Folding Fan is a handcrafted fan painted in the form of traditional painting; three cranes perch on pine trees with the moon shining as bright as day. Red straps are attached at the backside, used for tying the fan when it is folded. The pine tree and the crane—symbols of longevity—are often used as icons of New Year’s greetings. After participating in Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music in 1958, Nam June Paik published a review in The Korean Free Press in January 1959. Paik explains that John Cage’s new music “only calculates pure time, which is not filled with anything,” “similar to the growth of a pine tree.” In 1992, Paik also produced a robot sculpture entitled Crane using antique radios and dial telephones.
