Cinéma Metaphysique: Nos. 2, 3 and 4

Nam June Paik and Jud Yalkut
1967-72, 8:39 min, b&w, sound, 16 mm film on video

This early work belongs in the company of Paik and Yalkut's classic collaborative "video-films," including Video Tape Study No. 3, Beatles Electronique, and Missa of Zen. To the accompaniment of the abrupt sonic interjections of Fluxus-affiliated composer Takehisa Kosugi, Yalkut's black and white film records brief, masked actions: an arm with clenching fist; a pair of faces, visible only about the eyes, which squint, gaze, and rest; Paik eating a slice of bread. Reminiscent of Beckett's theater, as well as the minimal movements of 1960s avant-garde dance, Cinéma Metaphysique is a study in gesture and stillness, noise and silence.

Sound: Takehisa Kosuji's "Mono Dharma No. 8"; "The Way of the Eiheiji."

 
 

PLEASE NOTE: Allow extra lead-in time if you are planning a public screening or exhibition of Nam June Paik's single screen video works. All such orders must be forwarded by EAI to the Paik Studio for their agreement before any event can be confirmed.

This is a video transfer of a work initially shot on film. This is best shown as a projection, to reflect the original medium.
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