Untitled (TVS) 1978

Curator: Let’s discuss Nam June Paik’s “Untitled (TVS),” created in 1978 using ink on paper. What's your immediate impression? Editor: Chaotic, definitely chaotic. There’s a frantic energy in the repeated, almost scribbled, box-like forms. It lacks traditional structure, pushing the boundaries of formal composition. Curator: True, and think about Paik’s relationship with mass media, specifically television. It challenges high art by elevating and manipulating accessible technology, transforming screens into abstract compositions reflecting information overload. The ink drawings act as process documentation, similar to preliminary sketches mapping the flow and disruption of the information. Editor: I see that. Focusing on the intrinsic qualities of the artwork itself, I’m intrigued by how the density of the lines creates tonal variations, even without color. Each rectangle is uniquely textured and rendered. This speaks to the structure of each element but as a collection, they are harmonized together. Curator: That uniformity emerges, yes. When considering the making of art in the late 70s, you realize that artists started embracing process, appropriation, and ephemerality and challenged conventional artistic production models. The gesture is visible and tactile which suggests Paik was experimenting with different densities and textures by hand, a form of meditation, perhaps, on mass production, that stands in stark contrast with his typical technology-based forms. Editor: That tactile and gestural quality does provide a point of interest, given his media focus. It brings us back to an engagement with materiality of drawing versus the ethereal nature of TV broadcast. What makes the artwork more potent and interesting in its message is the repetitive shape, as it relates to the medium it takes its name from. Curator: I think this work's real contribution is its suggestion that a sketch might itself have significance within the context of that artistic history and contemporary cultural practices, or, a process could stand alone as its own project, like mapping broadcast signal, while being simultaneously an investigation into the potential inherent media. Editor: Yes, the materiality of its medium is undeniable. Seeing past just ink on paper to realize Paik is reflecting on broadcast. Fascinating to decode visually!