# 23 Chrysler Treasures - Hamlet Robot
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Twentythird in a series of caches highlighting the art of Norfolk's Chrysler Museum, One Memorial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510. The Chrysler Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday from Noon to 5 pm. Admission is Free. Website: www.chrysler.org. This sculpture may be seen in Gallery 223 at the museum.
The Hamlet Robot (1996) is a 12 foot tall video installation comprised of televisions in the form of a human figure; other elements, such as a sword, skull, crown and scepter, that are attached to the television simulate the William Shakespeare character, Hamlet. The work consists of eleven vintage television cabinets; two vintage radio cabinets; five Samsung 13-inch televisions, model 1372; Six KEC 9-inch televisions, model 9BND; two Sony 5-inch televisions, model FDT-5BX5; 1,000 watt transformer; two Pioneer Laser disk players; and two original Paik Laser disks. The televisions are on, and display changing iconography relating to Hamlet.
The artist is Nam June Paik (American, 1932 - 2006) He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. In 1950, Paik and his family had to flee to Hong Kong and later Japan during the Korean War. He graduated from the University of Tokyo and then moved to West Germany. While studying in Germany, Paik was from 1962 on, a member of the Neo-Dada art movement, known as Fluxus, which was inspired by composer John Cage and his use of everyday sounds and noises in his music. He made his big debut in 1963 at an exhibition in Wuppertal in which he scattered televisions everywhere and used magnets to alter or distort their images. In a 1960 piano performance in Cologne, he played Chopin, threw himself on the piano and rushed into the audience, attacking Cage and pianist David Tudor by cutting their clothes with scissors and dumping shampoo on their heads. During 1963 & 1964 engineers Uchida & Abe showed Paik how to interfere with the flow of electrons in color TV sets, work that led to the Abe-Paik video synthesizer, a key element in his future TV work.
In 1964, Paik moved to New York, and began working with classical cellist Charlotte Moorman, to combine his video, music & performance. In the work TV Cello, the pair stacked televisions on top of one another, so that they formed the shape of an actual cello. When Moorman drew her bow across the "cello," images of her and other cellists playing appeared on the screens. In 1965, Sony introduced the Portapak. With this, Paik could both move and record things, for it was the first portable video and audio recorder. From there, Paik became an international celebrity, known for his creative and entertaining works.
In a notorious 1967 incident, Moorman was arrested for going topless while performing in Paik’s Opera Sextronique. Two years later, in 1969, they performed TV Bra for Living Sculpture, in which Moorman wore a bra with small TV screens over her breasts. In 1974 Paik used the term "super highway" in application to telecommunications, which gave rise to the opinion that he may have been the author of the phrase "Information Superhighway". Possibly Paik's most famous work, TV Buddha is a video installation depicting a Buddha statue viewing its own live image on a closed circuit TV. Paik was also known for making robots out of television sets. These were constructed using pieces of wire and metal, but later Paik used parts from radio and television sets.
As a pioneer of Video art, the artwork and ideas of Nam June Paik were a major influence on late 20th-century art and continue to inspire a new generation of artists. Art market Christie's holds the auction record for Paik's work since it achieved $646,896 in Hong Kong in 2007 for his Wright Brothers, a 1995 propeller-plane-like tableau comprising 14 TV monitors.
Paik married the video artist Shigeko Kubota in 1965. He was a lifelong Buddhist who never smoked, or drank alcoholic beverages, and never drove a car. In 1996, Paik had a stroke, which paralyzed his left side. He used a wheelchair the last decade of his life, though he was able to walk with assistance. He died January 29, 2006, in Miami, Florida.
Other caches in this series include:
Other caches in this series include:
Chrysler Treasures #1 - The Norfolk Mace (GC7C965) Located in Gallery 208
Chrysler Treasures # 3 - Angel Appearing to Shepherds (GC7EC96) Located in Gallery 211
Chrysler Treasures # 4 - The Neophyte (GC7ECR7) Located in Gallery 214
Chrysler Treasures # 5 - The Wounded Indian (GC7EMPZ) (No longer at the Chrysler)
Chrysler Treasures # 6 - Picasso (redux) (GCA6RA1) Located in Gallery 219
Chrysler Treasures # 9 - Veronese (GC7EYA3) Located in Gallery 204
Chrysler Treasures #10 - The Last Judgement (GC7EYE5) Located in Gallery 202
Chrysler Treasures #11 - The Vegetable Vendor (GC7EZM5) Located in Gallery 207
Chrysler Treasures #12 - James Baldwin (GC7F3HN) Located in Gallery 222
Chrysler Treasures #13 - Ganymede and the Eagle (redux) (GCARWVG) Located in Gallery 208
Chrysler Treasures #14 - Renoir (GC7F3PJ) Located in Gallery 217
Chrysler Treasures #15 - Samurai Armor (GC7F6M8) Located in Gallery 106
Chrysler Treasures #16 - Tiffany Glass (GC7F5WY) Located in Gallery 116
Chrysler Treasures #18 - Naga Buddha (redux) (GC8A8PE) Located in Gallery 107
Chrysler Treasures #19 - Sarcophagus (redux) (GC8A8X8) Located in Gallery 109
Chrysler Treasures #20 - Georgia O'Keefe(redux) (8TNNX) (located in Gallery 223
Chrysler Treasures # 21 - Libenksy and Brychtova (GC7QFM0) Located in Gallery 223
Chrysler Treasures # 22 - Abstract Expressionism (GC7QG86) Located in Gallery 223
Chrysler Treasures # 23 - Hamlet Robot (GC7QG8E) Located in Gallery 223 (now in storeage)
Chrysler Treasures # 25 - Bernini's Bust of Christ (GC8RZB5) in Gallery 205
Chrysler Treasures # 26 - MacPherson and MacDonald (GC8ZXF5) in Gallery 218
Chrysler Treasures # 27 - Karen Lamonte (GC8ZY3Q) in Gallery 108
Chrysler Treasures # 28 - Amor Forgiven (GC90M9V) in Galley 216
Chrysler Treasures # 29 - Standing Warrior (GC90VFT) in Gallery 105
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