letters of the word confused falling down the page collaborated with the Japanese musical instrument in a random accumulation. William Kaizen, “Computer company, Yamaha, this can be regarded as a musical Participator,” in Mainframe Experimentalism: Early Computing instrument. However, users can simultaneously create and the Foundations of the Digital Arts. ed. Hannah Higgins and Douglas Kahn, 231. abstract LED-dot images by directly touching the LEDs. Between abstract images and sounds, users cannot tell 6. Holly Rogers, Sounding the Gallery: Video and the Rise of Art- which signal is first. The endless circulation between Music, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 18. sound and image can expand into a synesthesia work. 7. Thom Homes, Electronic and Experimental Music, (New York: Scribner’s, 1985), 78. Paik’s three different influences to interactive art based on 8. Nam June Paik, “Erinnerung an Muenchen,” in Neue Musik. Musique Concrète still encourages artists to make Sondernummer zum Kunstprogramm der Olympischen Spiele. ed. st interactive art in a creative way in the 21 century. The Josef Anon Riedl. (Munich: Druckerei Holzinger, 1972), 59. project reveals that Paik’s interactive art was a 9. Edith Decker-Phillips, Paik Video, 24-25. fundamental contribution to developing a new kind of 10. Pierre Schaeffer, In Search of a Concrete Music, trans. interactive art. Christine North and John Dack (Berkeley and Los Angeles: th University of California Press, 2012), 14. In the landmark textbook of 20 -century art, Art Since 11. Chris Meigh-Andrews, A History of Video Art, 2nd ed., (New 1900, foremost art historians Hal Foster, Yve-Alain Bois, York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014), 105. Rosalind Krauss, and Benjamin Buchloh did not even 12. Thome Homes, Electronic and Experimental Music, 78. mention Paik’s creative approaches toward interactive art. 13. Carlos Palombini. “Machine Songs V: Pierre Schaeffer- From Instead, they included the works of Paik’s contemporaries, Research into Noises to Experimental Music,” Computer Music Woody and Steina Vasulka, as early interactive pieces Journal 17, (1993): 16. 14. Carlos Palombini, “Machine Songs V: Pierre Schaeffer- From even though their works were created later than Paik’s Research into Noises to Experimental Music,” 14. pieces. [32] These art historians mainly pointed to his 15. Pierre Schaeffer, In Search of a Concrete Music, 18. negative aspects such as a technophile and an anti-feminist. 16. Edith Decker-Phillips, Paik Video, 27. Nam June Paik himself as well as his interactive pieces is 17. Edith Decker-Phillips, Paik Video, 29. underrated in art history. 18. Katja Kwastek, Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital Art, Outside of mainstream of art history, some art theorists (Boston: The MIT Press, 2013), 4. have reevaluated his first solo show, Exposition of Music – 19. Katja Kwastek, Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital Art, 4. 20. Edward A. Shanken, “4. Historicizing Art & Technology,” Electronic Television, as one of the earliest significant MediaArtHistories, (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 2007), 18. interactive art exhibitions in a gallery. After a book with 21. Katja Kwastek, Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital Art, 5. the same title was published in bilingual texts, German and 22. Nam June Paik, “Untitled,” in Manifestos, (New York, N.Y.: English, in 2009, the background of Paik’s first interactive A Greate Bear Pamphlets, 1966), 24. art exhibition could be more articulated. This was a 23. Nam June Paik, “About the Exposition of the Music,” in breakthrough event tracing the origins of interactive art. Decollage 3, ed. Wolf Vostell, December 1962, unpaged. 24. Manuela Ammer, “In engineering there is always the other – Subsequent studies are strongly needed to articulate Paik’s The Other,” in Nam June Paik : Exposition of Music : Electronic interactive art. In Paik’s musical background, the Television : Revisited, (Köln : New York: Verlag Der endeavors to emancipate audiences from a one-way art Buchhandlung Walther König, 2009), 64. piece guided him to make art in a two-way direction, and 25. Manuela Ammer, “In engineering there is always the other – created his own interactive art. In this condition, among his The Other,” in Nam June Paik : Exposition of Music : Electronic interests in progressive music, Musique Concrète can be a Television : Revisited, 64. 26. Manuela Ammer, “In engineering there is always the other – Paik’s significant influence to his interactive art. The Other,” in Nam June Paik : Exposition of Music : Electronic “Although art is often a bastard the parents of which we do Television : Revisited, 65. not know” as Paik mentioned, this research found one of 27. Edith Decker-Phillips, Paik Video, 26, 28. those parents in his creative adaptations from Musique 28. Marcus Erbe and Jan Simon Grintsch, “Schaeffer@Köln.de,” Concrète to make interactive pieces. in Pierre Schaeffer Polychrome Portraits, ed. Ëvelyne Gayou, (Paris: Institut national de l’audiovisuel, 2009), 25-29. 29. Thom Homes, Electronic and Experimental Music, 78. References 30. Nam June Paik, “About the Exposition of the Music,” in Decollage 3, unpaged. 1. Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, Art@science, 31. Nam June Paik, “About the Exposition of the Music,” in (Wien ; New York: Springer, 1998), 11. Decollage 3, unpaged. 2.!William Kaizen, “Computer Participator,” in Mainframe 32. Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Yve-Alain Bois, Benjamin H. D. Experimentalism: Early Computing and the Foundations of the Buchloh and David Joselit. Art Since 1900: Modernism, Digital Arts. ed. Hannah Higgins and Douglas Kahn. (Berkeley: Antimodernism, Postmodernism. 2nd ed., (New York: Thames & University of California Press, 2012), 229-239. Hudson, 2011), 605. 3. Christiane Paul, Digital Art. 2nd ed., (London ; New York: Thames & Hudson, 2008), 9. 4. Erkki Huhtamo, “Trouble at the Interface, or the Identity Crisis of Interactive Art,” Framework: The Finnish Art Review 2, (2004): 2. 5. Edith Decker-Phillips, Paik Video, (Barrytown, New York: Barrytown, 1998), 25. Art Exhibition #chi4good, CHI 2016, San Jose, CA, USA

Endless Ripples: A Growing Interactive Donation Device

Byeongwon Ha Author Keywords MATX PhD Program Interactive Art; Interactive Donation; Participatory Art; P.O. Box 842005 LED Art Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA 23233, USA ACM Classification Keywords [email protected] J.5 Computer Applications: ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Abstract Short Bio Interactive art Endless Ripples is a growing Byeongwon Ha studied and practiced architecture, film, participatory pond. This consists of a huge amount of multi-media, experimental film, and video art in Korea. white LED lights under the tiled painting canvases and He focuses on interactive art with his rich backgrounds. a disposable cup with some water in the middle of the pond. When visitors come in the dark space, LEDs He earned an MFA degree in Digital Media from Rhode under the cup emit dim lights to attract them to throw Island School of Design in Providence, RI, and won the their coin into the cup. If they are successful, ambient thesis project award. Now he is a PhD candidate in the noises from speakers disappear. Instead, they can see Media, Art & Text Program at Virginia Commonwealth bright ripples through the canvases. The coins will be University in Richmond, VA. He presented two long donated to the nearest public facilities from the papers about interactive art in International exhibition. The coins outside the cup that they failed to put in will be used for growing and duplicating the Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2014 in Dubai project to provide more opportunities for audiences to and ISEA2015 in Vancouver. He also exhibited his take part in. Both outcomes will contribute them to interactive piece, Diligent Typist, in Siggraph Asia 2012 helping local areas. This interactive project explores in Singapore. how to coexist between art and life. Artist Statement Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for I am excavating an origin of interactive art from video personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that art in a media archaeological way. As a progressive copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights video artist, I have practiced in a wide knowledge of for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author. purism and experimentalism in visual art like structural Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). film and algorithmic video. My video art extended to CHI'16 Extended Abstracts, May 07-12, 2016, San Jose, CA, USA interactive art. In my current Media, Art & Text PhD ACM 978-1-4503-4082-3/16/05. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2851581.2891103 program at Virginia Commonwealth University, I have

