THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Paik had a nose for the absurd, especially when it concerned sex, women, pop culture, and mass media. He devised a new piece for Moorman, TV Bra for Living Sculpture (1969). Paik’s bra was an ungainly assemblage of two small television picture tubes encased in plexiglass boxes, one for each breast, which were held on Moorman’s body by wide, transparent vinyl straps and safety pins. It was uncomfortable and she worried about the high-voltage wires attached to the backs of its picture tubes. When Paik strapped her in for the first time, he said, “It’s very likely you won’t be electrocuted.”

Rothfuss/Cellist