Robot Child

Nam June Paik, a pioneer of video art, presented Robot Child in 1989, which is part of his robot series. Paik first introduced his robot artwork, Robot K-456, at the 2nd New York Avant-Garde Festival in 1964. Subsequently, in 1986, he unveiled the Robot Family series at the Chicago Art Fair. The Robot Family consists of three generations of robots, from grandparents to children, and later, Paik created various robot depictions of domestic and international figures such as “Hamlet”, “David”, “King Great Sejong”, and “Jeong Yak-yong”.

The artwork Robot Child, one of Sehwa Museum of Art collection, depicts the figure of a child with braided hair parted in two and wearing red sneakers, as implied by the title. It features large and small monitors and radio machinery comprising the body and limbs. Unlike other robot series, it portrays a joyful child sliding down a slide enthusiastically. For Paik, robots symbolize a mischievous and humorous “humanization of machines” that combines contemporary high-tech technology with artistic sensibility. It also represents an endeavor to reclaim the origins of humanity, which are being lost due to technological advancements.