Remembering Paik, father of video art
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Artist Paik Nam-june performs “A Pas de Loup de Seoul a Budapest,” a shamanistic exorcism performance in memory of his friend and artist Joseph Beuys in front of Gallery Hyundai in 1990. / Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean-American artist Paik Nam-june (1932-2006) was a pioneer of video art who was ahead of his time.
The history of video as a medium is not long, but it has quickly become an inseparable part of modern life. According to an eMarketer report, people spent an average of 1 hour and 55 minutes a day watching digital videos last year. But when Paik conjured artworks using the moving image, the technology was newly born.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Paik's death and several exhibitions are underway or scheduled to honor the artist who once predicted that everyone would someday have their own channel, which has come true in the age of social media.
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Paik Nam-june’s “Family of Robot: Grandmother” (1986)
Paik, the youngest son of a textile manufacturer mogul in Seoul, had a well-heeled childhood. He left for Hong Kong aged 17, when the Korean War (1950-53) broke out, and lived a nomadic life in Japan, Germany, France and the United States. Despite international fame for his avant-garde performances and video art, it took more than 30 years for Paik to return to Korea.
Gallery Hyundai in central Seoul, where Paik's first Korea exhibit was held, offers "Nam June Paik: When He was in Seoul," highlighting his time in his hometown of Seoul.
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Paik Nam-june’s “Family of Robot: Grandfather” (1986)
The exhibition features some 40 of Paik's major works, including his video sculptures and multi-monitor pieces. At the exhibit’s opening, Paik's colleague, Kim Tschang-yeul reenacted Paik's performances "Zen for Walking" and "One for Violin."
Among them, Paik's signature robots, made from TV sets, represent how he was influenced by his roots. The robot of "Queen Seondeok" was modeled after Queen Seondeok (632-647) of Silla, the first female sovereign in Korea’s history.
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Paik Nam-june’s “Charlotte Moorman” (1990)
His 1986 works, "Family of Robot: Grandfather" and "Family of Robot: Grandmother," which employed TV sets from the 1940s and ’50s, reflect the influence of family culture in Korea.
"My Faust: Arts" is part of a 13-piece series Paik created to explore 12 issues of contemporary society, such as environment, economics, spirituality and transportation. "Arts" has a structure that resembles a Gothic church and features objects such as books, ballet shoes, brushes and a piano.
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Paik Nam-june’s “My Faust: Arts” (1989-91)
The exhibit also displays objects and video from "A Pas de Loup de Seoul a Budapest" (A Step of Wolf: from Seoul to Budapest), and a shamanistic exorcism Paik had performed in memory of his friend and artist Joseph Beuys in front of Gallery Hyundai in 1990.
Beuys smashed a piano with an axe at Paik's first solo exhibition, "Exposition of Music
Electronic Television," at Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal, Germany, in 1963. In the requiem performance for Beuys, Paik broke a German piano, symbolizing Beuys, in memory of the German Fluxus artist.
The exhibit runs until April 3. For more information, visit
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Paik Nam-june’s “Queen Seondeok” (1988)
Wrap Around the Time
The Nam June Paik Art Center, an art museum dedicated to the late artist in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, held a live screening performance commemorating the 10th anniversary of Paik's passing on Jan. 29.
The art center livestreamed ceremonies held simultaneously at three places
Nam June Paik Art Center, Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul and a studio in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province
to pay homage to the pioneer of video art.
At the "Utopian Laser TV Station," Paik's major video pieces such as “Good Morning, Mr. Orwell," "Allan 'n' Allen's Complaint," "A Tribute to John Cage" and "Edited for Television" were screened, while artists Jun Hyoung-san, Choi Joon-yong and PARPUNK performed in memory of Paik.
The art center will open a special exhibition relating to contemporary artists and Paik's legacy titled "Wrap Around the Time."
A variety of researchers
including humanists, scientists and aestheticians
explored Paik's artistic depths and present new works inspired by Paik. The list of participants includes neuroscientist Kim Dae-shik, novelist Han Yu-joo and mythologist Yoo Jae-won.
In October, the institution will cooperate with Kansong Art Museum to exhibit at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. It will show how Paik's works were influenced by traditional Korean culture such as Zen Buddhism and shamanism.
For more information, visit
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Memorial hall for Paik
The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) will open a memorial hall dedicated to Paik in July, on the site of his childhood home. Last year the Seoul Metropolitan Government bought the house in Changsin-dong, downtown Seoul, where the media artist lived from ages six to 17, and SeMA will give a glimpse of the artist's childhood through historical documents and dioramas.
The museum will also hold an exhibit from June 14 to July 31 commemorating the 10th anniversary of Paik's death. The exhibition will shed light on the Fluxus Movement and how it shaped Paik's artistic vision.
For more information, visit sema.seoul.go.kr.