Transmission Tower is a laser work by Nam June Paik, which was shown at the exhibition Nam June Paik: Transmission held at the Rockefeller Center, New York, from June 26th to September 2nd, 2002. Laser, as a medium utilizing broad-spectrum frequencies, represents the essence of communication media in Nam June Paik's media art. In order to implement the laser aspect of the artwork, Nam June Paik collaborated with Norman Ballard. In this piece, Ballard visualized the trajectories of communication waves using lasers and neon. The work comprises one main tower, measuring 8 meters in height and 4 meters in width, shaped like the RKO Radio Pictures logo; four outdoor lasers; mini towers, visualizing the movement of lasers with attached mirrors on the top. On each of the four sides of the main tower, there are a total of 13 solid neon tubes in red, yellow, blue, and green, respectively. At the bottom of the main tower, 8 red crackle neon tubes are attached to each of the four sides. The laser projected from the top of the main tower and the neon lights emanating from the four sides of the tower harmonize with the surrounding landscape, creating a spectacular media environment.
Transmission Tower, mentioned by Nam June Paik as symbolizing the 21st century as an information age, has always been presented alongside parts of the 32 Cars for the 20th Century: Play Mozart’s Requiem Quietly (1997). Paired with the cars Paik identified as symbolic of the 20th-century as a machine age, artworks metaphorically express the technical environment and communication spanning two centuries.