Cathodic Vernacular

Video Sculpture, 2016

 

Cathodic Vernacular is a video sculpture that uses electromagnetic distortions to disrupt the ubiquitous form and function of the cathode ray tube, exposing the authority of the video transmission as a fragile and impermanent signal. The design of this modified CRT television is an adaptation of a device created by Nam June Paik and Shuya Abe known as the Paik-Abe Raster Manipulator, or "Wobbulator" that uses sonically driven electromagnets to rip the raster around the screen. As a commentary on our current political media culture, the words spoken by the republican and democratic presidential candidates on screen are literally unraveling their own image with their voices.