33. Nam June Paik
«Zen for Head»
Karlheinz Stockhausen invited Paik to
make a 7-minute appearance in the
performances of his piece
'Originale' ('Originals'), which was first
presented in Cologne on 26 October
1961. Paik varied his music action from
performance to performance, but
'Simple' and 'Zen for Head' were basic
elements which Paik later presented
outside the scope of 'Originale', for
instance in 1962 at the festival 'Fluxus
Festspiele neuester Musik', Wiesbaden
(photo). In 'Zen for Head', Paik dips his
head in paint and draws a line on paper
– in this way connecting his radical
action with Asiatic calligraphy.