Thought of by many as the grandfather of video art, Nam June Paik was celebrated for developing new media technology and finding a place for it in a gallery. Now you can get a sense of the artist’s influence on the field of new media art in his native Seoul presented by Gallery Yeh and YG Plus. The Paik Nam June Show opens this week in honor of the South Korean-American artist’s birthday. Today he would have turned 84 years old.
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The commemorative showcase will take over Dongdaemun Design Plaza, using the D’strict Art Tech Factory’s technology and design expertise to lead viewers through five exhibition spaces. Each has a theme that ties together an experiential narrative inspired by Nam’s work.
The show’s themed stages are listed as follows: 1. Hope 2. Nostalgia 3. Love, 4. Infinity 5. Idea. Known for his large scale video installations, Paik turned to the television as a platform to explore man’s relationship with technology. Curators of The Show have selected pieces from the artist’s stockpile of TV-set sculptures that fit with each theme. Gallery Yeh experiments with atmosphere and modes of display in order to attach a certain unifying concept to each room.At the entrance appears a line of massive human like robots that stand on either side of the wall, suggesting harmony between man and machine for Hope. Nostalgia looks at a timeline of June’s career through old drawings and objects. Love sees mesmerizing TV screens suspended from the ceiling, in a relaxing natural setting. Infinity takes up a seemingly endless exhibition space whose walls are lined with video screens. The Idea finale centers around June’s 10x6 meter TV-set Turtle sculpture with accompanying sound effects.
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