Nam June Paik Art Center unveils jam-packed calendar to celebrate the artist

This year is the 90th anniversary of Nam June Paik's (1932-2006) birth. Although Paik, deemed the father of video art, died in 2006, his groundbreaking, visionary artworks are still widely recognized to this day. The Nam June Paik (NJP) Art..

The front page of the ″Paik's Video Study″ archive [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

This year is the 90th anniversary of Nam June Paik’s (1932-2006) birth. Although Paik, deemed the father of video art, died in 2006, his groundbreaking, visionary artworks are still widely recognized to this day.

The Nam June Paik (NJP) Art Center announced its upcoming exhibition plans in a press conference on Tuesday, focusing on celebrating the artist’s lifelong achievements.

About six exhibitions, along with an additional festival-like event and an online archive, are set to open.

For all these events, the NJP Art Center aims to showcase Paik’s eccentric art world exactly how the artist would have if he were still alive, said Kim Seong-eun, director of the center.

″Nam June Paik signing 〈Chicken II 02〉″ (1987) by American artist Mark Patsfall [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

The motto of this year is “My Jubilee ist Unverhemmet,” which is a mixture of English and German that roughly translates to “My festival is unrestricted.” It is the title of an LP Paik released in 1977, which is Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg’s songs played four times slower.

This phrase is also the name of the festival-like event set to take place from July 20, Paik’s birthday, for one month. The event will be filled with spectacles of all kinds — a one-man play, experimental music, performances and participatory programs.

The NJP Art Center will kick off the year with “Paik’s Video Study,” an online video archive of Paik’s appearances on television, interviews, performances and even the museum’s research papers on the artist from the past 10 years. It offers a glimpse into his mindset and serves as a public resource about the artist. The archive will officially open to the public on Jan. 29, the anniversary of Paik’s death, as a way to “memorialize the artist,” director Kim explained. Some 700 videos will be available at njpvideo.ggcf.kr.

“The Rehabilitation of Genghis-Khan” (1993) by Nam June Paik [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

The art center will proceed into the year with its first exhibition, which will open on March 3, titled “Archaeology of the Avantgarde.” It has chosen 10 important moments from Paik’s art career and displayed them in reverse order. “The Rehabilitation of Genghis-Khan” (1993), a robot sculpture that was previously exhibited at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993, is one of Paik’s pieces that will be on view.

“The Last Consummate Second” (March 24 – June 19) is the next exhibition in which Paik’s 1961 musical score “Symphony for 20 Rooms” will be shown for the first time in Korea. “Analog Immersive” (July 20 – Oct. 30) will be all about Paik’s large-scale media artworks, including an homage to the “Sistine Chapel” (1993), the original of which was also displayed at the 45th Venice Biennale.

A list of some 700 videos are shown here in ″Paik's Video Study.″ [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

There will be an exhibition of Paik hosted in collaboration with the Seoul Museum of Art in November.

The year 2022 is expected to be a truly boundless appreciation of the pioneer of video art.

The Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, is open every day, except Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit njp.ggcf.kr.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]