Artist:Nam June Paik
Medium: Mixed media: vintage radio cases, digital video screens, lightbulbs, wood, pigment
Geograhical Locations:
Dates:1997
Dimensions: 36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 31 1/2 in. (92 x 32 x 80 cm)
Collections:
Museum Location: Asian Galleries, South, 2nd floor
Exhibitions:
Accession Number: 2017.22
Catalogue Description: A "Robot" in the shape of a man standing on one foot with two arms raised, composed of six vintage radio cases, two of which have video screens set inside and two of which have light bulbs. The radio bodies are connected by a wood frame that surrounds the central piece. The head and body of the figure are radio cases in red plastic, molded to look like East Asian carved lacquer. Both were made by DuMont Labs (USA) and date to about 1956. The central video screen is set into the space that once held a clock. The videos are identical, and play simultaneously on a loop. They consist of collaged snippets of found footage of nude models, with periodic red target-like graphics radiating across the screen. The figure is said to be a portrait of the donor, Kim Yangsoo, an art collector based in Seoul. Kim met the artist in the early 1990s when Paik had his first major retrospective in Korea. An inscription painted loosely on the sides of the radio housings contains a dedication to Kim Yangsoo.