Untitled Document
 Paik
Nam-june was a world-famous South Korean-born
American artist. He is considered
to be the first video artist. He experimented with electronic media and made
a deep impact on the art of video and television. Paik is best known
for his creative and entertaining works. He is called the “Father
of Video Art.”
Paik Nam-june was born on July 20, 1932 in Seoul. Young Paik was fond
of music and art. As he was growing up, he was trained as a classical pianist. In 1950, the Paik
family had to flee from the Korean War,
first to Hong Kong and later to Japan. In 1956, Paik graduated from
the University of Tokyo, where he studied art, music history, and
philosophy.
 Later,
Paik moved to Germany to study the History of Music at Munich University.
While studying in Germany, he was inspired to work with electronic art. Paik’s modified TV monitors were
first presented in 1963 in his solo show titled “Exposition
of Music-Electronic Television” in Germany. In 1964, he moved to New
York and continued experiments with
music and video performance.
In New York, Paik worked with classical cellist Moorman to combine his video, music,
and performance. In the work “TV Cello,” Paik and Moorman stacked televisions on top
of one another to make the shape of an actual cello. When Moorman
drew her bow across the cello, images of both her playing, and images
of other cellists playing appeared on the screens.
With “TV Cello,” Paik became very famous internationally.
His largest project was “Wrap Around
the World,” designed for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. There, he
mounted a giant media-tower shaped
like a birthday cake, called “The More the Better.” He used 1,003
TV monitors for a non-stop presentation of Video Art
images and performances by Korean drummers and artists from
all over the world.
 Paik was
also known for making robots out of television sets. These were made
using pieces of wire and metal. But later, he used
parts from radio and television sets.
In 1996, Paik became disabled after having a stroke. He was in a wheelchair
for the last 10 years of his life. However, nothing could stop his
passion for art. He was still
a very creative and passionate experimental artist. Paik
Nam-june passed away on January 29, 2006 in Florida, USA. Now, his
works are preserved in museum collections across the world.
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