To overcome the limits of black and white television used in his solo show, Exposition of Music — Electronic Television, Nam June Paik moved to Japan the following year to work with technicians to experiment on color televisions. Magnet TV, produced in 1965, was a result of this research. Coils wrapped around a CRT monitor, which is a sort of electromagnet, spread electrons on the screen rapidly. If one touches a magnet to the monitor, the flow of electrons is interrupted so that deflection occurs and distinctive RGB colors emerge consequently. Previously having focused on manipulating the inner circuits of television, Paik turned to what could externally influence TV images, and that is why Magnet TV was produced relatively late in 1965. In this photograph taken by Peter Moore, Paik handles Magnet TV in his studio on 359 Canal Street, New York.
