Nam June Paik 1932-2006

signed in Korean, Chinese and English

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 1998.
Private Collection, New Jersey.

The acrylic cover on the third television set from the center on the right arm is cracked.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The work of Nam June Paik has affected a monumental flux in the creative possibilities of postmodern contemporary art.  To say that he has revolutionized the realm of digital art is a gross understatement.  He took the television set and manipulated, juxtaposed, reinterpreted it in so many ways that the divide between art and quotidian objects has been thoroughly thwarted.  What he has contributed to the art world is not only an impressive body of work that is truly pioneering and original, but the idea that it is possible to take something as commonplace as the TV set and convert it into the basic building block for art-making.  Paik erased the subjectivity of an ordinary object and in its place, inserted curiosity and eccentricity—a paradigm is born out of this groundbreaking act.  He has made everything from films to installations, music, performances as well as video tapes in an attempt to compartmentalize the functions of the television, practical or not.  With each work, a different role is assigned to and imposed on the versatile machine, presenting to his audience its infinite transformative as well as expressive potential. 

Born in Korea in 1932 and eventually settling in the United States, artist Nam June Paik had received his education from elite institutions respectively in Japan and in Europe.  He was well-versed in the histories of art as well as music, building an early foundation that served him very well throughout his prolific career.  His initial creative endeavours were pieces of action music, where he would include everyday noises and sounds in his compositions.  Paik, however, felt it inadequate.  Lives were being revolutionized everyday and electronics were permeating all households.  He needed to create something that would capture the lightning speed at which technology was impacting quality of life, and more.  Through his work, he wanted to foretell the future and present all its shifting possibilities.  Thus the television, the nucleus of Nam June Paik's artistic identity, appeared and took center stage in his work.  In his endless re-presentations of the television, Paik was hoping to deconstruct the device and remove its spell over humans so that we may stand a chance of coping with it.  A desire to humanize the object is a constant thematic strand that ties all his creations together.

The materiality of the objects Nam June Paik chooses to use is never lost in their modified status as art.  Their colours are original.  The wires are still there.  Make no mistake, we are staring at a cluster of television sets being placed on top of radio consoles, but it is this very candor which generates the "power and impact on the viewer" that arises from the components "being deployed in configurations that unambiguously announce their referent."[1]  Big Shoulder, (Lot 27), is a model of a robot constructed with a host of electronic components.  A box with rounded edges contains miniature televisions and a bar of light, together which alludes to eyes, nose and mouth, constituting the "head."  On either side, two adjacent radio consoles with four more television sets laid on top represent the "arms."  An antique cabinet television set is the "abdomen" and below, cases containing more televisions arranged on their sides are its "legs."  As the same exact video buzzes on every set, we are being offered a history lesson on the development of mass media.  The radio console was the precursor to the television set in its mechanical engineering and design.  The business model that had made the radio prevalent was then applied onto the television, thus giving birth to mass broadcasting and network programming.  Further along then, in technological progress, is the player behind the scenes that delivers a Paik-directed video off of a laser disc.  At last, all these are assembled to mark the latest in scientific discovery — the robot, an icon of artificial intelligence. 

Nam June Paik has been making such robot sculptures since 1986.  Each boasts a different configuration of a different selection of vintage televisions and radios, implanting a near-human identity or a pseudo-individuality to every one of them.  He gave this particular robot the endearing name Big Shoulder.   He then lovingly painted his signature in Korean onto its "belly" as well as in English onto its "left thigh."  In this, Nam June Paik has achieved the impossible—he has managed to enfold this hard evidence of a capitalist commodity culture in a pervasive aura of nostalgia and compassion.

[1] Hanhardt, John G. et al., The Worlds of Nam June Paik (New York: Guggenheim Museum, 2003)