Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a drawing by Nam June Paik. It dates from 1962 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1962, this untitled work by Nam June Paik consists of a drawing executed with ballpoint and felt‑tip pens on printed paper that has been affixed to another sheet. The composition centers on a handwritten time‑zone selector resembling a clock face, surrounded by multilingual instructions. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing presents a schematic world clock, with city names replacing numerals, and a note directing the reader to play a specific piece of music at noon GMT on July 1 each year. The instruction appears in five languages—English, Korean, Japanese, German and French—suggesting a universal, participatory gesture that links disparate locations through a shared sonic event.
Technique & Style
Paik employs everyday drawing tools—ballpoint and felt‑tip pens—to render a dense, hand‑written field of text and simple graphic elements. The informal, slightly erratic script coexists with precise schematic symbols, creating a tension between casual notation and systematic design. The use of printed paper as a substrate adds a layer of reproducibility to the otherwise singular drawing.
History & Provenance
The work was produced early in Paik’s career, a period marked by his exploration of media, technology, and communication. After its creation, the drawing entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view as part of the institution’s holdings of mid‑twentieth‑century avant‑garde art.
Context
The multilingual instructions underscore the artist’s engagement with cross‑cultural exchange during a period of rapid technological change.
In the early 1960s, Paik was developing concepts that prefigured networked media and global connectivity. This drawing anticipates later projects involving live broadcasts and satellite transmissions, reflecting his interest in synchronizing disparate audiences through time‑based actions. The multilingual instructions underscore the artist’s engagement with cross‑cultural exchange during a period of rapid technological change.
Artist & collection
Artist
Nam June Paik was a South Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" to describe…
