Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to examine what Heidegger identifies as the danger of modern technology and to understand how art can possibly be an antidote to this present danger. Heidegger’s concern about modern technology stems from its potential effects of blinding humanity from seeing truths, and letting humans to see the world as a set of resources. In this age of danger, Heidegger suggests that art might be the saving power, since art shares its roots but also strays away from technology through its own sense of revealing. Nevertheless, the crux of this paper lies in reevaluating Heidegger’s thoughts and its limits through Nam June Paik’s TV Buddha, which is a 20th century artwork that uses technology. With the different conceptual and material revolutions in the fine arts over the past decade, modern and contemporary art has challenged Heidegger’s definition of art and an artist in different ways. Paik’s work also serves as a great example. On the one hand, he challenges the Heideggerian notion of what art should be, but on the other hand, his TV Buddha also demonstrates how technology, when brought into the realm of art is no longer perceived through its utility but help reveal truths about humanity.
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