Nam June Paik

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Artist / Artist group: Nam June Paik

Title: ohne Titel

Category: Drawing

Collection: ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

Description: Nam June Paik (1932 Seoul, South Korea – 2006 Florida, USA) is considered one of the most important pioneers of video art. He began experimenting with new media as early as the 1960s and developed a novel and still influential artistic language with works such as “TV Cello” (1971) and “TV Buddha” (1974). His creations had a decisive influence on the intertwining of art, music, technology, and performance. In a playful and often humorous way, Paik questioned the relationship between humans and television, religion and technology, everyday life and the screen. He never viewed technology in an isolated manner, but rather as an integral part of a cultural, biological, and spiritual system. His works raise questions that invite viewers to engage in an inner dialogue and allow for their own interpretations. Paik's oeuvre is diverse: it ranges from early tape collages and TV installations to conceptual graphics, robot sculptures, and satellite-based media projects. He repeatedly returned to certain motifs, which he implemented in a variety of ways in his works and placed in new contexts. In this drawing, Nam June Paik divides the page into three horizontal scenes. In the upper section, a television—a medium that Paik repeatedly explores in his work—can be seen in a sketch-like representation. In the upper right corner of the picture, the sun is about to set, while a single, simplistically drawn bird can be seen in the corner of the screen. In the middle of the image, half of the sun has already disappeared behind the horizon. Two birds can be seen, one still inside the television, the other already on its way to freedom. In the last section, the sun has completely set, the moon is in the sky, and numerous small birds escape from the screen and spread out over the horizon. The drawing consists of several consecutive scenes in which the motif develops step by step. This sequence is reminiscent of a kineograph, in which individual images merge into a movement through rapid succession. Here, too, the impression of a fluid progression is created. However, this is only in the imagination of the viewer, who mentally connects the static scenes to form a flowing transition. In this work, Paik creates a visual bridge between nature and technology. The television represents modernity and the world of media and technology, while birds, the sun, and the moon are symbols of nature. In the drawing, however, these two spheres merge into one another. Nothing remains strictly separate. Paik thus illustrates his fundamental idea that nature and technology should not be understood as opposites, but rather as being in a constant state of exchange.