Techno-Orientalist Art and Aesthetics

This video provides an exploration into the possibilities of configuring a Techno-Orientalist art and aesthetic phenomena, from which the 'Orient' or 'East' (Asia and East Asia specifically) comes to define itself with greater agency and autonomy in relation to the zeitgeist of Asian technological modernity and the discourses of western techno-scientific progress in the 21st century. In this context, Techno-Orientalist art reflects an Eastern perspective turned inward, expressing its self-awareness through aesthetic representation.

The following artworks are covered as exemplars of a Techno-Orientalist aesthetic phenomena; Nam June Paik's TV Buddha (1974), Makoto Tezuka's 2001 (2001), Zhang Dali's Chinese Offspring (2003), Cai Guo-Qiang's Sky Ladder (2015), Nobumichi Asai's INORI (2017), Ryoji Ikeda's Data.verse (2019), Lin Kunhao's (Dabeiyuzhou's) As if·Future (2020), Du Kun's Scores of Landscapes (2021), Ziyuan Chen's The Eye of Discipline (2022), Wang Zhigang's Tungel (2024) and AESPA's Whiplash (2024).

• David S. Roh, Betsy Huang & Greta A. Niu, Techno-Orientalism: Imagining Asia in Speculative Fiction, History, and Media (2015)
• Toshiya Ueno, Japanimation and Techno-Orientalism (2001)

Please like, subscribe and share this video. Thank you.

0:00 - Introduction
7:02 - Nam June Paik, TV Buddha (1974)
9:45 - Makoto Tezuka, 2001 (2001)
11:59 - Zhang Dali, Chinese Offspring (2003)
14:54 - Cai Guo-Qiang, Sky Ladder (2015)
17:07 - Nobumichi Asai, INORI - PRAYER (2017)
18:49 - Ryoji Ikeda, Data.verse (2019)
22:09 - Lin Kunhao (Dabeiyuzhou), As if·Future (2020)
24:34 - Du Kun, Scores of Landscapes (2021)
26:13 - Ziyuan Chen, The Eye of Discipline (2022)
29:09 - Wang Zhigang, Tungel (2024)
32:04 - AESPA, Whiplash (2024)
34:21 - Conclusion