3843 Art Exhibition #chi4good, CHI 2016, San Jose, CA, USA

found that the video artist, Nam June Paik, was a collective reaction to a society. The project rejected the pioneer of interactive art. I am articulating the current gap between participatory art and interactive relationship between video art and interactive art in my art. Like Paik’s approach, Endless Ripples explores to dissertation. In the other hand, my current projects use find a significant way to make individual experiences concrete video databases on the Internet and abstract into collective participation in a society. To achieve the LED lights. With every interface such as coins and enigmatic goal, this piece suggests a growing musical instruments, these projects become interactive interactive donation device. art. My interactive projects engage the history of video art, viewers’ experiences, and emerging technologies. Coin as a trivial significant Interface The coin is a common item for the transaction. Since it Introduction is low value money, it is often used for a small donation Art historian Claire Bishop insists that Participatory art in public spaces. We can find interactive donation has been a restoration of the social bond through a devices at a gallery, a shopping mall, or a mart. They collective elaboration of meaning. [1] It seems to be an do not get a donator’s money directly, but provides him artistic solution for the social problem of passive or her with a visual and audible entertainment. For people. Compared to it, interactive art seems to naively instance, when a donator puts his coin into the device, focus on emerging technologies to invite viewers to an he could see his coin rolling spirally into a hole in the individual experience. When Nam June Paik introduced center. At the same time, it provides him or her with a his early interactive piece Participation TV to the public beautiful rolling coin sound. The device expands the in 1963, there was no boundary between interactive art process of putting a coin in a donation box to give him and participatory art. They were interchangeable. the artistic experience. It is a compensational feedback Participation TV provided viewers with an opportunity for his generosity. A coin becomes a meaningful to make their own images by using two microphones in interaction interface for our society. real time. Their voices made very abstract images on television. An important thing in the interactive The coin has been a wish interface for a long time. interface was that the microphones were not singular Visitors and tourists around the world throw their coins but plural for audiences to participate in together. to wish their dreams to come true in many artificial Furthermore, the microphones could be shared with fountains and natural ponds. The coins are sometimes other audiences. Paik made television a two-way used for the benefits of their community such as a local communication device to escape from the prevalent hospital. Unlike its original meaning, an individual wish one-way signal of a propagative broadcasting company. becomes a collective feedback to make our society [2] The individual or group interaction became a better.

3844 Art Exhibition #chi4good, CHI 2016, San Jose, CA, USA

Figure 1 A growing example of Endless Ripples

The coin is also a historically significant interface for device. Instead coins in visitors’ pockets will be used as chance operation. Experimental composer John Cage an interactive interface. The familiar interface and used a coin as the seed of new music. With the action facilitate their access to the installation. Viewers’ combination between the binary result from the coin participation generates three different results. First, it and I-Ching, which is an ancient Chinese divination makes a silent environment, in other words, meditation text, he could compose a music piece while avoiding without ambient noises, when they throw a coin in the any Western-centric consciousness of music. With the cup. A contact microphone below the cup detects when daily item in his pocket, he could break the Western a coin is put into it. The computer receives a sound rules of composing. number from the movement of the coin. It gives viewers silent ripples. Second, it is an entertaining The coin is little and has low value. However, at the participation like an arcade game. When viewers throw same time, it has the potential power to engage with their coins into the cup correctly, they could get our daily life socially and conceptually. Based on the beautiful ripples as compensation. If not, their coins on diverse meanings of the coin, Endless Ripple explores the canvases could be a filter by covering some LEDs how to use the coin as a meaningful interface in for the next ripples. In this regard, participators interactive art. manipulate the ripple images in an analog way. Third, coins in the cup will be donated to local facilities such Growing Interactive Donation Device as public schools and hospitals. Coins outside the cup Interactive art Endless Ripples consists of three will support Endless Ripples to be duplicated in other different parts. The first part is a sound installation. places. This is a growing piece outside from the digital With loud speakers, it mixes sounds of diverse world. No matter whether they are successful or not, commercials from Youtube and a streaming close- their participation will contribute to helping local areas circuit camera website EarthCam in real time. [3] The and supporting the open visual sound installation. combination between two different sound sources represents a noisy environment in a busy city. The third part of Endless Ripples is an output image. By using a DMX interface, many LED channels can be The second part is an input interface. This project does controlled by a computer. It simulates the movement of not use any specific customized interface to trigger the ripples on a pond with changing brightness of the LEDs.

3845 Art Exhibition #chi4good, CHI 2016, San Jose, CA, USA

Painting canvases above LED strips turn the piercing DMX interface communicates with the computer via LED lights into comfortable blurring images for viewers. Ethernet cable. The communicating numbers are decoded in a DMX decoder. The decoder interprets the digit numbers from the interface into a density of LED lights. This connection finally makes endless ripples.

Conclusion Participatory art mainly deals with a social relationship. Interactive art mostly focuses on emerging technology. For this reason, participatory art and interactive art have a concrete boundary as if each has a different genealogy. However, Endless Ripples explores a way to bridge the significant gap between them. To give viewers exciting experiences and an opportunity to

contribute to society, Endless Ripples can be installed Figure 2 Endless Ripples anywhere from a museum and a gallery to an arcade and outside of a building. It can be circulated or be DMX Device as a Ripple Generator permanently installed as it gradually grows. The more A DMX device was created for a DJing performance to Endless Ripples, the better the communities. simultaneously control up to 512 light channels. It has two distinguished parts. The first part is software. References Among diverse programmings, this project uses Max/ 1. Claire Bishop. 2006. Introduction. In Participation. MSP, which was created for electronic musicians. The Claire Bishop (Ed.), Whitechapel, MA, 10-17. programming allows creators to make an interactive 2. Manuela Ammer. 2009. “In engineering there is environment easily. This project uses an external object always the other-The Other.” In Exposition of Music imp.artnet.controller, which simply allows users to Electronic Television Revisited, Museum Moderner communicate with LEDs by using a combination Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien and Susanne between 9 bit numbers for channel positions and 8 bit Neuburger (eds.). MUMOK, Cologne, Germany, 63- 74. numbers for LED brightness [4]. To simulate a real ripple, each channel has a unique subsequent starting 3. EarthCam. 2015. Times Square Cams. Streaming point and sine wave. By using the external object, LED video. Retrieved February 12, 2016 from http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessqua lights could be synchronized with sound installation. re/?cam=tsstreet 4. The Personal Stereo. 2012. imp.artnet.controller. The second part is hardware. A DMX device consists of Max object. Retrieved February 12, 2016 from a DMX interface, a DMX decoder, and LEDs. As a http://www.theimpersonalstereo.com/software/imp mediator between a DMX device and a computer, the -dmx/

