Nam June Paik
dal 11/12/2012 al 10/8/2013
Segnalato da
11/12/2012
Nam June Paik
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington
Global Visionary. The exhibition includes 67 artworks and more than 140 items from the Archive. Several rare artworks borrowed from private and public collections in the United States and abroad. It features his personal history through thematic groupings that draw on the resources of the Nam June Paik Archive.
The artwork and ideas of the Korean-born artist Nam June Paik were a major influence on late twentieth-century art and continue to inspire a new generation of artists. Nam June Paik: Global Visionary offers an unprecedented view into the artist’s creative method by featuring key artworks that convey Paik’s extraordinary accomplishments as a major international artist as well as material drawn from the Nam June Paik Archive, which was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum from the artist’s estate in 2009.
The exhibition includes 67 artworks and more than 140 items from the Archive. Several rare artworks borrowed from private and public collections in the United States and abroad, including TV Garden (1974/2000) from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Buddha Complex (1982) from the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College, and Paik’s rarely seen installation Moon Projection with E Moon and Birds (1996), on loan from the Paik Estate, are featured. Three exceptional artworks from the museum’s collection will be included: Zen for TV (1963/1976), Megatron/Matrix (1995), and Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii (1995).
Nam June Paik: Global Visionary offers the extraordinary range of the artist’s accomplishments and the complexity of his ideas. It features his personal history through thematic groupings that draw on the resources of the Nam June Paik Archive. Paik’s writings and the materials he collected reveal the influences of Asian and Western philosophy, as well as developments in technology and science. The museum will use these materials to show the development of his innovative and radical conceptualization of the future roles of communication technologies in the expanding global media culture. John G. Hanhardt, senior curator of film and media arts and the leading expert on Paik and his global influence, is organizing the exhibition with the assistance of Michael Mansfield, associate curator of film and media arts.
One of the robots created by Paik has “come to life” on Twitter under the handle @PaikBot. Visitors can follow PaikBot for behind-the-scenes information, interesting facts about Paik, and ask questions about the exhibition. Also, you can help PaikBot travel the world with our Flat PaikBot project on Pinterest.
Photographs and time-lapse videos documenting the installation of the exhibition are on Flickr and on YouTube. Follow the museum for exhibition updates on Facebook, on Twitter by using #paik. An interactive digital archive is available in the galleries as a research reference for Paik’s art and career.
About the Nam June Paik Archive
The Nam June Paik Archive is a blend of traditional paper holdings—letters, writings, and ephemera—and objects—studio effects, recordings, vintage electronics, and other source materials. The archive includes Paik’s early writings on art, history, and technology as well as performance scores, production notes for videotape and television projects, plans for video installations, vintage photographs, and documentation of large-scale television projects such as Guadalcanal Requiem (1977/1979) and The More the Better (1988). The archive includes a variety of early models of televisions and video projectors, radios, record players, and cameras. Toys, games, folk sculptures, more than 300 books and magazines, and the desk where he painted in his studio are also part of the archive. Each aspect of the collection gains strength from the other, and together they present a fascinating picture of the artist’s life, work and creative process. Support for the Nam June Paik Archive was received from the Smithsonian’s Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
The exhibition catalogue ($50) is written by Hanhardt and focuses on Paik’s global journey and multidisciplinary art practice. It will include an introduction by Elizabeth Broun, the museum’s director, and an essay by the artist’s nephew Ken Hakuta reflecting on his uncle’s life.
Public Programs
Numerous public programs ranging from scholarly lectures and gallery talks to films and family activities accompany the exhibition. Exhibition curator John Hanhardt will discuss Paik’s career and influence on twentieth-century art Friday, January 11, 2013, at 7 p.m. Two gallery talks discussing Paik’s artistic method will be presented, one by Hanhardt Tuesday, January 29, 2013, at 6 p.m., and another by Michael Mansfield, associate curator of film and media arts, Tuesday, February 12, 2013, at 6 p.m.
A daylong celebration of Paik’s artistic legacy, Nam June Paik: Art and Process is scheduled for Sunday, April 14, 2013. A symposium will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium; confirmed participants include Edith Decker-Phillips, independent scholar; Stephen Vitiello, artist; Jud Yalkut, artist; Greg Zinman, independent scholar; and John Hanhardt. At 4:30 p.m., Michael Mansfield will lead a gallery talk through the exhibition. From 7 to 8:30 p.m., Ryuichi Sakamoto, Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning musician and composer will join Steina Vasulka, artist, and Stephen Vitiello to perform musical works by Paik or those inspired by the artist.
Nam June Paik: Global Visionary is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum with generous support from Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins; Barney A. Ebsworth; Marilou and Ken Hakuta; Maureen and Gene Kim; Korea Foundation; Wendy and Jerry H. Labowitz; Paula and Peter Lunder; Share Fund of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; The Starec Trust; Roselyne Chroman Swig; and the Barbara & Howard Wise Endowment for the Arts.
Image: Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist © Nam June Paik Estate
Media only:
Laura Baptiste (202) 633-8494 baptistel@si.edu
Courtney Rothbard (202) 633-8496 AmericanArtPressOffice@si.edu
Press preview for new exhibition Wednesday, Dec. 12 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sign-in: 10 a.m.
Remarks and curator tour: 10:30 a.m.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd floor North, American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, N.W.) Washington, D.C.
Hours: daily, 11:30–7pm