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Nam June Paik — Life is Drama
Nam June Paik

Life is Drama

"Life is Drama" by Nam June Paik presents a weathered wooden television cabinet adorned with television aerials, metal elements, and layers of oil paint and lacquer, merging the domestic familiarity of mid-century broadcast technology with the tactile richness of painterly surfaces. The work pulses with looping video content played across a continuous 26-minute, 36-second cycle, reflecting Paik's enduring fascination with the intersection of time, media, and human experience. True to his pioneering vision, the piece transforms the everyday television set into a theatrical stage, suggesting that modern life is inextricably bound to the narratives constructed and broadcast through electronic media.

Medium
wooden television cabinet, television aerials, metal, oil paint, laquer, wood, DVD palyer, two DVDs: 26m 36s loop

🔨 Auction Lot

Contemporary Art Day Sale

June 30, 2015

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Spotted works by Nam June Paik

About this work

Nam June Paik, Life is Drama

"Life is Drama" by Nam June Paik presents a weathered wooden television cabinet adorned with television aerials, metal elements, and layers of oil paint and lacquer, merging the domestic familiarity of mid-century broadcast technology with the tactile richness of painterly surfaces. The work pulses with looping video content played across a continuous 26-minute, 36-second cycle, reflecting Paik's enduring fascination with the intersection of time, media, and human experience. True to his pioneering vision, the piece transforms the everyday television set into a theatrical stage, suggesting that modern life is inextricably bound to the narratives constructed and broadcast through electronic media.

Medium
wooden television cabinet, television aerials, metal, oil paint, laquer, wood, DVD palyer, two DVDs: 26m 36s loop
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Korean American Artist, Technology As Subject, Assemblage, Twentieth Century, Pioneer Artist, Male Artist, Mixed Media, Installation Art, Television Sculpture, Warm Colors, Contemporary Art, Video Art, Vibrant Colors, Technology As Medium, Theatrical Mood, Playful Mood, Technology And Media, Fluxus Movement

More works by Nam June Paik

Collected by

Sharrissa Iqbal