My Paik Nam June symposium at MMCA Korea

November 18, 2022

On Friday, November 18, 2022, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will host My Paik Nam June, a global symposium honoring Nam June Paik’s 90th birthday, in its auditorium in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.

As part of the Paik Nam June Festival, which the MMCA is hosting in honor of Nam June Paik’s 90th birthday, the symposium will be place. In addition to Merry Mix: The More, The Better, an archives exhibition concerning the preservation and restoration of said work, The More, The Better, the largest-scale media artwork produced by the deceased artist, was reactivated on September 15 of last year. The Paik Nam June Effect, a sizable exhibition about Nam June Paik’s impact on the Korean art scene, will open on November 10. His best works and the pertinent exhibitions will also be visible to those attending the symposium on November 18.

There will be three sessions in the symposium: Influences of Paik Nam June, Media Art and Conservation, and Memories of Paik Nam June. Nine renowned domestic and international experts who specialize in the late artist will deliver studies on the topic at each session.

In session 1, Memories of Paik Nam June, Barbara London, who served as curator at the MoMA, will introduce her memories of communication with him as exhibition director. She will appear live in New York. Saisha Grayson of the Smithsonian American Art Museum will shed light on the meaning of collaboration between him and other artists in linkage with the relevant archives. Prof. Lim Shan of Dongduk Women’s University will analyze the significance of diverse texts left by the artist from a new perspective in an attempt to explore the aesthetic significance of the texts showcasing experimental nature and creativity.

Hanna B. Hölling (Research Professor, Bern University of the Arts and Honorary Associate Professor, University College London) will speak on the topic of conserving media art in session 2 of her lecture series. She will do so from a variety of angles, including art history, materials used, and current technology. The media artist and honorary professor Yi Won Kon of Dankook University will speak about the goals for Paik Nam June’s video installation work using CRT technology in the context of analog technology. The More, The Better’s conservator Kwon Incheol of the MMCA will explain attendees about The More, The Better’s restoration process and its just resumed activation. He will give a fresh discussion regarding monitor-based preservation problems that frequently affect the deceased artist’s work as a conservation specialist.

Prof. Rhee Jieun of Myongji University will talk on the legacy left by the late artist from the general social context beyond fine art as a creator in session 3, Influences of Paik Nam June. Professor Kim Hee-Young of Kookmin University will talk about the propensity for contemporary artists to carry on Paik Nam June’s legacy. Professor Gregory Zinman of the Georgia Institute of Technology will offer recommendations for the future of modern fine arts connected to the work of Paik Nam June.

After the lectures are over, attendees will gather for a general discussion about the symposium’s significance, including a look at the past, present, and future of scholarship on Paik Nam June and an examination of the importance of the artistic legacy he left behind.

Reservations can be made on the MMCA website for those who are interested in attending the symposium (300 attendees will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.)

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
313 Gwangmyeong-ro
13829 Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
South Korea