Nam June Paik

(Korea, United States of America 1932–30 Jan 2006)

Title

Buddha game

Year

1991

Media categories

Materials used

television set, pages from a printed book, 2 gold leaf wooden Buddhas, neon, antenna, 5 television monitors, laser disc player and laser disc

Dimensions

147.3 x 92.7 x 59.7cm

Signature & date

Signed and dated on side of cabinet, paint 'Nam June Paik, 91'. Signed in Korean characters on side of cabinet, paint 'Nam June Paik.

Credit

Purchased 2002

Accession number

10.2002.a-c

Copyright

Location

Not on display

Further information

Nam June Paik came to the attention of international audiences when he began working with Fluxus and in particular his musical collaborations with Joseph Beuys in the 1960s. He was first shown in Sydney in 1976 as part of a John Kaldor project with Charlotte Moorman with whom he also regularly performed.

He has combined performative and musical aspects in his work while increasingly bringing in applications of new technology. He has been an international pioneer of video installation and is represented by such works in many of the world's most important museums.

This work is a compact example that includes many of his consistent themes. The box that houses the work is a television cabinet within which he has miniature videos operating watched by two bronze Buddhas. Confronting the spiritual dimension of Buddhism with new technologies is a continuing aspect of the work. The space of the screen where so many people "meditate" every day is provocatively juxtaposed with the sublime attention of Buddhist meditation.

The cabinet is covered with pages from an old Korean book making the modern exterior of the appliance seem strangely antique. This use of collage and found objects accords well with the Fluxus movement with which Paik is associated. The feel of this particular box suggests the work of Wolf Vostel for example.

Bibliography (7)

Anthony Bond (England; Australia) (Commissioning Editor), Wayne Tunnicliffe (New Zealand; Australia) (Commissioning Editor), Contemporary: Art Gallery of New South Wales Contemporary Collection, 2006, 234, 235 (colour illus.).

'Year in review' pg. 14-35, Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 2003 2003, 2003, 21.

'Asian Favourites' by Jackie Menzies, pg. 24-27., Look Sep 2003, Sep 2003, 25 (colour illus.).

'Year in review' pg. 8-25, Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 2002 2002, 2002, 11.

Christie's London (England) (Author), Christie's London: Contemporary Art, London, 08 Feb 2002, 132, 133 (colour illus.). lot no. 175

The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 187 (colour illus.).

Adventures in Asia. An education kit for the Asian gallery 2003, 2003, 8 (colour illus.). card no. 8

Exhibition history (1)

Nam June Paik, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 10 Jan 2004–08 Feb 2004.