Jung-Yeon Ma, White Hands and Black Clothes #01: "Father's Study: Nam June Paik Art Center"
The author reflects on her research journey, introducing the Nam June Paik Art Center's mission, archival challenges, and its digital "Video Study" platform.Summary
This article is the first installment in a series by Jung-Yeon Ma. It begins with the author's personal story of studying media art in Japan and her subsequent collaboration with archivist Sang-ae Park. Park worked at the Nam June Paik Art Center for 16 years, describing Paik as a "marsh-like artist" whose research is endlessly deep and rewarding.
The piece introduces the life and work of Nam June Paik, highlighting his multilingualism and his complex relationship with Japan. It explains that the Nam June Paik Art Center, founded in 2008, is tasked with being "a home where Nam June Paik can live forever," preserving his experimental spirit. The article details the unique challenges of archiving media art, where works and documentation often blend, and discusses the preservation dilemmas for iconic pieces like "The More The Better."
Finally, it showcases the "Paik's Video Study" online platform, launched in 2022. This project provides free access to a digitized analog video archive containing works, documentation, and broadcasts, including rare footage of Paik with Ryuichi Sakamoto and other Japanese cultural figures. The author concludes by affirming Paik's enduring importance as a foundational inspiration for her own research.
(Source：ART iT)