Note: If the Cathedral of Learning continues to have electrical issues and remains closed on 9.26, then we will meet online (zoom link below). Otherwise, if it re-opens, we will proceed normally, meeting both in CL 602 and in our zoom room.

Hosted by the Humanities Center and graduate fellow, Vuk Vuković. Respondents include Mark Collins from the Geology and Environmental Science department and Joshua Ellenbogen from the History of Art and Architecture department. This event will be hybrid, so you can attend it either in person in 602 CL or via Zoom as you prefer.

In 1988, as Cold War tensions diminished and the digital revolution began, Korean-born artist Nam June Paik orchestrated a global collaboration with eleven broadcasting stations, including those in the Soviet Union and China, to create his final satellite work, Wrap Around the World (1988). Inspired by architect Buckminster Fuller's 1969 global electric grid concept, Paik aimed to transcend nationalism, merging architecture, design, and video to foster global interconnectedness. This colloquium will argue that Paik's satellite trilogy—Good Morning, Mr. Orwell (1984), Bye Bye Kipling (1986), and Wrap Around the World—employed simultaneous art broadcasts to connect nations across borders, fulfilling Fuller's unrealized vision.

Precirculated material for this colloquium will be available here about two weeks prior and up to the event.