I Never Read Wittgenstein, 1998
From Wall Works
Wall painting in seven colors with four televisions (casings from the 30s to 50s) playing the video Color Bar Theme and Variations. Televisions vary in model and size; installation size according to the wall. Edition limited to 12 installations, with a signed and numbered certificate.
For this edition, Nam June Paik created a dedicated video composition, which is to be played in asynchronous sequence on the four televisions installed in the four corners of the wall. The antique television casings suggest a history of television, and their configuration implies the four corners of the earth. The wall itself is painted in colored vertical stripes, which are based on the SMPTE color bars used to test US color television.
This is one of two related works Paik created for the Wall Works project (the other one features only one antique TV console); both are part of the collection of the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin.
