The Smithsonian American Art Museum just announced a major exhibition of Nam June Paik, set to open December 13, 2012. “Nam June Paik: Global Visionary” will offer an
“unprecedented view into the artist’s creative method” through key artworks and material drawn from the Nam
June Paik Archive, acquired by the Smithsonian from the artist’s
estate in 2009. Well worth a trip to DC, and required viewing for any of you who count yourself among the present generation of YouTube uploaders, Vimeo auteurs, and TwitVid self-surveillance sharers. This man’s legacy is part of why video is a common medium for fine art and personal expression today. Snip:
Korean-born Paik (1932-2006), known as the “father of video art,” almost single-handedly
transformed video into an artist’s medium through his sculptures, installations, videotapes and
television projects. Paik is recognized worldwide for his innovative, media-based artwork that is
grounded in the practices of avant-garde music and performance art. His art and ideas embodied a
radical new vision for an art form that he knew would be embraced around the world and that would
change visual culture.
PDF of the press release is here.
Image via Wikipedia (shot by Lim Young-kyun in 1983).