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
Nam June Paik, Zen for TV, 1963, 1976 version, manipulated television set; black and white, silent, 1922 1218 in. (48.357.245.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Byungseol and Dolores An, 2006.20, © Nam June Paik Estate

Artwork Details

Title
Zen for TV
Date
1963, 1976 version
Dimensions
1922 1218 in. (48.357.245.7 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

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.

Works by this artist (9 items)

Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995, fifty-one channel video installation (including one closed-circuit television feed), custom electronics, neon lighting, steel and wood; color, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2002.23, © Nam June Paik Estate
Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii
Date1995
fifty-one channel video installation (including one closed-circuit television feed), custom electronics, neon lighting, steel and wood; color, sound
On view
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
Zen for TV
Date1963, 1976 version
manipulated television set; black and white, silent
On view
Nam June Paik, SAT-ART III: I. Good Morning, Mr. Orwell; II. Bye-Bye Kipling; III. Wrap Around the World, 1988, 3 VHS tapes and printed booklet, wrapped in printed fabric with plastic shrink wrap and paper label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift to the Nam June Paik Archive from the Nam June Paik Estate, NJP.1.VID.354.1-.19
SAT-ART III: I. Good Morning, Mr. Orwell; II. Bye-Bye…
Date1988
3 VHS tapes and printed booklet, wrapped in printed fabric with plastic shrink wrap and paper label
On view
9/23/69: Experiment with David Atwood
Date1969
single-channel video, color, sound; 80:00 minutes
Not on view

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, 2015August 28, 2016
Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image is a series of rotating exhibitions drawn from SAAM’s permanent collection.

More Artworks from the Collection

Jesús Moroles, Lapstrake I, 1980, Georgia gray granite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alton and Emily Steiner, 2002.82
Lapstrake I
Date1980
Georgia gray granite
Not on view
John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
Chandelle
Date1969, revised 2013
Lucite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Shell), early 1930s, mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1985.64.37
Untitled (Shell)
Dateearly 1930s
mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells
Not on view
Emery Blagdon, Untitled (Individual element from The Healing Machine), ca. 1955-1986, wire, copper wire, tin foil, paper tape, and plastic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2015.15.7
Untitled (Individual element from The Healing Machine)
Dateca. 1955-1986
wire, copper wire, tin foil, paper tape, and plastic
On view