Mr. Kim
Object Label
The groundbreaking artist Nam June Paik experimented with video, performance, and transmission technologies throughout his career. For three decades he made sculptures, called Robots, composed of video screens set in discarded televisions, radios, and other household goods. These robots address issues of modernity and dynamism: with their vintage parts, they express a quaint vision of the future that was replaced long ago, and while the robots themselves do not move, the videos playing inside them move constantly. Through this contrast, Paik expresses a common theme that appears throughout his work: that the future of art and technology lies not in solid things but in temporal communications.
Unlike most of Nam Jun Paik’s Robots, this piece is a portrait. It depicts Kim Yangsoo, an impresario and art collector based in Seoul.
Caption
Nam June Paik (American, born Korea, 1932–2006). Mr. Kim, 1997. Mixed media: vintage radio cases, digital video screens, lightbulbs, wood, pigment, 36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 31 1/2 in. (92 x 32 x 80 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Kim Yangsoo, 2017.22. © artist or artist's estate.
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Mr. Kim
Date
1997
Geography
Possible place made: Korea, Possible place made: New York, New York, United States
Medium
Mixed media: vintage radio cases, digital video screens, lightbulbs, wood, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 31 1/2 in. (92 x 32 x 80 cm)
Inscriptions
김양수 군 경기 따라지 – Kim Yangsoo Goon Gyeonggi Follower (The inscription refers to the fact that Kim Yangsoo, the subject of the sculpture and its donor, attended the same high school, at Gyeonggi, as Paik had, but several years later. "Goon" is a term for a young friend.)
Credit Line
Gift of Kim Yangsoo
Accession Number
2017.22
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Do you know what is written on Mr. Kim?
The writing on the robot's right side refers to a connection between the artist, Nam June Paik and the subject of this portrait, Kim Yangsoo. It says: "Kim Yangsoo," "Junior classmate," and "Kyunggi High School"The two attended the same high school, though not at the same time.Could you tell me more about Nam June Paik?
Nam June Paik was born in Seoul, South Korea. He studied music at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany in 1956 before heading to New York eight years later.Paik is known as the "father of video art," uniting themes of humanity, physiology, technology, science, and fine art in his works.Omg you have a Paik!!! My fav!
Yes! Mr. Kim is unusual among Nam June Paik's Robots because it is a portrait of a specific person!Ooh! Who?It is the art collector Kim Yangsoo, who went to the same high school as Nam June Paik.Paik pokes fun at Kim, making the robot short and squat. If this sculpture is any indication, Kim spends much of his time thinking about women, explaining why the video screens show tiny pornographic images.Love that.Looking at the Nam June Paik piece. Since this is meant to be an actual portrait, I’m curious about the significance of the content on the center screen....
Ah! Good question. The images in the center are the artists way of conveying Mr. Kim's preoccupation with women. He was apparently always thinking about them.Hmm apparently!! Thank you!Tell me more.
I think this robot-man is really fun! This artist, Nam June Paik, is know for making sculptures like this. "Mr. Kim" here is special because it is the only one we know of that is actually meant to be a portrait of someone.Mr. Kim is a real life friend of the artist. Nam June Paik thinks of him as short and jolly which explains the playful nature of this sculpture.Tell me more
The radios that the artist used were produced in the United States in the 1950s, but made from imitation red lacquer to make them look more east Asian. This robot is also a portrait of Kim Yangsoo, a Korean art collector, as a short and jolly robot.Do you know where the videos in "Mr. Kim" by Nam June Paik originated from?
To my knowledge, these videos of nude women were probably taken from pornographic movies. Paik noted that Mr. Kim, the subject of this portrait, was constantly thinking about women.Interesting. Thank you.Why is this one showing naked women?
Mr. Kim is unusual among Nam June Paik's Robots because it is a portrait. In this case, art collector Kim Yangsoo, Paik's underclassman at Kyunggi High School and a fellow Korean art enthusiast in the United States. Paik used videos of nudes in several of his works, and he noted that Mr. Kim, the subject of this portrait, was constantly thinking about women.I have a question about 'Mr. Kim' by Nam June Paik. Are the radios supposed to be making noise? Or are they meant to be silent?
I believe they are meant to be silent but perhaps I've never listened closely enough. Are you hearing something coming from them?I didn't hear anything!Ah okay! Yes. While the screens are playing videos, the work doesn't produce sound. His interest in the radios likely stems from his larger interest in the role technology and science play in art. They are also interesting aesthetically as 1950s orientalist imitations of red Chinese lacquer objects made in the United States.Oooooh okay! Thank you!!
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