(Seoul, South Korea, 1932 - 2006, Miami, Florida)
From the series "V-IDEA"
1984
Etching on paper
18 5/8 x 21 3/4 in. (47.2 x 55.4 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Museum Acquisition Fund
1990.22 a
Nam June Paik is considered the father of video art, best known for his work integrating sculpture and video with a focus on TV and other moving images as subject matter. In the print portfolio V-IDEA, the shape of the ink on paper mimics vintage TV screens. Contained within these “screens” are still images from Paik’s personal iconography—mementos of his Korean childhood and upbringing; a musical composition; and ideographs from and related to the Korean alphabet. These are merged with symbols and formal devices suggestive of the modern electronic age, such as color bars used at the beginning of tapes as screen tests, and solarized appropriated images of famous people.