Nam June Paik

Book excerpt: Considered to be the founder of video art, Nam June Paik (1932- 2006) was a visionary artist who foresaw the importance of mass media and new technology, and its impact on visual culture. His cutting-edge, innovative, yet playfully entertaining work continues to be a major influence on art and culture to this day. This ground-breaking publication focuses on Paik's pivotal role in the cross-germination of radical aesthetics and experimental practices, emphasising his visionary insight and his pioneering role in the emergence and proliferation of performative and collaborative art practice. Bringing together works that span a fivedecade career, and including archival materials and excerpts of Paik's own writings, this book offers an in-depth understanding of the artist's innovative practice and his vision of a multidisciplinary future. His ideas such as 'Eurasia' and 'Electronic Superhighway', and his profound insight into a global age will be analysed in the context of transnationalism for the first time. In addition, texts will elaborate upon Paik's collaborations with other artists, musicians and choreographers, such as Charlotte Moorman, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Joseph Beuys and Fluxus, highlighting Paik's global trajectory and considerable impact on digital culture, which connect his art to a new generation.