Before the Word There Was Light, After the Word There Will be Light, 1992

Nam June Paik’s 1992 edition Before the Word There Was Light, After the Word There Will Be Light poetically merges ancient symbolism with modern technology. At its center is a 1948 DuMont television casing, hollowed out and repurposed to house a single lit candle – a humble source of illumination in stark contrast to the electronic glow traditionally associated with the screen. Paik transforms the TV, once a vessel of mass communication, into a quiet, contemplative object. The title suggests a cyclical return to elemental light –before and beyond language, media, and machines – underscoring Paik’s ability to fuse spirituality, technology, and time in a single, resonant gesture.