Why are these 40 TVs installed between tropical plants?
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation
About TV Garden
No one would think televisions are artistic under normal circumstances. Handy, yes. Useful, quite so. Nam June Paik, however, managed to put television in circumstances where he reveals their artistry. The celebrated artist is regarded as the father of video art and has used manipulated television sets, broadcasted live performances and video installation to depict electronic images in an artistic manner. TV Garden first created in 1974 is a large-scale installation consisting of forty television sets lying on the floor amidst many tropical plants while a video of Global Groove (see below) plays on the screens of the TV sets.
There are many interpretations one can draw including the rather obvious one that this is a merge of nature and technology and the effect each has with the other or on the other hand, the numerous curated content in the media could be considered disorderly as to leading the public back into the jungle. One thing is evident though that TV Garden seeks to tease the senses with a mixture of color and sound. Color from the lush tropical garden makes the canvas for his TV sets. Sound emanates from the TV sets and rustles through the leaves of the various plants that the television sets are nestled among. This artwork grabs the eye and the mind in its juxtaposition effect where the attention of the viewer moves from plant life to television sets and vice versa.
The Artist – Style and Inspiration
Nam June Paik was born in Korea in 1932 and graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 where he studies music and study furthering these musical studies at the University of Munich. In Germany, he allowed his fascination with merging music, electronics and arts to reign free. Since then, the artist had used this fascination to make art using television sets featured in video walls, ceilings, quirky robots and floors among other ventures. This has evolved and his work continued to playfully critique and celebrate electronic media.
Paik drew inspiration from his interest in electronics intertwined with his foundation in music and performance. In the mid-1960s, he arrived in New York and joined the Fluxus movement and quickly rose to the forefront of the movement with his work depicting elements of surprise and unfamiliarity. His production, TV garden, is one of the seminal installations resulting from this inspiration and resulted in a merging of the scientific and the natural coming together in a surprisingly aesthetic outcome. TV garden is an example of why an artist should not limit new forms of expression but must keep on reimagining his creativity to bring about innovation.
At Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden (2000 Version), 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
At Nam June Paik Art Center, South Korea
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin, South Korea
Nam June Paik – TV Garden, 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin, South Korea
At Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
Nam June Paik – TV Garden (2002 Version), 1974, video installation with color television sets and live plants, dimensions vary with installation, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
Global Groove, 1973 (video excerpt)
Nam June Paik – Global Groove, 1973, Video (color, sound), 28 min 30 sec
Related works
Our top 10: Massive organic sculptures by Jaehyo Lee (이재효)
Jaehyo Lee – 0121-1110=193061, 1993, stones
Biography
Jaehyo Lee (b. 1965, Hapchen, South Korea) graduated in 1992 with a BFA from the Hong-Ik University in Seoul. Combining distinct traces of Land Art, Arte Povera and Minimalism Lee´s works cast a questioning eye over the roots of form, its function and its role within the natural world.
Lee´s works willfully play with the oft-contested boundaries between modern art and design, referencing the idealist´s cubes, cylinders and cones as perversions of the chaise longue, the coffee table, the lampshade, and even the humble doughnut. Revealing a subtly humorous and unsentimental attitude to nature, what unites these works is a belief that the beauty of art is a product of the labor from whence it comes, whether this be the meticulous carving of larch trunks into the form of a perfect sphere or, equally, the precise bending and sanding of thousands of nails hammered one after another into a hunk of cut lumber.
Artist’s Statement
“Until recently, my work has been about combining wood with nails or steel bars and integrating them into geometrical shapes such as spheres, hemispheres, or cylinders. Whenever I did this, one of my problems was to keep the nails and bolts out of sight. Now, on the contrary, I put an emphasis on the nails themselves. I drive countless nails into wood, bend them, grind them, and make them protrude. I then burn the wood, blackening its growth ring records and its natural color. The glittering metallic nails on the black charcoal become ever more conspicuous, and through this process, I draw a picture on wood using nails. Those who make a hard living may be the ones who make this world a beautiful place. I certainly do not have the power to make it beautiful. I just hope to reveal the beauty in what is usually seen but not noticed. It may be a rusty bent nail. If you take a close look at it, however, you’ll find out how beautiful it can be.”
-Jaehyo Lee
Yeesookyung’s ceramic vases: Imperfection & stunning results
Translated Vase Thousand, 2012. Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf. Dimensions variable, Korea Artist Prize, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
‘Translated Vase’
Yeesookyung is a South Korean artist living in Seoul. She is known for her complex and enchanting ceramic designs and sculptures. The Translated series series, like many of her works, is made up of shards and fragments of broken ceramic pieces that are carefully pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Yeesookyung created her Translated Vase back in 2002 after she observed discarded trash from the ceramic master Lim Hang Taek glimmering in the sunlight. The reflection of light from the shards and the organic forms of the cracks inspired her craft.
Yeesookyung’s technique
To create the Translated Vase, Yeesookyung uses epoxy resin to glue together the different fragments of the broken pots. To make the fissures and the cracks more prominent, Yeesookyung uses 24-carat gold leaf for glazing. The gold acts as the perfect addition to complement the beautifully misshapen fractures of the re-constructed vase.
