Gentle Disturbance: Talking Paik
admin - July 26, 2016
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Curatorial Statement
Yujean Rhee (Curator, Nam June Paik Art Center)
The late 1960s, when Nam June Paik played a leading role in the artistic scene, were witness to increasing conflicts between older and younger generations that fueled movements protesting against existing social systems and values. The fields of art and culture did not stray from the trends of the times. Many artists, including the ones in the video art community Paik participated in, argued for socially engaged art. The community, although small, was divided into two—those who used video as a means for political resistance and those who focused on the special qualities of the medium of video. Paik, who adopted the latter stance, produced works exploring the unique characteristics of the medium of video, rather than actually shouting political slogans.
Paik was seriously engaged in an inquiry into what making new attempts within the system might mean and endeavored to make these changes accepted within it. Paik saw artists as individuals on the border of the system, they might seem to belong, but actually they did not. This ideal dreamed by Paik was based on a utopian view of the world and the young Paik thought often about what to do in order to realize his utopian ideals in the real world. He believed that an artist ought to look for tiny cracks in the walls that encroached on society. This exhibition looks into what Paik’s idea of social disturbance might have been by recounting his journey from Paik as a juvenile to the young Paik.
The late 1960s, when Nam June Paik played a leading role in the artistic scene, were witness to increasing conflicts between older and younger generations that fueled movements protesting against existing social systems and values. The fields of art and culture did not stray from the trends of the times. Many artists, including the ones in the video art community Paik participated in, argued for socially engaged art. The community, although small, was divided into two—those who used video as a means for political resistance and those who focused on the special qualities of the medium of video. Paik, who adopted the latter stance, produced works exploring the unique characteristics of the medium of video, rather than actually shouting political slogans.
Paik was seriously engaged in an inquiry into what making new attempts within the system might mean and endeavored to make these changes accepted within it. Paik saw artists as individuals on the border of the system, they might seem to belong, but actually they did not. This ideal dreamed by Paik was based on a utopian view of the world and the young Paik thought often about what to do in order to realize his utopian ideals in the real world. He believed that an artist ought to look for tiny cracks in the walls that encroached on society. This exhibition looks into what Paik’s idea of social disturbance might have been by recounting his journey from Paik as a juvenile to the young Paik.
Table of Contents
| · Curatorial Statement (Yujean Rhee) | 4 |
| · Two Teachers: Karl Marx and Arnold Schönberg | 10 |
| · Music and Sex | 36 |
| · From Jail to Jungle | 78 |
| · Soft Cracks: the Inside and Outside of the System | 126 |
(ISBN: 978-89-97128-18-1, 160pages, KRW 12,000)
Korea Open Government License
Attribution (BY), Non-commercial (NC), No Derivative Works (ND)
Attribution (BY), Non-commercial (NC), No Derivative Works (ND)
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