3846

Natural Material in Interactive Art

Byeongwon Ha Virginia Commonwealth University [email protected] ! Abstract Innsbruck, Austria. As Beuys utilized the basalt stone, This paper explores how to create a significant relationship the architects used the same stone for walls of the between natural materials and interactive art. It deals with building to illustrate a natural symbol or storage of the studying diverse examples from sculpture to architecture to energy in society. [3] As phenomenological architects interactive art. The research finds a coexisting relationship emphasize, natural materials reveal its property through between computer-generated images and random algorithms. It its natural environment. The natural materials can be a suggests natural materials as a physical interface to provide the immaterialized programming with the quality of natural significant interface in algorithmic environments. The materials. This combination emphasizes natural materials as a inherent difference between random numbers and dice creative interface between human and interactive art. numbers is based on materiality. A number from a dice relies on real materials like wood as John Cage’s Joseph Beuys’s Three Sculptures composition with chance operation depends on the Synthetic materials have been replacing natural materials materiality of coins. However, a random number from due mainly to the economic reason. However, some computer algorithms is disconnected with real digital media artists still use natural materials, which are materiality and depends on its intellectual process. [4] expensive and mortal in their works. These primitive materials in emerging technology give audiences strong Natural Material in Interactive Art tensions between high and low technologies. Why do Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau link natural they use such anachronistic materials? How are viewers materials to computer algorithms in interactive art. They fascinated by this bipolar juxtaposition? The answer synchronize natural materials with artificial life images. starts with Joseph Beuys’s installation works. Their early project, Interactive Plant Growing (1992), is Beuys’s fat Battery (1963) shows natural materials one of the first interactive computer artworks to use a such as fat, felt and copper in a paper box. These can be natural and tactile interface, instead of computer the main elements of making energy, as the title says. interfaces. [5] Viewers can manipulate artificial plant According to his famous story, felt and fat were essential images by touching real plants. The materiality connects materials for Beuys to survive in his critical air crash. materials to artificial life, which assigns random functions to the whole algorithms to make computer- Likewise, Capri Battery (1985) implies his story of his generated images more natural. [6] This plant becomes a recovering from a lung ailment on the Mediterranean dice-like interface to generate quasi-chance numbers. [7] island, Capri. [1] A yellow light bulb is connected to a In this regard, natural material as a chance operator is real lemon. The combination between natural materials applied to a natural interface for interactive art. and electric parts represents environmental sustainability between chaos and order, or undetermined and determined. [2] With the helps of volunteers, Beuys References planted the social sculpture 7000 oak trees (1982) in 1. Joan Rothfuss, Energy. Kassel, Germany. Like the composites used in the http://www.walkerart.org/archive/4/9C4311B2C56C80996167. battery series, basalt is a strong symbol of the energy of htm retrived 29 March 2016 lava. In the project, each tree is next to a vertical basalt 2. Allan Antliff, Joseph Beuys (New York: Phaidon Press, 2014), 125. stone on the street. Comparing to the unchanging hard 3. Todd Gannon, UN Studio : Erasmus Bridge (New York: stones, neighbors can pay attention to the growing trees Princeton Architectural Press, 2004), 17. day by day. He used the natural materials to make people 4. Kostas Terzidis, Algorithmic Architecture. (Boston: actively observe the minute change between Architectural Press, 2006), 145. undetermined and determined in society. Ecologic 5. Erkki Huhtamo, “Tactile Temptations: About Contemporary activist Beuys stimulated people to experience their Art, Exhibitions, and Tactility,” Interface Cultures. Eds. Christa Sommerer, Laurent Mignonneau and Dorothée King. surroundings by blurring the boundary between art and (Bielefeld: Transcript, 2008), 135. life with these different qualities of the natural materials. 6. Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, "Modeling the Emergence of Complexity: Complex Systems, the Origin of Materiality in Architecture Life and Interactive On-Line Art." Leonardo 35.2(2002): 161 7. Byeongwon Ha, “The Study on the Chance of Media Art,” 7000 Oak Trees inspired architecture group UN Studio to (M.F.A. diss., Graduate School of Communication & Arts, choose the material for an electrical substation in Seoul: Yonsei University, 2009), 62.

438 Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2016 Hong Kong.

An Origin of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik’s Progressive Musical Instruments

Byeongwon Ha Virginia Commonwealth University [email protected]

Abstract Concrète ” in 1958. It insisted that Paik actively applied Nam June Paik is recognized for being known as the father of the process of making Musique Concrète to his early video art. However, some recent research about Paik focuses interactive pieces. [1] In the following year, he wrote on his early interactive art. Since Exposition of Music – dual articles entitled “Chance Music.” Whereas “A Electronic Television Revisited in 2009 represented his first Pioneer of Interactive Art” explored his practical aspects solo show in Wuppertal in 1963, the study of his early of interactive art, this paper will use “Chance Music” to interactive art has gained momentum. Nevertheless, regarding find his theoretical elements of interactive pieces. This Paik a pioneer of interactive art is still a minor opinion in art new paper will reinforce the idea of Nam June Paik as a history. This paper explores Paik’s rich background about his pioneer of interactive art. early interactive pieces. When he studied musicology and composition in Germany, he wrote several articles about new music for Korean readers from 1958 to 1959. These still remain Nam June Paik as a Musicology Student unexplored materials for both Korean and Western scholars. After completing a thesis on Arnold Schonberg’s Among them, “Chance Music” was written right after meeting serialism, or twelve-tone technique, from the University John Cage. It reveals significant clues to articulate his fundamental concept about interactive art. Based on the music of Tokyo in 1956, Paik headed for West Germany to background, Paik found how to appropriate musical pursue his PhD in musicology. Schonberg’s impact on instruments to make interactive art in his own way. Paik was so magnificent that he decided to study abroad in West Germany. [2] He finally settled down in Munich on November 23, 1956, and enrolled in the winter/spring Introduction academic year in the University of Marximilian in Munich. In the exhibition catalog Time Collage in 1984, Smithsonian Museum curator, John G. Hanhardt, had Paik left his feedback on his first Japanese article in already stressed the relationship between Paik’s West Germany, The Bauhaus of Music in 1957; he said progressive art and his music experiences in several that he studied musicology rigorously so as not to regret exhibition catalogues of Nam June Paik. This paper the study abroad. [3] As a second choice, he considered agrees with the interrelationship and deeply traces his becoming a professor who taught the history of medieval early music background in West Germany. Even though Western music in Korea. [4] Paik also recollected that he Paik graduated from the University of Tokyo with a had “a kind of academic life” during this period. [5] Paik thesis on Arnold Schonberg, a pioneer of twelve-tone was an energetic musicology student who dealt with technique, his major was the history of art and aesthetics. Western theories of music. Even though he quit his study He was trained to articulate artworks in both history and in Munich soon to find a more progressive music philosophy. This background helped him not only practice, he obtained a lot of knowledge about both new explain his works but also convince his colleagues and and traditional music there. As a matter of fact, his study institutions, such as the Rockefeller foundation, of his was not limited to music. He took diverse courses from progressive ideas. Whereas his English pronunciation architecture to art history, just as he did at the University was sometimes hard to understand, his writing in English of Tokyo. Based on his wide range of academic was as clear and visionary as his artworks. He left a background, Paik published his articles about new music plethora of clues about interactive art from his essays, in the Darmstadt music festivals twice in the Korean statements, and pre-interactive works. Among them, his newspaper Chayushinmun. The second article was Korean articles about new music during the 1958-59 written right after meeting Cage and right before period are still unexplored materials for the study of his showing his first project to the public during a great interactive art. This paper mainly will analyze one of transitional time for Paik. This article analyzes several these articles to find fundamental ideas about Paik’s potential elements for his future projects as well as his interactive art. The previous research paper, “A Pioneer artistic perspective. of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik as Musique Concrète Composing Researcher,” dealt with his article “A Report on the Paris Studio of Pierre Schaeffer and Musique

286 Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2016 Hong Kong. An Origin of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik’s Progressive Musical Instruments. Byeongwon Ha

