Zen for TV

Nam June Paik, Zen for TV, 1963, 1976 version, manipulated television set; black and white, silent, 19 x 22 ¹⁄₂ x 18 in. (48.3 x 57.2 x 45.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Byungseol and Dolores An, 2006.20, © Nam June Paik Estate

Artwork Details

Title: Zen for TV
Artist: Nam June Paik
Date: 1963, 1976 version
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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3rd Floor
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East Wing
Dimensions: 19 x 22 ¹⁄₂ x 18 in. (48.3 x 57.2 x 45.7 cm)
Copyright: © Nam June Paik Estate
Credit Line: Gift of Byungseol and Dolores An
Mediums Description: manipulated television set; black and white, silent
Classifications: Sculpture
Highlights: Asian American Art
Subjects: Object — furniture — television
Religion — Buddhism
Object Number: 2006.20
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2006.20

Artwork Description

In a 1963 exhibition in Germany, Paik displayed a room full of electronically altered and arranged televisions, making him one of the first artists to use actual TVs and broadcast content to make art. One set arrived broken, compressing all received signals into a thin line of light. Paik embraced its broken state and titled it Zen for TV, playfully and profoundly linking its accidental minimalism to the meditative focus of Zen Buddhism, a religious reference he often used to signify an Asian perspective in Euro-American contexts. Zen for TV became one of Paik’s signature works, and over the years he created select versions like this one.