Zen for TV

Nam June Paik, Zen for TV, 1963, 1976 version, manipulated television set; black and white, silent, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Byungseol and Dolores An, 2006.20, © Nam June Paik Estate
Copied 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
Date
1963, 1976 version
Location
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
Highlights
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.

Exhibitions

Media - 2014.50.1.4 - SAAM-2014.50.1.4_5 - 116527
Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image (4.0)
December 4, 2015–August 28, 2016
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image is a series of rotating exhibitions drawn from SAAM’s permanent collection.