Chance Music composition. In other words, if a composition is great, “Chance Music – the yearly International Holiday we suppose that its method is great too. However, Paik Courses for New Music in Darmstadt festival” was insists that it is not a logical process because the method published on January 6 and 7, 1959 in Chayushinmun. is not ‘a priori,’ but private or secrete. Paik emphasizes The topic of the article was the Darmstadt music festival the difference between a method of composition and that took place from September 3 through 12 in 1958. In composition itself when we evaluate a composition. This this article, Paik mainly deals with “chance music” from first paragraph hints at Paik’s progressive vision for new American musician, John Cage. This is the reason Paik music. He was not satisfied with the popular twelve-tone titled this article “Chance Music.” In fact, Cage was not composition, and was looking to Post-serial approaches expecting to be invited to the Darmstadt music festival. for new music. His dissatisfaction can be clearly found in He introduced his first performance in West Germany his Japanese article “Twelve-tone Mannerism.” [9] during the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1954, When he was waiting for the ‘After-Serialism’ which was a rival international music festival to the experiment, John Cage performed his unique Darmstadt. [6] However, he only received negative compositions in Darmstadt. Paik was immersed in feedback in Donaueschingen. For this reason, Dr. Cage’s works and analyzed their particular methods in Wolfgang Steinecke, the founder and chair of the his article. Darmstadt music festival, did not want to invite Cage to Paik explains Cage’s methods of music composition Darmstadt. Instead, he wanted to invite Cage’s friend, and performance in detail. Cage’s chance operation talented pianist David Tudor. About two months before functions via random throwing of three coins based on the festival, French musician, Pierre Boulez, cancelled the I-Ching, an ancient Chinese divination text. most of his performances and courses due to technical Reflecting the materiality of paper and the chance problems. Because he was a headliner for the festival of operation, Cage traces the natural stains on the paper 1958, Dr. Steinecke needed to find a decent substitute as with his pencil. Then, he overlays the paper with a soon as possible. He asked several musicians and transparent sheet of blank music notation. These stains composers to teach some courses and give some become tones. Pianists can decide the tones’ lengths performances; however, he could not find any musicians freely. Whereas Karlheinz Stockhausen’s chance music who could replace Boulez. Finally, he contacted John in the Darmstadt music festival of the previous year Cage and David Tudor to ask them to take part in some could be changed by performers’ decisions, John Cage’s courses and performances. As expected, Dr. Steinecke indeterminate composition concentrated on the did not like Cage’s performances and courses. However, materiality of chance generators such as a coin and paper Paik was one of few audiences who were fascinated by as well as performers’ chance. In Paik’s Japanese article Cage’s performances, and who found Cage’s greatness in “Serie, Chance, and Space,” he compares a musician new music. For this reason, Dr. Steinecke did not ask playing a composition by Cage to a car driver who can Paik to translate his Korean and Japanese articles about go any time during a green light. [10] His score is based this event. Paik did not translate Korean article about on simple graphics like lines or rectangles. Because Cage into German, unlike his previous article, “The some parameters are missing in this score, musicians can Music of 20’5 Century.” [7] Music critic Heinz-Klaus interpret them in their own way. This indeterminate Metzger edited the archives of the Darmstadt music approach can make the music of change. Paik asks Cage festival and published the book Darmstadt-Dokumente 1 that if one could make more than 20 compositions a day in 1999. This book includes more than 40 letters between by using this simple rule, how one could choose among Dr. Steinecke and Paik, Paik’s Japanese article, “The these a single composition for a performance? Cage Bauhaus of Music,” which translated it into German by answers that it does not matter which one is chosen. Paik himself, and a German version of “Chance Music.” was impressed by his answer, not because of Kunsu Shim, a Korean musician in Germany, translated irresponsibility, but because of its conformation to this article into German and his colleague, Gerhard Nature by removing a fixed thought between Stabler, supervised the translation. [8] In the same year, consciousness and unconsciousness. Furthermore, Paik this article was also introduced in the exhibition was shocked that the piano could be played in a new way catalogue of Nam June Paik Fluxus/Video. This became when he witnessed a pianist that beat, hit, and scratched significant literature for the Western scholars who have the lid and the body of the piano itself. Cage’s scarcely any information on Paik’s Korean articles about idiosyncratic performance encouraged Paik to break new music. through the rigid boundary of music and pursue avant- garde musical experiments such as a-music, anti-music, and action music. John Cage in Darmstadt in 1958 Even though Paik mainly deals with Cage’s chance At the beginning of “Chance Music,” Nam June Paik music, in the second half of the article, Paik deals with mentions a relationship between a composition and a spatiality in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s experimental method of the composition. He stresses that twelve-tone composition, Group for Three Orchestras (1958). technique cannot guarantee the quality of a composition. Stockhausen turns a time-based medium, music, into a Conversely, Paik insists that we also cannot space-based medium by employing three orchestra transcendently convict the method to create a teams, which surrounded the audience in a horseshoe

Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2016 Hong Kong. 287 Part II. Short Papers (peer-reviewed) curve. In 1956, Stockhausen composed Gesang Der John Cage, Paik’s aesthetics about music and art Jünglinge, which fused the sonic components of thoroughly changed. Unlike his correspondent role in the recorded passages of a youth choir with equivalent tones East, he became a “cultural terrorist” as an artist and timbres produced electronically. [11] The performing action music in Europe, which subverted the composition is historically important not only because it traditional Western music. He practiced how to break the is a very early piece of electronic music, but also because Bourgeois musical tradition and expand the realm of it was one of the first uses of the spatial deployment of music into theatrical performance. Paik developed the sound. Gesang Der Jünglinge had five tracks from five idea of his a-music following Schonberg’s atonal and loudspeakers. This made an environment of surrounding Cage’s a-composition. As a creator of a third kind of sound for the audience. They were “in the eye of the radical music, he coined the term “a-music,” and thereby sonic storm, with music emanating from every side and expanded the definition of music into including non- rotating in various directions.” [12] Stockhausen musical elements. In a letter from Paik to Dr. Steinecke developed the surrounding environment further. In on December 8, 1958, Paik informs Dr. Steinecke that he Kontakte (1958), he used four different tracks, which would include situations such as musicians talking with were recorded by four fixed microphones positioned audiences and one in which a prepared piano would not around one rotating loudspeaker. [13] This composition be used as only a normal instrument, but also as a became the main score for Originale, a precise time- chordophone and a percussive instrument. He also would based theater consisting of diverse artists from a poet, a introduce a scooter, ready-made sounds, and a painter, a musician, and a sound engineer. Paik took part performance in which he would shoot a glass. The a- in the music theater as an action music performer. music idea can also be found in the following letter from In a similar context, Paik writes briefly that Pierre Paik to Cage in 1959: Boulez installed eighty-four microphones around the “I use here: Colour Projector. Film 2-3 screens. Strip theater to realize a space where the position of sound tease. Boxer. Hen (alive). 6 years girl. Light-piano. would be equal. Paik was a high school student who Motorcycle and of course sounds. One TV. // “Whole art” dreamed of a communist society such as the one of Karl in the meaning of Mr. R. Wagner.” [15] Marx’s theories. In the same context, his obsession with His performance began with the idea of Wagner’s whole equality was identified with his artistic intentionality. As art, “Gesamtkunstwerk,” which was opposite to purism, Arnold Schonberg used each of the twelve tones equally, admired by Paik in his previous Korean article, “The Boulez experimented with using any position of sound Music of 20’5 Century.” By betraying purism and elitism, equally. This method was a new idea of accessing sound Paik started his career outside academia. He lifted his databases without bias. With his macro vision, Paik violin very slowly above his head, and then forcefully stresses that this mixed experience is not limited to smashed it on the table in One for Violin (1961). By music, but it becomes phenomenon, which prevails in breaking a musical instrument, he created much more diverse sciences and arts. [14] radical sounds than Cage did. After experiencing new ideas of music, Paik suggests After dismantling the musical instrument in a-music, that instead of extinguishing the flames of a young Paik created his pre-interactive piece, Urmusik (1961). genius’s extraordinary trials, [we] must directly take the “Urmusik is Sigmund Freud’s music box: it encourages path of genius [ourselves]. In this sentence, there is no the playful, evoking an infantile type of lust–the desire to subject as it is possible for Korean to omit the subject in make music–and welcomes the amateur who never went a sentence. In the ambiguous sentences, the subject to music school.” [16] Paik returned to his kindergarten would be Paik himself since he had been composing his memories. His sister remembered that he did not follow first work, Hommage à John Cage (1959) at that time. his master’s instructions. He stubbornly played piano in These sentences imply Paik’s ambition toward a genius his own way. [17] At the very beginning, Paik’s piano musician who can overcome his status as a racial was not an instrument, which generated beautiful sounds minority. Paik adds, “even though Korean people do not or harmonies, but an interactive device like a Fisher understand the genius’s trials at all, they first pick on Price toy. This Freudian idea equally allows viewers to him but in the end use sophistry to rationalize their own interact with Urmusik regardless their musical ability. reactions.” Interestingly, these sentences exactly Urmusik looks like a childlike object, which consists of coincide with his reputation in Korea 30 years later. Paik daily materials such as a wooden crate, a tin can, and ends with a quotation from the famous German critic, strings. The title means primitive music and implies a Karl Wullner. “The history of new music for ten years is new starting point of music in Paik’s musical the history of Darmstadt for ten years.” Paik emphasizes background. After studying music too much, Paik the role of the Darmstadt music festival as the core of art returned to his kindergarten joy with the musical and new music as he did in his previous article, “The instrument. This instrument became the precursor of his Music of 20’5 Century.” interactive work. Paik’s idea of interactive art started during “Cage Shock” in 1958, and completed with Paik’s Three Steps for Nam June Paik’s Interactive Art declaration against John Cage’s indeterminate music. There are two misleading topics between John Cage Paik’s interactive art can be defined by three different and Nam June Paik, Zen Buddhism and indeterminism. steps: a-music experiments, pre-interactive art, and Paik emphasized that he was not excited by Cage’s interactive art in his first solo exhibition. After meeting

