Neptune, NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
The exhibition Moons connects the many perspectives that emerge when we contemplate the moon as a "plural being," from both inside and outside Earth, with Nam June Paik’s "planetary thinking," and reopens The Moon is the Oldest TV (1965/2000), Neptune (1991), and Turtle (1993) to fresh interpretation. Through the works of contemporary artists who resonate with Paik’s thought, it then proposes a new vision of the cosmos as Paik saw it.
"The Bright Rainbow Dots," which is also the exhibition’s English title, serves as a metaphor for the "Pale Blue Dot"—the image of Earth captured by Voyager 1 at the outer reaches of the solar system—and becomes a link that extends Nam June Paik’s planetary thinking. Neptune, glowing a vivid blue as it catches the sunlight, is a planet whose appearance can shift endlessly with cosmic distance, the properties of light, and atmospheric composition. In this context, the exhibition space, which begins from the vantage point of Neptune rather than Earth, moves beyond a geocentric view; it becomes a device that honors the artistic worlds of ten artists, Paik among them, and draws them into connection.
Moons: The Bright Rainbow Dots