Notation and Eternity in Symphonie No. 5 and Liberation Sonata for Fish

Hölling, Hanna Barbara (2023). Notation and Eternity in Symphonie No. 5 and Liberation Sonata for Fish In: Museum Ostwall, im Dortmunder U; Frieling, Rudolf (eds.) Nam June Paik: I Expose the Music (pp. 109-114). Leipzig: Spector Books

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Paik’s Liberation Sonata for Fish (1969) is a prime example of the score-based work that Paik created after he moved from Germany to New York. The work’s absurdity lies in the proposition of freeing a dead fish by releasing it into its natural element—an act that acquires a dramatic overtone in an age marked by the mass extinction of species. Is what I am seeing evidence of an unfulfilled liberation? Who is doing the liberating and who is in need of liberation? Or is archival preservation a tacit metaphor for the “liberation” of the fish, which became a disintegrated specimen enclosed in the archival folds of a highly controlled habitat, both environmentally and institutionally? In this essay, I weave conservation concerns together with reflection on the work's rich history.

Item Type:	Book Section (Book Chapter)
Division/Institute:	Bern Academy of the Arts Bern Academy of the Arts > Institute Materiality in Art and Culture Bern Academy of the Arts > Institute Materiality in Art and Culture > Contemporary Art and Media
Name:	Hölling, Hanna Barbara0000-0002-3063-4405; Museum Ostwall, im Dortmunder U; Frieling, Rudolf and Drissner, Hannes
Subjects:	A General Works > AC Collections. Series. Collected works A General Works > AM Museums (General). Collectors and collecting (General) M Music and Books on Music > M Music N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
ISBN:	9783959057042
Publisher:	Spector Books
Language:	English
Submitter:	Hanna Barbara Hölling
Date Deposited:	06 Sep 2023 09:56
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2023 09:56
Related URLs:	https://spectorbooks.com/de/buch/i-expos...
Uncontrolled Keywords:	score, notation, new music, Paik, decay, degradation, conservation
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.19825
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/19825