Nam June Paik, aka the “father of video art,” is gone, but his influence is far from forgotten. Open through January 4th, a new exhibition at Asia Society titled Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot features a globally-curated catalogue of work from the artist that focuses on the relationship between technology and the body, and the intersection of technology and culture. Curated by Michelle Yun, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Asia Society, this is New York’s first exhibition exclusively focused on the artist in over a decade.

Featuring works as varied and as multifaceted as Good Morning Mr. Orwell, TV Bra for Living Sculpture, the Family of Robot collection, and Li Tai Po (below), the show is a consummate collection of the work that brought Paik to prominence. The exhibition even includes Robot K-456, Paik’s first-ever radio-controlled robot, which made its debut in New York back in 1964.

Paik sitting in TV Chair (1968/1976) in “Nam June Paik Werke, 1946–1976: Music,
© Friedrich Rosenstiel, Cologne

Fluxus, Video,” 1976. 

Says Asia Society, “Paik’s interest in exploring the human condition through the lens of technology and science has created a far-reaching legacy that may be seen in broad recognition of new media art and the growing numbers of subsequent generations of artists who now use various forms of technology in their work.

The three-month-long exhibition, which opened on September 5, also features a screening of Nam June Paik & TV Lab: License to Create, followed by Q&A with filmmaker Howard Weinberg on Wednesday October 22 at 6:30 pm, a multimedia performance/live disruption on Saturday, October 25 at 8:00 pm with DJ Spooky and guest performers, and an art talk entitled “New Media Art: Then and Now” on Monday, November 24 at 6:30 pm, moderated by Michelle Yun.

Presentation of Good Morning Mr. Orwell, at the Kitchen Gallery, New York, on December 8, 1983. Photograph © 1983 by Lorenzo Bianda

It’s a fascinating, comprehensive survey of the life’s work of a decidedly important creator, one whose influences can be felt from hacked Kinect installations all the way through The Matrix. Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot is on display at Asia Society Museum through January 4. 

Nam June Paik, Kessler TV/WDR, Cologne, 1977. © Friedrich Rosenstiel, Cologne

To learn more, visit AsiaSociety.org. 

Related: 

Nam June Paik Was The De Facto Father of Video Art

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