T.V. Clock

Nam June Paik, T.V. Clock, 1963/1981, eleven fixed-image televisions, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift to the Nam June Paik Archive from the Nam June Paik Estate, NJP.1.TV.42.1-.11
Nam June Paik, T.V. Clock, 1963/1981, eleven fixed-image televisions, dimensions variable, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift to the Nam June Paik Archive from the Nam June Paik Estate, NJP.1.TV.42.1-.11

Artwork Details

Title
T.V. Clock
Date
1963/1981
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
dimensions variable
Credit Line
Gift to the Nam June Paik Archive from the Nam June Paik Estate
Mediums Description
eleven fixed-image televisions
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — furniture — clock
  • Object — furniture — television
Object Number
NJP.1.TV.42.1-.11

Artwork Description

Nam June Paik's T.V. Clock transforms time into a sculptural electronic object. In this seminal work of art, Paik rendered the hours through a single line drawn in electric light on a modified TV screen. Paik's minimal electronic mark, which is tethered to the sophisticated and global apparatus of TV, unleashes a host of ideas about our shared experience of time, through technology, space, cultures, and connectivity. Nam June Paik exhibited many versions of T.V. Clock.

Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2015

Works by this artist (2 items)

Harriet Hosmer, Will o' the Wisp, modeled 1858, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1987.3
Will o’ the Wisp
Datemodeled 1858
marble
Not on view
Harriet Hosmer, Puck, modeled 1854, carved 1856, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. George Merrill, 1918.3.5
Puck
Datemodeled 1854, carved 1856
marble
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Carolee Schneemann, Viet-Flakes, 1962-67, re-edited 2015, 16mm film transferred to digital video, toned black and white, sound; 08:31 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Frank K. Ribelin Endowment, 2019.21, © 2019 Carolee Schneemann Foundation. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Viet-Flakes
Date1962-67, re-edited 2015
16mm film transferred to digital video, toned black and white, sound; 08:31 minutes
Not on view
David Haxton, Vertical and Receding Lines, 1974, 16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2011.15.2, © 1974, David Haxton
Vertical and Receding Lines
Date1974
16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes
Not on view
My Body Sees You
Date1992
single-channel video, color sound; 05:58 minutes
Not on view
Hans Breder, Quanta, 1967, single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2013.50.4, © 1967, Hans Breder
Quanta
Date1967
single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes
Not on view