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Sonata I-IV

1996
(Korean, 1932–2006)
(United States, Ohio, Cincinnati, est. 1981)
(Denmark, Copenhagan, est. 1975)
Korea
portfolio of 4 prints, each: lithograph, screenprint, and etching
Sheet: 53.3 x 66 cm (21 x 26 in.); Image: 51.8 x 64.8 cm (20 3/8 x 25 1/2 in.)
The A. W. Ellenberger, Sr., Endowment Fund 2015.144
Location: not on view
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

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Description

From a set of four prints entitled Sonata, these prints juxtapose collaged images from Nam June Paik’s childhood, including photographs, musical compositions, and clips from his video works. Comprising life events and artistic pieces significant to the artist, the rectangular-shaped images convey a striking resemblance to a set of epitaph tablets—not only in appearance but in function—as a chronicle of the tomb owner’s achievements.

In the final row of Sonata I, Paik includes an image capturing his sensational performance with cellist and performance artist Charlotte Moorman in 1965. Paik and a bare-breasted Moorman played his composition Cello Sonata No. 1 for Adults Only. The couple was arrested for public indecency immediately after the performance.

As one of the core members of Fluxus (literally, flowing), an international experimental and interdisciplinary art movement of the 1960s and ’70s, Nam June Paik stood out with his electronic works employing television sets and a stream of endless images and videos clips.
Sonata I-IV

Sonata I-IV

1996

Nam June Paik, Mark Patsfall Graphics, Galerie Asbæk

(Korean, 1932–2006), (United States, Ohio, Cincinnati, est. 1981), (Denmark, Copenhagan, est. 1975)
Korea

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