288 Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2016 Hong Kong. An Origin of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik’s Progressive Musical Instruments. Byeongwon Ha theory but by his performance only. [18] Furthermore, uncharted area depicted his passion toward new music Paik did not like Zen because he thought that Zen, in the during his energetic academic life in West Germany. United States, was based on Japanese nationalism. [19] After Schonberg’s serialism, Paik actively explored post- Paik made this negative feedback about Cage’s serialism in the center of new music, Darmstadt. He indeterminate music because Paik thought that actively analyzed ideas of the contemporary musicians, audiences, passive listeners, could not distinguish it with Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage in the Darmstadt a normal music. [20] In his statement, About the music festival of 1958. The radical perspective in his Exposition of Music in 1962, Paik suggested providing articles predicted his unprecedented interactive art. audiences with physical interactive experiences to create Based on his progressive music background, Paik found their own music. This is a significant change in Paik’s a creative method for appropriating musical instruments artistic life, which directly led to his interactive art. Paik into his interactive art. The study of Paik’s musical finally introduced his interactive art pieces in his first background will bridge the gap between Paik as an solo show in 1963. Whereas Cage maintained the role of experimental musician and Paik as an inventor of piano as a musical instrument in his prepared piano, Paik interactive art. Finally, it contributes to acknowledging denied the role of it in Klavier Integral (1959-1963), and him as one of the most creative pioneers of interactive art. made the piano an interface for interactive art. Through the piano, Paik provided audiences with the experiences beyond audio and visual media. By connecting each key References with a hairdryer, a light bulb, a motor, or anything else, 1. Byeongwon Ha, “A Pioneer of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik created a five-sense synthesizer. From Cage’s Paik as Musique Concrète Composing Researcher” in ISEA prepared piano, which Paik was surprised by in the (Vancouver, International Symposium on Electronic Art, 2015) Darmstadt music festival because he realized that the 2. Nam June Paik, “Marcel Duchamp n’a pas pense a la video” piano could be made new again, Paik developed his new in Nam June Paik: from Horse to Christo, eds. Decker, Edith piano art, Klavier Integral as interactive art. and Irmelin Livier. Korean Language ed. (Yongin: Nam June Paik also actively used Stockhausen’s and Boulez’s Paik Art Center, 2010), 202. idea of spatiality in music. In Random Access (1963), 3. Paik, Nam June, “The Bauhaus of Music,” Ongaku Geijutsu, vol. 17, No. 10 (1957): 106-108. Paik visually attached many strips of audiotapes onto a 4. Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik Time Collage (Tokyo: Isshi white wall, and encouraged viewers to play it with the Press, 1984), 7-8. mobile header of an audio player in a nonlinear way. 5. Susanne Rennert, “On sunny days, count the waves of the Similarly, in Record Shashlik (1963), Paik threaded Rhine. On windy days, count the waves on the Rhine” in several records through two vertical poles on a table. He Sediment: Nam June Paik’s frühe Jahre im Rheinland, ed. made a movable head for playing a pile of records on Günter Herzog (Wien:moderne Kunst Nürnberg. 2005), 11. two rotating axes. Each position on the records has an 6. Martin Iddon, New Music at Darmstadt : Nono, equal status regardless of its content. Audiences could Stockhausen, Cage, and Boulez (Cambridge, UP, 2013), 161. choose any starting point of the records. In other words, 7. Paik, Nam June, “The Music of 20’5 Century,” Chayushinmun, January 6-7, (1959): 4. viewers could nonlinearly play it with their spatial 8. Metzger, Heinz-Klaus and Rainer Riehn eds. Darmstadt- gestures. In Paik’s interactive art, the most radical Dokumente I: Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik. change is that a subject changes from musician to (Munchen: Edition Text + Kritik, 1999), 110-136. audience member. Paik pushed progressive music one 9. Paik, Nam June, “The Twelve Tone Mannerism,” Ongaku step further than Cage and Stockhausen did. This Geijutsu, vol. 18, No. 9 (1958): 117-121. experiment from images to sounds encouraged Paik to 10. Paik, Nam June, “Serie, Chance, Space,” Ongaku Geijutsu, make a creative work in an opposite direction. Based on vol. 19, No. 12 (1959): 82-101. his knowledge of electronic music, Paik succeeded in 11. Thom Holms, Electronic and Experimental Music (New making an interactive image on television. By York: Routledge, 2012), 66. 12. Thom Holms, Electronic and Experimental Music, 67 connecting electronic music devices such as an oscillator, 13. Thom Holms, Electronic and Experimental Music, 69 an amplifier, and microphones to a television, Paik 14. Nam June Paik, “Serie, Chance, Space,” Ongaku Geijutsu created his first electronic interactive art piece, Vol. 19, No. 03, (1959): 91. Participation TV (1963). Viewers could generate abstract 15. Nam June Paik, “The Letter from Paik to Cage” in John images on the television by making sounds through the Cage, A Year from Monday ed. John Cage (Middletown: microphones. He created his first video art without a Wesleyan, 1967), 90. video device, and it became a pioneering piece of 16. Dieter Ronte, “Nam June Paik’s Early Works in Vienna” in interactive art. During his diverse experiments, he Nam June Paik, ed. John G. Hanhardt (New York: Whitney actively employed multiple senses and cross-modality Museum of American Art, 1982), 75. 17. San Im, Aesthetics of Convergence: Nam June Paik’s Early between images and sounds in his interactive art. This Works in Germany (Paju: Maroniebooks, 2012), 12. new kind of art was based on Paik’s theories in new 18. Nam June Paik, “av. J. C./ap. J. C.” in Nam June Paik: music and his practices in electronic music. from Horse to Christo, 41. 19. Nam June Paik, “Zen Justifying War,” in The Return of Conclusion Nam June Paik, ed. Youngcheol Lee (Yongin: Nam June Paik Art Center, 2009), 239. This paper traces Nam June Paik’s article about new 20. Nam June Paik, “About the Exposition of the Music” in music in the Korean newspaper, Chayushinmun. This Decollage 3, ed. Wolf Vostell (Dec. 1962), unpaged.