The biomorphic form of the vessel helps to capture the eye immediately as the repurposed pottery created manages to surpass the original beauty of the vase. The Translated Vase combines the delicate fragility of ceramic pottery with the fortified strength of the glue and the gold, the end result of which is something truly magnificent. Yeesookyung covers the cracks in gold because the Korean word for crack and gold is similar. The use of products that share the same name also helps to add an element of humor to the work.
What is Kintsukuroi?
Yeesookyung’s technique in pottery, as stunning as it may be is not new. For years, artists in Korea have been reconstructing and rebuilding discarded ceramic pieces that would typically be considered trash in other parts of the world. The waste is sometimes restored to create new Korean ceramics while others like Yeesookyung’s are used as art. This art form, known as Kintsukuroi1 also uses metals such as platinum and silver for the repairing process.
What do the vases represent?
The Translated Vase represents the struggle that all individuals face in life. The cracks on the vase represent the wounds that are formed from the struggle, while the gold represents the beauty and maturity that people experience when they overcome suffering. Aside from denoting the suffering, Yeesookyung’s attention to detail helped break the ceramic tradition that insists on perfection.
Conclusion
Rather than discard a perfect piece, like a master potter would, Yeesookyung chose to create new forms from the useless pieces to emphasize that imperfection can also give way to stunning beauty. It is safe to say that the Translated Vase succeeded in channeling the imperfections and irregularities that exist in nature.
Photos of the vases
Translated Vase, 2009, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf. Dimensions variable”
Translated Vase (Detail), 2009, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf. Dimensions variable
Translated Vase, 2011, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24k gold leaf, 33 × 32 × 32 cm”
Translated Vase, 2010, Ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 k gold leaf, 34 cm diameter
Translated Vase, 2014, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24-carat gold leaf 44 x 44 x 44 cm
Translated Vase, 2010, Ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 k gold leaf, 61 x 47 x 52 cm
Translated Vase, 2010, Ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 k gold leaf, 44 x 50 x 44 cm
Translated Vase, 2010, Ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 k gold leaf, 37 x 31 x 34 cm
Translated Vase, 2007, Ceramic trash, aluminum bar, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 43 x 45 x 49cm
Translated Vase, 2008, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24k gold leaf, 89 × 52 × 49 cm
Translated Vase, 2009, Ceramic Shards, Epoxy, 24k Gold Leaf, 160 x 92 x 95 cm
Translated Vase, 2010, ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 karat gold leaf, 135 x 85 x 85 cm”
Translated Vase, 2010, ceramic trash, epoxy, 24 karat gold leaf, 158 x 90 x 90 cm
Translated Vase, 2016, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 174 x 128 x 120cm
Translated Vase, 2011, Ceramic trash, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 66 x 64 x 97cm
Translated Vase, 2009, Ceramic shards, aluminum bars, epoxy resin, 24K gold leaf, 122 x 84 x 81 cm
Translated Vase, 2014, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 220 x 110 x 100 cm”
Translated Vase, 2007, Ceramic shards, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 120 x 210 x 95cm, Collection of National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea
Installation View of Translated Vase, 2009, Ceramic trash, aluminum bar, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 85 x 170 x 80cm
Installation View of Translated Vase, 2009, Ceramic trash, aluminum bar, epoxy, 24K gold leaf, 85 x 170 x 80cm
Related works
- Beautiful sculptures made entirely from soap – Meekyoung Shin
- Ai Weiwei’s coloured vases: Clever artwork or vandalism?
- Ai Weiwei dips 2,000 year old Chinese vases in paint
Related readings
Artist mocks Jeff Koons highest priced work using garbage bags
Gimhongsok – Canine Construction, 2009, 164x231x90cm
This Canine Construction by South Korean artist, Gimhongsok is one that anyone would fall in love with, coupled with the enigmatic quality it has. This work is the sculpture of a dog remains one of the artist’s most well-known works in recent times. The creation involved using garbage bags, balloons, cardboard boxes, all assembled with expensive materials like resin.
Beautiful sculptures made entirely from soap – Meekyoung Shin
Meekyoung Shin – Crouching Aphrodite, 2002
Introduction
Meekyoung Shin, a South Korean sculptor, became popular for her Translation series, using soap as her medium of art. Trained in the tradition of European sculpture, her statuettes are made factoring in the Western and Eastern styles of relief. Her works are usually made from palm oil, a vegetarian soap.
German photographer visits North and South Korea
Thomas Struth – Semi Submersible Rig, DSME Shipyard, Geoje Island, 2007
Thomas Struth’s work in the Koreas
In March 2007, Thomas Struth went on a first trip to South Korea. He spent time in the two largest cities, Seoul and Busan, as well as visiting religious and cultural sites, important landscapes and shipyards. At the vast DSME shipyard on Geoje Island, one of the largest in the world, he photographed tankers under construction and an immense semi-submersible drilling rig. Struth made two further visits to South Korea in 2008 and 2010, as well as visiting Pyongyang in North Korea for the first time.
Julian Opie and others on Asia’s largest media canvas
Gana Mplanet is one of the most exciting places for public art in South Korea and arguably all of Asia. Being located directly at Seoul Station this huge 99 x 79m media canvas displays various art installations throughout the year.
Julian Opie
Robert Seidel
Yang Man-ki (양만기)
Most visited arts non-profit online. Established in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. Projects in 96 countries.
