Untitled (Merce) 1978

This is an amazing print by Nam June Paik, its date unknown, made on paper using screen printing. You can see that artmaking, like life, is a process. It is a constant dialogue between the artist and the medium. The texture here is so interesting; Paik has this lightness of touch that is quite rare. The color choices are bold but also muted, creating a dreamlike effect. You get the sense of the image flickering on the surface. Take the sequence of pink-toned television screens, arranged vertically on the right side of the work: the layering creates depth but it also creates a sense of the ephemeral. The composition isn’t trying to tell us exactly what to think, but it wants us to feel something. Paik’s experimental approach makes me think of Robert Rauschenberg, or even some of the Fluxus artists. His art is a reminder that there’s no one way to see the world. Art is a conversation, a question, not a definitive answer.