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http://faculty.etsu.edu/kortumr/HUMT2320/postmodern/htmdescriptionpages/30paik2desc.jpg
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TV Buddha Installation (above)/ Oil on canvas (right)
1974-1982, Nam June Paik.
Image courtesy of Galerie Albert Benamou and http://faculty.etsu.edu/kortumr/HUMT2320/postmodern/htmdescriptionpages/paik2.htm
TV Buddha is an enigmatic work by prolific video artist Nam June Paik which consists of a Buddha statue gazing at his own image on a video screen, being projected there by a closed circuit video camera.
According to Hanzal, "The historical/religious significance of the Buddha figure makes it an apt metaphor for contemplation, yet there seems to be conflict between the desires to look away from and into the self" (2001).
As such, Paik has managed to create an infinite loop. It becomes more interesting to the viewer as he/she realises that while the discourse of technology can be distanced from the conflict taking place, i.e. that the struggle is ultimately between the self and perception of the self, it also can be said to be a catalyst for the interaction which forces the interaction between the two.
Paik subsequently produced different versions of TV Buddha, the least complex version an oil on canvas with a sawn off front of a television as a frame. This version was arguably created because it made his work less bulky and more saleable than his earlier larger video installations such as Participation TV (1963), Magnet TV (1965) and TV cello (1971).
Participation TV (1963)
TV cello (1971)
Magnet TV (1965)
Global groove (1973)
Nam June Paik's Official Website
Nam June Paik's Official Website - Exhibitions
db-artmag (2004) Get into the global groove: Nam June Paik in the Deutsche Guggenheim [Online] Available: http://www.deutsche-bank-art.com/art/preview/e/1/205.php [Accessed 28 Oct 2004]
Decker-Phillips, E. (1998) Paik Video, New York: Barrytown. ISBN 188644935X.
Galerie Albert Benamou (2004) Nam June Paik [Online] Available: http://www.benamou.net/english/artists_paik_works.htm [Accessed 27 Oct 2004]
Guggenheim Museum (2000) The worlds of Nam June Paik [Online] Available: http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/paik/ [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Hanzal, C. (2001) 'Traversing the worlds of Nam June Paik' in Sculpture magazine, June 2001, vol.20, no.5 [Online] Available: http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag01/june01/paik/paik.htm [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Kober, M. (2000) Nam June Paik and the new media [Online] Available: http://anaxagoras.concordia.ca/bed/academic/kober.pdf [Accessed 28 Oct 2004]
Nam Jun Paik (2004) TV Buddha [Online] Available: http://faculty.etsu.edu/kortumr/HUMT2320/postmodern/htmdescriptionpages/paik2.htm [Accessed 27 Oct 2004]
Nam June Paik Studios (2004) Nam June Paik's official website [Online] Available: http://paikstudios.com [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
Stooss, T. & Kellein, T. (ed.) (1993) Nam June Paik: Video time- video space, New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0810937298.
QAG (2002) Asia-Pacific triennial of contemporary art: Nam June Paik [Online] Available: http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/content/apt2002_standard.asp?name=APT_Artists_Nam_June_Paik [Accessed 28 Oct 2004]
Wikipedia (2004) The free encyclopedia [Online] Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page [Accessed 25 Oct 2004]
--Ryan Lee 14:05, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
