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CHOICE Review

Originally published in German in 1991 in conjunction with Paik exhibitions in Zurich, Basel, Dusseldorf, and Vienna, this volume is a compendium of informative essays written by such persons as John Cage, Kate Millet, Alan Kaprow, and Arata Isozaki, and by Paik himself. Reading more like an exhibition catalog than a book, it lacks the critical focus needed to address some of the more crucial questions raised by Paik's work. Much is said about "brainwashing" or the "glut" of electronic images in our lives, but Paik's use of kaleidoscopic, multiple monitors is not always automatic commentary. Does employing the video image, the TV set itself, or transforming real objects into "tele-objects" necessarily say something about TV and its supposed effect on us? It is too much to presume, as many of these authors do, that this is an obvious and unquestionable paradox built into Paik's art. Much is also made of Paik's interest in Hegel, Kant, and Marx that seems superficial and unconvincing and imples a heavy tone in his work. On the contrary, Paik's are works of unabashed wonder and playful appeal that humanize while they transform. More than 130 well-printed photographs do give a sense of a substantial career. Useful to scholars are the biographical notes, list of exhibitions, and select bibliography. The pleasurable readability of the essays makes them accessible to the general reader. Undergraduate and up. R. Shepherd; Parsons School of Design