Lempertz to auction video art by Nam June Paik from the collection of Wulf Herzogenrath

There was an unusual episode of the TV show ‘Bei Bio’ on 12th April 1984 in which Nam June Paik's video installation ‘Tree of Temptation’ was created live during Alfred Biolek's show. This and other works by the ‘father of video art’ will be auctioned at Lempertz in Cologne on 29th November.

Nam June Paik is regarded as the ‘father of video art’, Wulf Herzogenrath as one of its most important collectors. Several very special works stemming from this collaboration, which was hugely influential for contemporary art, will form part of the Evening Sale at Lempertz on 29th November in Cologne. The video installation ‘Baum der Versuchung’ (Tree of Temptation) features two important protagonists of this art form, the other being Alfred Biolek, legendary talk show host and TV pioneer. Wulf Herzogenrath was able to convince the host to create an entire video installation in his programme ‘Bei Bio’ on 12th April 1984, instead of just presenting Paik's art. The audience played a key role in the installation by waving green cards under the artificial tree. Four of these cards, including one signed example, will be auctioned together with the work. The piece uses ‘Blue Fox’ technology to present an adaptation of Paik's ‘Global Groove’ from 1973 upon the cards. The colourful images, which exude an almost magical attraction that is all too easily able to captivate and seduce the viewer, replace the apples on the tree, transforming it into a ‘tree of temptation’.

In this singular work, Paik was able to incorporate social sculpture into his medium of video art. The piece will be offered at an estimated price of € 200 - 300,000 at the Lempertz Evening Sale on 29th November.

Marylin Monroe is the main tragic figure in the work ‘Erinnerung an das 20. Jahrhundert’ (Memories of the 20th Century). She had been working on changing her own image for years - but it was the seductive blonde who remained in the world's collective memory. This installation exploring the power of the media was particularly important to Nam June Paik himself. It was part of the exhibitions held at the Kunsthalle Bremen in 1999 and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin in 2019. The work will be offered at an estimated price of € 30 - 40,000 in the auction at Lempertz in Cologne.

Other works by Nam June Paik from the Wulf Herzogenrath Collection include ‘I Admire Monkys’, a poster for the performances ‘Aachen 20 July 1964’ (estimated price € 8,000) and two unique works. The first is ‘Selbstbildnis / Kopf mit einer Hand’ from 1982 (bronze and videotape, estimated price € 35 - 45,000). The piece combines a plaster mask of Franz Küster with a video of a movement performance from 1961. ‘Candle IV’ from 1982 is a realisation of one of Paik's best-known themes: a television case with a mattified screen and a candle; estimated price € 15 - 20,000.

I would be happy to answer any questions and provide print-ready images.

With kind regards,

Jan Bykowski
Press and Public Relations
info@lempertz.com
Tel. 0221 925729 -57