Daily Busan
Busan MoCA celebrates the life and legacy of Nam June Paik
"Robot K-456" (1964) is a robot that can walk, play recordings and mimic defecation.
"Hands and Faces" (1961)
"TV Buddha" (1974)
"Rehabilitation of Genghis Khan" (1993)
A comprehensive exhibition celebrating the life and work of Nam June Paik, hailed as the "father of video art," is currently on view at the Busan Museum of Contemporary Art in Eulsukdo Island. Titled "Nam June Paik, Nam June Paik, and Nam June Paik," the exhibition runs through March 16.
Paik was a pioneering figure of 20th-century art, renowned for his innovative use of emerging technologies. His artistic experiments spanned mediums such as performance art, television, satellite broadcasts and large-scale video installations. Praised for his boundary-pushing vision, Paik foresaw global connectivity and is attributed with coining the term "electronic superhighway" to describe the internet age. He was the first major artist to examine the pervasiveness of technology and the influence of mass media on society.
This exhibition, co-organized by Busan MoCA and the Nam June Paik Art Center, is the most extensive retrospective of Paik's work held in Korea since his passing. It features over 160 pieces, including installations, photographs, videos and archival materials, sourced from institutions such as the Nam June Paik Art Center, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Ulsan Museum of Art and the Museum fur Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany.
The retrospective is organized into important scenes that revisit key moments in Paik's life and career. It begins with one of Paik's earliest pieces, "Hands and Faces" (1961), in which he records himself in front of a camera. Another early work, "Fluxus Champion Contest" (1963), depicts men competing to see who could urinate the longest. It represents Paik's radicalism and penchant for challenging norms and good taste.
Visitors can also experience Paik's first solo exhibition, "Exposition of Music-Electronic Television" from 1963.
Paik was a frequent and intentional collaborator, and many of his most significant pieces were born from artistic partnerships. While living in Tokyo in 1963, Paik befriended Japanese engineer Shuya Abe, who would provide technical support for Paik's art throughout his career. In 1964, the duo created "Robot K-456," a robot that could walk, play recordings of United States President John F. Kennedy, and drop beans as if defecating. "Robot K-456" showed Paik's interest in humanizing technology to highlight the possibility of machines having consciousness.
The exhibition highlights Paik's work with performance artist and cellist Charlotte Moorman. Moorman was a muse for Paik throughout his career, and the two worked together until Moorman돴s death in 1991. Paik's most memorable works with Moorman include "Opera Sextronique" (1967), a performance in which Moorman was arrested for going topless while playing the cello in public, and "TV Cello" (1971), a video sculpture of three stacked television monitors shaped into a cello.
Museumgoers can also watch "Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV," a 2023 documentary chronicling Paik's trailblazing life and career.
Busan MoCA is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed on Mondays and Jan. 1. Entry is free.