Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii

Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii
Video clip of the artwork in November 2023
ArtistNam June Paik
Year1995 (1995)
Typevideo art
Dimensions4.6 m × 1.2 m × 12 m (15 ft × 4 ft × 40 ft)
LocationSmithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′52″N 77°01′20″W / 38.897874°N 77.022332°W / 38.897874; -77.022332
OwnerSmithsonian Institution

Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, commonly referred to as Electronic Superhighway, is an art installation created by Nam June Paik in 1995. Since 2006, the work has been on display in the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, D.C. The large video artwork is composed of over 300 television sets, neon tubing, and 50 DVD players, which form a map of the United States. The map contains video clips that Paik associated with each state. Some of the states display images that are commonly associated with them, while others play video clips of people and scenes that are more thought-provoking.

The SAAM was gifted the work by Paik in 2002, seven years before the museum was given his archive, but Electronic Superhighway was not put on display until 2006. While the museum was under renovations, it was reassembled and later displayed for the first time, shortly after Paik's death. It has become one of the most popular pieces in the museum's contemporary art section. There was an exhibition of his work at the SAAM in 2012, which included Electronic Superhighway and items from his archive. The museum underwent another renovation in the 2020s, with the work not available to view from 2021 to 2023. It is among one of many works on display in the contemporary and post-1945 modern art sections that was created by people of color.


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