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| museum kunst palast Opening Nam June Paik |
Final Week! Closing 21 November
museum kunst palast, in conjunction with Tate Liverpool, is currently showing an extensive retrospective of the ‘Godfather of Video Art’, Nam June Paik until November 21. The exhibition is then going to the Tate Liverpool to open on December 17.
Paik’s imagination and curiosity for what he could do with a tv screen paved the way for MTV and countless forms of creative workings on a monitor. He was one of the first to use the term 'electronic super highway' and much of which entertains us on our screens and that we take for granted today can be accredited to this Korean artist.
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| Mercury 19191 ©Nam June Paik Estate, New York, 2010/Kunststiftung NRW Photograph: Sascha Dressler |
At the press conference I was introduced to Ken Hakuta, Paik’s nephew and executor of the Paik estate.
He was an amusing man who gave me an intimate insight into his ‘crazy uncle’.
My father, Nam June’s oldest brother claimed his artist sibling was lazy - “Paik liked to sleep late and my father didn’t like that!” he told me gleefully. But we loved him as kids - he told my parents that they should buy us a better tv!
"He was my crazy uncle. He was always doing crazy stuff; he ate a copy of the New York Times during a performance in New York."
When I asked how he would describe this exhibition to someone who knows nothing about Paik or video art, he instantly said “Imagine it’s 1970. This is Nam’s view of the future.”
Much of it still looks pretty contemporary and even futuristic all these years later.
Sook-Kyung Lee joint curator of the exhibition from Tate Liverpool, stood by Ken’s side and nodded. ‘Exactly’ she agreed.
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| Ken Hakuta and Sook-Kyung Lee before Paik's 75 Internet Dream |
The next day at the opening, I ran into Ken several times. Each time he grinned and said ‘remember - it’s the future!’
Sook-Kyung Lee described the artist as the first person to combine fine art and tv. Trained as a cellist, Paik experimented with instruments, monitors, lasers, 3 D tv, robots and fish tanks.
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| Laser Cone |
The exhibition includes extensive photographs of Paik and his work with peers such as John Cage, Yoko Ono and Joseph Beuys.
Ken Hakuta also added that Germany just has so many old pieces as Paik spent much of his working life here in Germany. His first show was hosted in Wuppertal and from 1979 to 1996 he was professor at the Düsseldorf Arts Academy.
Definitely worth a longer look. I’d seen Paik’s work here and there at shows before, but in this depth and quantity it takes on a whole new meaning.
There are 'Video Fish' and robots to gaze at; 'TV Buddha' and 3D TV ...
Paik’s mind sure was a colourful, whizzing playground.
Further images of the exhibition are also here on flickr
There is also an accompanying programme running with this exhibition including Hommage á John on October 24.
Further images of the exhibition are also here on flickr
There is also an accompanying programme running with this exhibition including Hommage á John on October 24.
And one other, very important fact - from an art historical point of view, we were told that this exhibition will be the last using the monitors that Paik actually used.
“What will be used in the future?” One journalist asked. The answer was a shrug of the shoulders by all concerned. So go and see this whilst you still can.
Nam June Paik at museum kunst palast until 21 November 2010
The museum opens late until 9pm on Thursdays
Wednesday Special, two for one from 2pm
