Attila der Hunnenkönig

Details

Nam June Paik (B. 1932)
Attila der Hunnenkönig
mixed media video sculpture
Executed in 1993.

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner.

Literature

K. Bußmann and F. Matzner (eds.), 'Nam June Paik - eine DATA base'. Ostfildern-Ruit 1993 (illustrated in colour, p.126).

Exhibited

Venice, German Pavilion, '45. Biennale d'Arte', June-Oct. 1993 (illustrated in the catalogue in colour, p.126).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

In 1993, the Korean video artist Nam June Paik represented the Federal Republic of Germany together with Hans Haacke at the 45th Venice Biennale. A cultural nomad, Paik jokingly referred to himself in his capacity as professor at the Düseldorf Academy of Art as an 'honorary guest worker'. While Haacke, who has lived in New York since the 1960s, presented a site-specfic installation based on the power relationships between the dictatorship of Nazi Germany and the dominance of the Mark in the Federal Republic, Paik chose the gardens around the pavilion for his theatre of video robots based on dubious historical leaders, from Alexander the Great and Ghengis Khan, to Atilla the Hun and Catherine the Great.

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