Robot

Paik was fascinated by the figure of the robot and created his first radio-controlled robot in 1964. The current piece came towards the end of his career, shortly before his 1993 'Bakelite Robot' that was exhibited at the Tate Modern.
Throughout the 20th Century, the robot figure was a popular symbol in art, literature and film for communicating the threat that technology posed to humanity. Paik's interest was in part, due to the increasing overlap between human and computer, a trajectory that posed the question of whether the overlap would eventually render humans futile, in favour of an entirely computerised society. Paik's fascination with robots and his creation of numerous sculptures based on their image, led to his solo exhibition 'Becoming Robot' in New York (2014-2015). Paik's interest in exploring the human condition through the lens of technology and science has created a far-reaching legacy that may be seen in broad recognition of new media art and the growing numbers of subsequent generations of artists, who now use various forms of technology in their work.

Mixed metal multiple with lightbulb, 1990, signed in black ink, dated, numbered from the edition of 91 unique works, published by Edition Mönchehaus-Museum, Goslar, Germany, height: 55 cm. (21 ½ in.)