텔레비전 천만 생산 시대의 “‘다다익선’ (多多益善 · The More, The Better)”: 1980년대 삼성의 홍보 전략과 백남준의 비디오 예술

Abstract

This study combines a social history of business corporations with art history, taking as its principal case study the relationship between Samsung Electronics and Nam June Paik’s 1988 video artwork “Dada ikseon.” The study shows that Samsung strengthened its hold over the electronics industry by employing a PR strategy that enabled Samsung Electronics to emerge as an industrial frontrunner in the 1980s. To this end, in 1984 Samsung Electronics formed a strategic partnership with video artist Nam June Paik. The study discusses how the strategic relationship between these two parties developed when the Korean government requested an artwork for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. A core argument is that this moment provided Paik with an opportunity to fully utilize Samsung Electronics’ technical resources, while Samsung, in turn, made use of his reputation as an opportunity to show its transformation into a company with cutting-edge technology. This study finally shows the ways in which Samsung Electronics’ engineering technologies were absorbed into “Dada ikseon” through this strategic relationship, resulting in an artwork that was as much an outcome of Samsung’s engineering prowess as it was of Paik’s artistic abilities.