Nam Jun Paik, 1932-2006
It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of one of my first real tangible artistic influences.
I won’t try to do the man’s legacy justice here, as there are many others who’ve covered his life much better than I ever could. I will instead share a story of my introduction to his art, and (as I realized later) my own life. There’s a piece, perhaps his most famous, called “TV Buddha“, from 1974. A statue of a buddha sits facing a television set. Above the set is a video camera, pointing at the buddha. The buddha is staring at the screen, his own image. Not his reflection, distorted on the horizontal as it is, but the way everyone sees him. Simple, to the point. Not until later did I find that buddhism aligned well with my own found set of beliefs and values, and looking back, TV Buddha is still much heavier than the weight of the bronze statue and electronic peices which of which it consists. Perhaps even more so, now that i’m beginning to understand more about the simplicity/complexity of buddhism.
Nam Jun Paik’s story is a colorful one, and for anyone who is not familiar with the man or his work, I urge you to check out his studio page, for pictures of some of his pieces. Still pictures don’t come close to the experience of seeing a piece live, but you’ll get a vague idea of the man’s brilliance.
Nam Jun Paik, r.i.p.
