This year, 2022, marks the 90th anniversary since the birth of Nam June Paik, a world-renowned artist who pioneered the world of video art and represents avant-garde art. To mark the 90th anniversary, the Nam June Paik Art Center organized a special exhibition called "Archaeology of Avantgarde". Before looking at the special exhibition, I would like to learn more about the relationship between Nam June Paik and the avant-garde.
Nam June Paik
[1932-2006]
Nam June Paik and Avantgarde
Nam June Paik is well known to us as the pioneer of video art represented by “The More the Better”, but he is a representative of avant-garde art, which has a lot to do with his art world. First, it is said that “avant-garde” originally meant a small scout who was the first to look at the enemy's movements on the front line during the 18th-19th centuries of modern wars. Later, in the 19th century, Olinde Rodrigues advocated for artists to enlighten the public through works, leading to the emergence of ideological avant-garde art in the 20th century. Here, avant-garde art refers to the art of pioneering, up-to-date, and unconventional and experimental ideas that no one has ever tried. Among the representatives of avant-garde art is Futurism (1909-1916), Dadaism (1915-1924), and Surrealism (1924-present).
Nam June Paik Art Center
Location: 10 Paiknamjune-ro Giheung-gu Yongin-si Gyeonggi-do Korea
Nam June Paik 90th Anniversary Special Exhibition
“Archaeology of Avantgarde”
-2022.03.03-2022.09.18.
#2 The Rehabilitation of Genghis-Khan (1993)
Explanation: This work reminds us of Nam June Paik, who lived a nomad-like life, that is, an avant-garde-like life, working and exhibiting with new people around the world in the 1990s. Nam June Paik also presented the work in an exhibition titled "Electronic Superhighway: From Venice to Ulaanbaatar" to show the exchange and communication between the East and the West, and that the era of the Internet was materializing.
#4 MS-Fluxussus (Symphony No.7) (1980)
Explanation: For Paik, who sought to cause radical changes to art forms in the spirit of Fluxus, music in its broadest sense was no less than a source of significant materials. Subtitled “Symphony No. 7,” this work turns waves, the wind that causes the waves, and even the surrounding sounds into parts of a symphony, in addition to the violin sound.
#6 TV Buddha (1974)
Explanation: Buddha, a religious truth-seeker and the symbol of Eastern wisdom, watches television, which is the symbol of modern civilization and mass media. We can read "boredom" from on Buddha’s face, facing the CCTV cameras, which are commonly used in everyday life. Boredom is another artistic strategy of Paik to allow us to escape from our daily lives.
#7 Paik-Abe Video Synthesizer (1969)
Explanation: Paik-Abe Video Synthesizer is the product of Paik’s will to popularize video by adding an editing function akin to that of broadcasting stations to the medium of video, which was at the crossroads of popularization at the time. It mixes camera images in real-time, just like a DJ mixing and releasing sound sources in real-time. Also, it modulates colors, shakes up shapes, and shuffles different images. In the music video, we find ourselves in chaos as if high on drugs.
#10 Robot Opera (1964)
Explanation: “Robot Opera”, which premiered at the 2nd New York Avant-Garde Festival organized by Charlotte Moorman, is a performance in which Nam June Paik walks the streets while controlling Robot K-456, while Moorman moves around and plays the cello next to him. It criticizes both the so-called high culture for being content with tradition while rejecting novelty and the pop culture represented by soap operas for turning art into commercial products.
Choi Yongha kubabiba7613@naver.com
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