The medium is the medium (Nam June Paik)

Competition entry for a 5,000m2 museum for the artwork of the video artist Nam June Paik in Suwon, a small town in the Kyonggi Province of South Korea. The design is based on principles and characteristics of the artist’s medium, the TV. These are translated into tectonic conditions and spatial experiences. The building relates to its given site like a TV image relates to reality, as a filtered and transformed reproduction.

Nam June Paik never worked in Korea. The proposed museum is therefore an introverted cube which is placed on the sloped site as an autonomous object that asserts its independence to the immediate environs. Contrary to typical gallery buildings, natural light was to be minimized in the exhibition spaces in order to support the display of video art. The galleries vary in size, proportions, and luminosity, and are designed for the presentation of specific pieces of the collection. As corner stones of the exhibition Fish flies on sky (1972) is installed on the ceiling of the highest floor level, while TV Garden (1972) is situated on the ground of the basement. The universe of the artist’s work unfolds between them.

Type: Unbuilt
Place: Suwon, Korea
Year: 2003
Collaboration: Daniel Schütz, Maik Seidel, Georg Windeck

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