La Monte Young, Nam June Paik
La Monte Young's Composition 1960 #10 (to Bob Morris) performed by Nam June Paik during Fluxus Internationale Festspiele Neuester Musik, Städtisches Museum, Wiesbaden, September 1–23, 1962
1962
Gelatin silver print
During the first Fluxus concert, held in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1962, Paik performed La Monte Young’s text-based score Composition 1960 #10 (to Bob Morris), which reads, “Draw a straight line and follow it.” Paik dipped his head into a bowl of ink and proceeded to produce a line with his hands, head, and necktie as he moved down the length of a large sheet of paper laid on the floor. This performance—which gained notoriety for Paik’s rather flamboyant interpretation and execution—became known as Zen for Head.
2020.
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Nam June Paik
American, born Korea. 1932–2006 106 works onlineI have to entertain people every second,” Nam June Paik has said. The tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating nature of the quip is characteristic of Paik’s attitude toward art making.
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Acting Out
Gallery 405Around the world, in the 1950s and ’60s, artists found new ways to make their mark. Instead of applying paint with a brush, they painted with their feet, stained and soaked canvases with thinned pigment, or poured vibrantly hued dyes on tin.
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