Proceedings of the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2016 Hong Kong. 289 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers Diligent Operator: The Resurrection of Musique Concrète with Max/MSP Jitter and Arduino Byeongwon Ha

Virginia Commonwealth Unversity Richmond VA, The United States [email protected]

Abstract Musique Concrète Nam June Paik (1932-2006 exhibited the progressive music environ- Musique concrte is a pioneering style of mixing music ment for audiences, Random Access (1963 in his frst solo show. It developed in Paris during the late 1940s by French allowed audiences to make their own sound collages by interacting with composer Pierre Schaeffer. This mainly emphasizes visual audiotapes on a white wall. This unusual music project was based two intertwined elements, or a sound fragment and an on Paik’s musique concrte composing experiences. Studying the practi- acousmatic. A sound fragment is considered a discrete cal relationship between Random Access and musique concrte, Diligent and complete sound object for compositions beyond Operator (2016 develops Paik’s idea of interactive collage music by our preconception (Schaeffer, 2012. Schaeffer pointed employing Internet system to access a wide range of sound data all the out sound fragments, which are 0.5 to 5 second-long world over. This new version of musique concrte was created with fragmentary sounds from any sound data-base (Gody, computer programming including MaxMSP Jitter and Arduino. 2009 including recordings of everyday sounds like bells ringing, trains, and humming tops (Meigh-Andrews, Keywords 2006. By extracting specifc sound from diverse sound Interactive Art, Nam June Paik, Musique Concrte, Random Access, sources, sound fragments are converted from objective MaxMSP Jitter, Arduino to subjective sounds. The sound fragment is a funda- mental unit for musique concrte, and one of the most Introduction remarkable achievements in Schaeffer’s musique Diligent Operator encourages visitors to make sound concrte (Gody, 2009. collage music in real time by connecting black Ethernet As conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp disconnected the cables as if visitors become diligent operators’ in the fxed relationship between signifer and its signifed, and operating switchboard system. Diligent Operator created a new meaning in his readymades,’ Schaeffer creatively reinterprets Paik’s Random Access, which was explored unlinking the preconceived relationship exhibited in his frst solo exhibition Exposition of Music between sound and its original function, and listening – Electronic Television in Wuppertal, West Germany in to sound itself. In this regard, Schaeffer emphasized the 1963. Random Access allowed visitors to make sound subjective perceptual listening experience, acousmatic collages by rubbing the strings of graphical audiotapes listening from sound fragments (Gody, 2009. on a white wall with a mobile head of a tape recorder in Acousmatic refers to a noise that one hears without a nonlinear way. This project is considered one of the seeing what causes it. Schaeffer high-lighted acousmatic most signifcant pioneering interactive art works (Paul, from the Larousse dictionary, using Pythagoras who 2015.1 Based on his research on musique concrte taught his lectures behind a curtain so that his disciples compositions, Paik employed the composing envi- could only listen to him without seeing him. Like the ronment of musique concrte to make the interactive curtain, Schaeffer thought that today the radios and system for Random Access. Likewise, Diligent Operator tape recorders can play a similar role with an invisible is an academic creation that was developed from the voice. In other words, he insisted that the tape recorder study of Random Access. had the virtue of Pythagoras’ curtain, which created new phenomena to experience, such as audio independent 1 In particular, art curator Christian Paul (2015 focuses on Paik’s reinterpretation of nonlinearity in art. She insists that Random Access of visual sources (Schaeffer, 2004. By discovering the predicted two-way communications between artwork and visitors. instinctive paths that lead from the purely “sonorous Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

461 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers to the purely “musical, this type of environment of music is paralleled by the increasing proliferation of denies the instrument and cultural conditioning, and machinery sharing in human labor (Russolo, 2011. Rus- puts the sonorous and its musical possibilities in front solo did not reject noise as an obstacle for music. Instead, of audiences (Schaeffer, 2004. Sound fragments based he stressed that composers would utilize this inevitable on acousmatic listening make musique concrte very element for new music. Paik explained how Schaeffer phenomenological music due to direct sound experiences mixed these two experimental methods, or noise and without visual and contextual references. To expand the meta-music, to make musique concrte. Paik insisted phenomenological sound experience, Schaeffer’s piles that his contributions to experimental music became a of records were decomposed, compressed, stretched, de- critical seed for studio music and growing electronic ossifed, inverted, shattered and pulverized as if a child music studios around the world. Paik emphasized that aggressively played with his toy (Schaeffer, 2012. without Schaeffer, scholars could not write a history of contemporary music. Accordingly, Paik thought of Nam June Paik’s Musique Concrète Schaeffer as a very important pioneer in progressive When Paik studied musicology in Munich in 1956, he music as a precursor of electronic music, which Paik had was obsessed with new music in Europe. In particular, just become interested in. he focused on serialism, or twelve-tone music, which was developed by Austrian-born composer Arnold Nam June Paik’s Random Access Schoenberg. The following year, he transferred to Random Access was exhibited in the basement of the Freiburg Music Academy to be an avant -garde composer. Galerie Parnass during Exposition of Music – Electronic It is not surprising that he was interested in a new form Television. Random Access consists of fundamental of music, electronic music. At the same time, he focused materials for musique concrte, or a tape recorder and its on musique concrte as the origin of electronic music. audiotape strings. It shows a visual collage of audiotapes Paik visited Schaeffer’s musique concrte studio in on a white wall. Audiences were able to access sound Paris on April 16, 1958. The main purpose of the visit fragments with a mobile head of a tape recorder in a was to use the studio for his musique concrte project nonlinear way. By rubbing the tape strings with the under Professor Wolfgang Fortner in Freiburg (Paik extended musical interface, visitors were actively able and Steinecke, 1999. After coming back to West to compose collage music. Even though Paik used the Germany, he wrote an article about musique concrte, electronic music studio in Cologne when he enrolled “A report on the Paris Studio of Pierre Schaeffer and in the PhD program at the University of Cologne, he Musique Concrete. Paik thoroughly explored the mainly used normal audio editing systems, which are history of musique concrte as a musique concrte similar to the Paris studio of musique concrte instead composing researcher, as he mentioned in the end of the of expensive electronic music devices (Rennert, 2010. article. Paik concentrated on three qualities of musique In Paik’s article “Time Collage, he recollected the concrte, composition with sound data, noise in music conversation with art critic oshiaki Higashino in the and the studio system for music. First, Paik mentions WDR studio in Cologne. When the critic visited the Paul Hindemith and Ernst Toth as precursors of musique studio, he saw more than hundreds of audio strings concrte. In Trickaufnahmen (1930, Hindemith used hung on the ceiling. He was surprised that the cutting- several turntables to change the pitch of recorded edge electronic music came from a handcraft workshop sounds and mixed them to create new interactive that was reminiscent of a workplace in the medieval rhythmic sequences, and Toth experimented with voices age (Paik, 1984. Along with this montage experience, by manipulating volume and pace of the sound data Paik also installed a twin project of Random Access by (Holmes, 2012. In other words, they created a method switching audiotapes into another medium for musique to make meta-record music. Another quality of musique concrte, 78-rpm records. In Record Shashlik, Paik concrte, noise, is stressed by Paik: Italian futurist Luigi threaded several records in two axes on a table. The Russolo had already experimented with noise as a main appearance and function of it is similar to a hard drive. element for music in the 1920s-30s in this article. In fact, Just as with Random Access, audiences were able to Russolo presented his statement “The Art of Noises in access music data bases in a nonlinear way. Record 1913. He highlighted that noise sound as the revolution Shashlik and Random Access showed two different

Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

462 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers editing environments of Schaeffer’s musique concrte interactive art with a low budget and simple coding. With studio. Paik invited visitors to virtual music studios of the infrared technology from Kinect, visitors’ bodies musique concrte. These installations were based on disappear on the screen. Without their image, they can Paik’s new idea. He quit the authoritative position of be immersed into the virtual reality designed by artists. composer, and explored a new way to compose 70 The visitors’ bodies often become invisible in current of a score and leave 30 for audiences (Paik, 1963. interactive works. Even though their hidden bodies are Similarly, on the poster of Exposition of Music – included in the project, in most cases, audiences just Electronic Television, Paik wrote a sub-topic “How to be need to be immersed into its environment. In this regard, satisfed with 70. It explains that Paik explored how interactive art provides them with restricted freedom, or to be satisfed with his unfnished projects or interactive some limited interactions without a recognition of their art as a progressive artist. identity. For this reason, their bodies tend to become a His new idea allowed audiences more freedom to passive agent in current interactive art. change the speed of reading the tape strings as if an artist paints abstract images on a huge canvas. In other words, Paik did not provide viewers with a fnal work, but made them take part in the process of creating collage music. This open work gave viewers active interactions. By providing audiences with diverse choices of sound databases, Paik created his own interactive pieces. In this regard, these projects can be considered one of the pioneering interactive art projects with electronic devices, which mix and manipulate different sounds in real time.

Dissatisfaction with Interactive Art When Paik exclusively developed his interactive art Figure 1. Diligent Operator Respect Copyright Random Access, he published a two-page manifesto “About the Exposition of Music to reveal his Similar to participants in interactive art, common philosophical idea about interactive art. Even though computer users are isolated in their own flter bubble Paik respected Cage and his colleagues, he did not like on the Internet (Pariser, 2011. For example, video their music since their chance and indeterminate music service websites such as YouTube and etfi have were still fxed, at best a little open to performers (Paik, the algorithms to accumulate the information about 1962. Unlike them, Paik explored to provide audiences users. And then, they recommend specifc video clips with real freedom to engage in his project. In this regard, and movies based on each costumer’s searching and his interactive art started with how to escape a one-way viewing data. After all, they control users’ activities communication in art and performance. online by analyzing their web surfng data. Due to this Currently, a lot of artists in the art-and-technology closed-circuit algorithm, users are getting more and feld have been using visitors’ bodies as a critical more trapped in their previous data online. As data is interface to participate in their interactive projects. getting bigger and bigger, costumers are paradoxically This popularity gains momentum with the release of getting more passive with the regional and closed-circuit Kinect as an interactive interface. Even though this experiences in Internet environment, which people call was originally designed for users to physically interact World Wide Web. In 1984, although Paik broadcasted with the video games of the X-Box console, artists a worldwide satellite performance Good Morning, Mr. appropriate the affordable interface in their interactive Orwell (1984 with diverse artists in both the East and art. Some collaborative open sources simply allow the West, passive viewers are still limited in our regional Kinect and their programming to communicate with and autocomplete boundaries. each other. Since the popular interactive interface has Visitors in interactive art usually try to fnd the been released, the body has been popularly used for description for it, and follow the creator’s description

Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

463 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers to view their own contributions to predictably changing their video titles. Since they do not have a real title and the creator’s limited world without any refections about few information, most of them are could not be searched their identities. Does interactive art really give visitors with any keywords except for the combination of DSC the freedom to choose? Or, does interactive art itself and the specifc numbers. However, they are public employ passive volunteers to activate it? Based on these videos, which every user can have access to. In other questions, Diligent Operator suggests a negotiation words, most of the video clips do not deal with secret boundary between a passive environment in interactive or confdential messages, but show everyday life. For art and an active space in progressive music. Even though this reason, titles with DSC and four digit numbers are musicians practice musical instruments following the mainly documentations of their activities to share their rigid rules, they can be creative performers while they videos with their family, relatives or small communities. master the instruments. The computer commands visitors to connect a specifc four-digit number among 12 random numbers in order to play sound fragments from the specifc DSC video fles on ouTube. However, audiences’ shadows from the projector discourages viewers from fnding the number. Their bodies make viewers uninvited guests in interactive art. To complete the computer’s mission, they need to hide their bodies so as not to make any shadows on the numbers as much as possible. If visitors do not successfully follow the instruction by connecting the specifc Ethernet cable on the white wall with an interactive interface, or a long Ethernet cable on the ceiling in 30 seconds, the random numbers and the instruction number change. If the visitors made it, Figure 2. The input part of Diligent Operator ©Respect Copyright the computer fnds 32 ouTube video clips from a list of the search results based on the DSC number that Diligent Operator the computer said, and randomly plays six of them Diligent Operator outstandingly makes an interactive without visual images.2 The sound becomes a sound acousmatic environment for visitors. It identifes fragment liberated from its original function as musique passive recipients submitting to their flter bubbles on concrte’s collage sound. This is global collage music the Internet with conformists following the instructions without our preferences. Each sound clip plays for ten in interactive art. In Diligent Operator, visitors become seconds, and the following sound starts in the middle of diligent switchboard operators in a hierarchical the previous sound clip. In other words, visitors listen to workplace in order to rethink their role as an interactive overlapping sounds except the starting and ending fve subject. In a recognizable similarity to Paik’s Random seconds. In addition, if uploaders for the video clips al- Access, Diligent Operator uses the same strategy of lowed to show commercials before them, visitors listen Paik’s interactive art, visual collage on a white wall with to commercials instead of their amateur videos. This a movable interface. Instead of audiotapes, in Diligent collage between amateurish and professional sounds Operator, 12 Ethernet cables are attached to the white makes comparison sound, and underscores the home- wall. The end of each cable has a different changing four- movie-like sounds. digit random number image every 30 seconds. These 12 As opposed to the autocomplete function, following random numbers are generated in 12 sections of 833 the computer’s rule discourages visitors from or 834, which are equally split numbers from 0000 to interacting with their preferences. Following the 9999 into 12 regions to indiscriminately be selected. computer’s command makes visitors passive operators, Each number represents a four-digit number for video camera data, or DSC four-digit number. If uploaders on 2 When the computer does not fnd enough DSC four-digit number ouTube do not type any titles for their video clips, the titles on YouTube, it automatically includes similar titles based on its system automatically assigns the identical fle names to specifc algorithm. As the four-digital number gets higher, the accuracy of the title gets lower. Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

464 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers but their interactions demolish their flter bubbles mobile Ethernet cable on the ceiling, acting as an input of autocomplete with the double random algorithm interface, is connected with any of these 12 Ethernet between a random number on the wall and randomly cables, the touch sensor board recognizes which cable chosen video links on the collected list from the number. is connected. This provides visitors with random access to peripheral video clips, as compared to popular videos that users mainly visit. In other words, with physical computing and programming, visitors perform as a passive operator who navigates diverse video clips without their biased key-words. Their passive interactions paradoxically contribute to breaking their flter bubble, and allow them to listen to peripheral sound collages with random access. In the end, they become active musicians in the restricted world.

Figure 4. The capacitive sensor for Ethernet cables Respect Copyright

Fig 3. The Max patch of Diligent Operator ©Respect Copyright.

