NAM JUNE PAIK

Nam June Paik, “Venus,” 1990

Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?

Born in 1932 in Seoul, South Korea, Nam June Paik was a “composer, performer and artist” whom in the 1960’s become an innovative figure towards the creation of video-art (Britannica, 2008). Paik was active from the early 60’s when he opened his first exhibition, Exhibition of Music/Electronic Television, to the early 2000’s; creating one of his last pieces Global Groove 2004 two years before his death. Paik also worked as a professor at Düsseldorf State Academy of Art during his time as an active artist. He was known to be close friends with fellow famous artist Andy Warhol.

What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?) 

I have chosen to analyse the video art titled Venus by Nam June Paik. This was a piece out of a larger series of works Paik created in the 1990’s called “The Planet.”

With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?

Venus was created in 1990, appearing to be one of his later works.

How was the photo or video authored?

This work depicts a painted aluminium structure with a green satellite dish in the centre; 24 colour tv sets are shown surrounding the dish and within. Appearing on all of the screens of these Sony televisions is a synced program which showcases hypnotic imagery, forcing viewers to almost see this piece as an illusion from afar. In order to create such a piece, Paik would have used certain effects on the film itself in order for the images to become distorted and hypnotising. The laser disc scanner involved with this piece would have also contributed to such effects. As this piece is a sculpture, (the only form of technology used is the televisions) manual labour putting the piece together would have occurred. There was no assistance of digital technology.

How was the photo or video published?

By the 1990’s, colour television was no longer foreign. However, distorted colour imagery shown on television was, especially in the context of art. Hence, the publication of this piece would have occurred through the timely process of developing the film and distorting the film physically. There would have been no help of digital editing software.

How was the photo or video distributed?

“Venus” was distributed to the public by being placed in The Hans Mayer Gallery in Germany, which was established in 1965. Nam June Paik joined the gallery in 1989, a year before creating this piece. The gallery still distributes this and many other pieces created by Paik to this day. At Art Cologne 2009, Venus was shown and spoken about by Hans Mayar himself in an online video for further public distribution.

REFERENCES:

Enrico 2009, Nam June Paik: Venus / Galerie Hans Mayer / Art Cologne 2009, Vernissage TV, viewed 26 April 2019, https://vernissage.tv/2009/04/28/nam-june-paik-venus-galerie-hans-mayer-art-cologne-2009/

Britannica 2008, Nam June Paik: Korean-born composer, performer and artist, viewed 26 April 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nam-June-Paik

Moulon, D 2017, Art Basel 2017, Media Art Design, viewed 26 April 2019, https://www.mediaartdesign.net/EN_bas17.html