Fontainebleau
Date/ 1988
Artist(Credit Line)/ Nam June Paik
Classification/ Sculpture
Nam June Paik, Fontainebleau
Dimensions / 195×235×4cm
Medium / 20 Quasar color monitors, metal grid, gold-painted wooden frame, 2-channel video, color, silent
In a magnificent antique wooden frame painted in gold, 20 color (2-channel) monitors show rapidly-changing colorful abstract images. The title Fontainebleau was probably taken from the Fontainebleau castle in France; the castle was not only the splendid residence of French kings including Napoleon but also a prototype of the ‘gallery’, a space where paintings are hung side by side. The gallery of Francis I, in particular, displayed paintings on the walls surrounded by splendid gold decorations. “As the collage technique replaced oil painting, cathode ray tubes will replace canvas.” This is probably what Paik wanted to say through this work.
Medium / 20 Quasar color monitors, metal grid, gold-painted wooden frame, 2-channel video, color, silent
In a magnificent antique wooden frame painted in gold, 20 color (2-channel) monitors show rapidly-changing colorful abstract images. The title Fontainebleau was probably taken from the Fontainebleau castle in France; the castle was not only the splendid residence of French kings including Napoleon but also a prototype of the ‘gallery’, a space where paintings are hung side by side. The gallery of Francis I, in particular, displayed paintings on the walls surrounded by splendid gold decorations. “As the collage technique replaced oil painting, cathode ray tubes will replace canvas.” This is probably what Paik wanted to say through this work.
