Piece of Work: How is Nam June Paik's “TV Garden” Art?

That allusion would appear again and again in Paik’s artistic practice, but another interest of his would go on to have a more significant impact on video art created by artists who became inspired by him—Paik's exploration of the relationship between nature and technology.

TV Garden cements this idea visually and conceptually; it also leads the viewer to reflect on humanity’s place in that progression, as we become increasingly interconnected. Keep in mind that this was taking place more than half a century ago.

Paik took his ideas further in an essay he penned in 1974, a year that proved to be seminal for the artist. In Media Planning for the Postindustrial Society – The 21st Century is now only 26 years away, he proposed the idea of “Electronic Super Highways”—a constant flux and stream of ideas, information and imagery enabled by technology, essentially describing the internet before it existed. 

That same year, Paik made TV Buddha, a video sculpture that is one of his best-known artworks. Drawing from his own family’s faith and a belief that religion was corruptible, the artist placed a seated, meditative Buddha before a camera and small TV screen that showed a live feed of the statue, making it appear as if the figure was focused on its own image. Paik called television a “dictatorial medium”; to him, the idea of seeing one’s digital self to shape one’s identity was an oppressive affair.

Paik’s life experiences and artistic collaborations undoubtedly informed his interest in exploring the impact of technology via art. He fled Korea with his family to Hong Kong in 1950, during the onset of the Korean War. He then relocated to Japan, where he eventually graduated from the University of Tokyo. As a classically trained pianist, Paik subsequently went to live in Germany to pursue his interest in avant-grade music. He encountered experimental composer and musician John Cage, as well as George Maciunas, the founder of the experimental Fluxus art movement, which in part sought to subvert certain societal norms and expectations. In 1964, Paik moved to New York and settled there.