1003 Monitors Awaken Again Ahead of Gaecheonjeol as the Sky Opens on October 3

Video Art Master Nam June Paik's Iconic Work 'Dadaikseon' Reactivated After Over 4 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "I want to make the TV screen as precise as Leonardo da Vinci, as free as Pablo Picasso, as colorful as Auguste Renoir, as profound as Piet Mondrian, as passionate as Jackson Pollock, and as lyrical as Jasper Johns on a canvas."

The largest-scale work of video art master Nam June Paik (1932?2006), who created art using TV screens as his canvas, titled "Dadaikseon," has been restarted after more than four years of preservation and restoration. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) held a commemorative performance on the 15th to mark the reactivation of Dadaikseon. As the screens of 1,003 cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors lit up, the audience watching let out gasps of awe.

Dadaikseon, symbolizing the National Foundation Day on October 3rd, was installed with 1,003 CRT monitors arranged in a five-story steel frame structure measuring up to 7.5 meters in diameter and 18.5 meters in height. It was a commissioned work created by Nam June Paik in 1988 to coincide with the Seoul Olympic Games and the opening of the MMCA Gwacheon branch.

Dadaikseon was previously shut down in March 2018 for a full restoration. Facing issues related to the aging of CRT monitors, the MMCA searched junkyards nationwide and successfully secured over 600 CRT monitors. Curator Kwon Incheol, who participated in the restoration, explained, "We searched not only domestic but also overseas secondhand markets, including China, to secure CRT monitors." Among these, 41 monitors were used in this restoration.

The supply situation in 2003, when the monitors were fully replaced, was vastly different from today. Along with the aging of monitors with a fixed lifespan, issues such as electrical leakage and fire hazards were also concerns. In this restoration, 266 of the 6- and 10-inch CRT monitors retained their exterior but had their screens replaced with flat LCD panels. Lee Jeongseong, an engineer and CEO of Artmaster who was entrusted with full management of the work during Nam June Paik’s lifetime, participated as an advisory committee member in this restoration and expressed the opinion that the philosophy of the work is contained in the video itself, so the monitor itself is not critically important.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"The more, the better."

When architect Kim Won, who was in charge of the design during the work’s creation, pointed out that the initially planned 300 CRT TVs were far too few to fill the structure, Nam June Paik responded, "Then let's make it a thousand." Ultimately, 1,003 monitors were used, and through this conversation, the work’s title "Dadaikseon" (meaning "the more, the better") was born. At the time of installation, the average lifespan of CRT TVs was about 80,000 hours (roughly 18 years based on 12 hours of daily operation). When the architect and others asked what would happen when the monitors reached the end of their lifespan, Nam June Paik replied, "When they all break down, then we can use good TVs."

His open-mindedness toward new technology led him from performance art to media art. Born as a Korean during the Japanese colonial period, his father was Baek Nakseung, president of Taechang Textile, and his grandfather was Baek Yunsu, a wealthy merchant who monopolized the distribution of Qing Dynasty silk in late Joseon. Despite harsh times, he grew up in a wealthy family with a unique upbringing.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

His mother’s teaching that "money is to be spent like water" is well reflected in his bold artistic approach and the grand scale of his works. Dadaikseon stands at the center of such an artistic world.

In the early days of installation, staff had to manually replace tapes, but now the eight video works shown on Dadaikseon have been digitized and play automatically. Improving the cooling system to handle the heat generated by 1,003 monitors was also a major part of the restoration process.

The MMCA stated that despite thorough efforts during the three-year restoration, a minor flaw was discovered on the first day of reactivation when one monitor turned off. Even after replacement and repairs, the aging monitors remain at risk of shutting down at any time. Therefore, the museum announced that the operating hours of the work will be limited to four days a week, two hours per day, and the condition of the work will be checked regularly.

The precarious yet magnificent preservation and restoration process was carried out as a three-year project with a budget of 3.7 billion KRW. The MMCA plans to publish a white paper documenting this process next year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"What is most important in 'art and technology' is not inventing another scientific toy, but humanizing the rapidly changing electronic modes of expression."

Nam June Paik’s forward-thinking insight remains a valuable guide for us today, who face the delicate and incomplete task of reconstructing his works. Alongside the reactivation of Dadaikseon, a commemorative exhibition titled "Dadaikseon: Joyful Collaboration," featuring archives and interviews related to the work, will be held at the MMCA Gwacheon branch until February 26 next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.