Technology of Diligent Operator The physical computing part of Diligent Operator includes Arduino and Adafruit 12 ey Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout - MPR121. This breakout board communicates with Arduino via I2C communication protocol, which uses only two pins, SDA and SCL pins, Figure 5. The diagram of the process of Diligent Operator Respect to interact with serial signals from diverse devices. This Copyright board allows users to use 12 capacitive touch sensors without building any parts with resistors, capacities, and The computer commands visitors to connect a specifc pull-up or pull-down wires. To communicate Arduino Ethernet cable, which has a specifc number among with MaxMSP Jitter, this project simply uses the serial these 12 random numbers. If visitors connect the right communication. Since MaxMSP Jitter is only required number cable with the mobile Ethernet cable hung in to recognize basic signals from the capacitive sensor, the the ceiling after the instructions, the computer collects program does not need an external patch like Maxuino. the addresses of 32 video clips with the title of DSC Each pin is attached to each Ethernet cable on the wall. and the specifc number on ouTube by using the coll MaxMSP Jitter simply generates 12 different four-digit object, and randomly selects six video links among random numbers, which are projected onto the wall. them. By using the jweb object, which allows creators These numbers dim up and down, and change every to incorporate Internet websites in their MaxMSP Jitter 30 seconds. Their positions are adjusted to the end patches, participants can listen to collage music from the of each Ethernet cable by using the jit.gl.videoplane video clips. In other words, selecting the right four -digit objects based on the openGL technology. When a number on the wall automatically leads the computer Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

465 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers to enter the DSC and the number on the search bar on ouTube, and randomly plays six of the videos on the list of the search results. However, their correct connection impacts the random order of collage music in Diligent Operator. Visitors’ access moment decides the list and order of the fnal six video clips because MaxMSP Jitter generates random numbers based on the moment when users execute the random object.3 The random number from the computer is intertwined with the random order of search results by participants.

Result Interactive art mainly employs participants as the source of the unpredictability, which random processes have a Figure 6. The input part of Diligent Operator ©Respect Copyright similar role as a complexity generator in computer art (wastek, 2013. Diligent Operator mixes both strategies Future Development to make an unpredictable complexity in sound art. This Diligent Operator can be developed with the basic sound project provides visitors with a chance to make the order manipulation techniques of musique concrte. First, the of sound fragments as if they become musique concrte collage music can be edited by modifying speed, envelop, composers. In other words, connecting Ethernet cables in direction, and volume in the original sound sources. this project generates the chance order of diverse sounds. These sound manipulations like DJing techniques are Mixing randomly amateurs’ sounds from ouTube literally the main legacy of musique concrte. However, Diligent makes real time musique concrte via the Internet all the Operator does not intend to eradicate the original quality world over. In this regard, they are not passive conformists, of sound because sound from amateurish videos in diverse but active musicians in interactive art. cultures can contribute to breaking our flter bubbles, and The result of Diligent Operator is simple sound collages. give audiences authentic acousmatic sound experiences The original sources from video clips are not manipulated in a whole new world. The auditory environment from except for trimming their length. Furthermore, its limited Diligent Operator will balance between original sound selections can make monotonous interactions. Even sources and their modifed objects. In other words, this though Diligent Operator intends to encourage visitors will be intertwined original sound with its manipulated to concentrate on sounds from diverse ordinary users, sound just as in musique concrte. This complex editing these could discourage them from actively taking part in method will revive a real musique concrte project, but as making sound collages due to its restricted sounds intact. a real-time performance. This would still be an unfnished project, and need some Next, this project can be more complex with more inputs. modifcations to encourage visitors to actively participate. Diligent Operator uses only 12 Ethernet connections. For the future, it would incorporate around 100 inputs just as a real operator switchboard. This environment will provide visitors with more active participations to fnd 3 The reference for Random in MaxMSP Jitter describes that “the random number. This will make participants real “A second argument is used to set a “seed value for the random gener- diligent operators. ator. If no argument is specifed, the time value will be used to initialize Conclusion the seed. Diligent Operator does not use a specifc argument for the Diligent Operator has the same origin, musique random object so that it generates a random number based on the time concrte, with Paik’s Random Access. In this virtual elapsed since system startup as the seed. In other words, six ouTube environment for musique concrte, visitors become addresses among 32 ones are randomly selected and ordered for the list diligent switchboard operators as silent conformists. of sound clips by using this unpredictable seed when visitors connect However, as interactive subjects, visitors can be active the Ethernet cable. Visitors’ reaction time will contribute to making a musical performers by composing the order of sound specifc random order for playing the six video clips. fragments with random algorithm based on their Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2017 Manizales 16th International Image Festival

466 Design, Art, Science and Technology: Papers reaction moments. As opposed to normal interactive Rennert, S. (2010. About Paik, with Paik: A Collage of art, following the rule does not lead to a clear narrative Conversations Dating from 1992 to 2010. In S-. result. Instead, visitors become collage musicians with Lee S. Rennert (Eds., Nam June Paik (pp. 213- unexpected daily life sounds. In this regard, Diligent 217. Lon-don: Tate Publishing. Operator contributes to retrieving the active roles of Russolo, L. (2011. The Art of Noises. In C. elly (Ed., both composers in musique concrte and participants in Sound (p. 22. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. interactive art. Schaeffer, P. (2004. Acousmatics. In C. Cox D. Warner (Eds., Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Acknowledgements Music (pp. 76-81. New ork, N: Bloomsbury This project developed from my previous proceeding, Publishing. “A Pioneer of Interactive Art: Nam June Paik as Musique Schaeffer, P. (2012. In Search of a Concrete Music . (C. Concrte Composing Researcher at the ISEA 2015. North J. Dack, Trans.. Berkeley Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. (Original work References published 1952 Gody, R. I. (2009. Music Theory by Sonic Objects. In . Gayou (Ed., Pierre Schaeffer Polychrome Author Biography Portraits (pp. 67-75. Paris: Institut national de Byeongwon Ha studied in the Film, Television and l’audiovisuel. Multimedia department at SungKyunKwan University, Holmes, T. (2012. Electronic and Experimental Music: Seoul, South orea. After receiving his BFA, he created Technology, Music, and Culture. New ork, interactive media, experimental flms, and video art in the NY: Routledge. graduate study of Media Art at onsei University, Seoul, wastek, . (2013. Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital South orea. He earned an MFA degree in Digital Media Art. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, Meigh-Andrews, C. (2006. A History of Video Art: The and won the thesis project award. Now he is writing a De-velopment of Form and Function. Oxford: Berg. dissertation about Nam June Paik’s interactive art in the Paik, N. J. (1961. Aprs Serie1: Focusing on Cologne. Media, Art & Text Program at Virginia Commonwealth Ongaku Geijutsu, 19(3, 13-17. University in Richmond, VA. He participated in Art. Paik, N. J. (1962, December. About the Exposition of CHI II workshop in CHI2016 in San Jose, California. Mu-sic. De-coll/age, 3, unpaged. He presented several papers about interactive art Paik, N. J. (1963. The Avant-garde Music in the World at the International Symposium on Electronic Arts – Part II. Ongaku Geijutsu 21(12, 17-29. (ISEA 2014 in Dubai, 2015 in Vancouver, and 2016 in Paik, N. J. (1973. The Paris Studio of Pierre Schaeffer Hong ong. He also exhibited an interactive piece in and Musique Concrte. In J. Rosebush (Ed.), Videa SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 in Singapore. ‘n’ vide-ology, 1959-1973 (p. 83. Syracuse: The Everson Mu-seum of Art. Paik, N. J. (1984. Time Collage. In S. Watari (Ed., Nam June Paik: Time Collage (pp. 6-24. Tokyo: Isshi Press. Paik, N. J., Steinecke, W. (1999. Der Briefwechsel Nam June Paik - Wolfgang Steinecke 1957-1961. In H-. Metzger R. Riehn (Eds., Darmstadt-Dokumente I: In-ternationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (pp. 110-133. Munchen: Textritik. Pariser, E. (2011. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. New ork: The Penguin Press. Paul, C. (2015. Digital Art. London; New ork: Thames Hudson.

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