The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 20, 2024
Sonata II
1996
(Korean, 1932–2006)
printer
(United States, Ohio, Cincinnati, est. 1981)
publisher
(Denmark, Copenhagan, est. 1975)
Sheet: 53 x 66 cm (20 7/8 x 26 in.); Image: 51.8 x 64.8 cm (20 3/8 x 25 1/2 in.)
The A. W. Ellenberger, Sr., Endowment Fund 2015.144.2
Location: not on view
Description
From a set of four prints entitled Sonata, these prints juxtapose collaged images from Nam June Paik’s childhood, including photographs, musical compositions, and clips from his video works. Comprising life events and artistic pieces significant to the artist, the rectangular-shaped images convey a striking resemblance to a set of epitaph tablets—not only in appearance but in function—as a chronicle of the tomb owner’s achievements.In the final row of Sonata I, Paik includes an image capturing his sensational performance with cellist and performance artist Charlotte Moorman in 1965. Paik and a bare-breasted Moorman played his composition Cello Sonata No. 1 for Adults Only. The couple was arrested for public indecency immediately after the performance.
As one of the core members of Fluxus (literally, flowing), an international experimental and interdisciplinary art movement of the 1960s and ’70s, Nam June Paik stood out with his electronic works employing television sets and a stream of endless images and videos clips.
- Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 29-July 16, 2018).
- {{cite web|title=Sonata II|url=false|author=Nam June Paik, Mark Patsfall Graphics, Galerie Asbæk|year=1996|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2015.144.2