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| Nam June Paik Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nam June Paik Foundation |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Nam June Paik |
| Location | Seoul, South Korea |
| Mission | Preservation and promotion of media art |
Nam June Paik Foundation The Nam June Paik Foundation preserves, promotes, and disseminates the artistic legacy of Nam June Paik through stewardship of artworks, archives, and programmatic initiatives tied to media art, video art, and technological practice. The Foundation connects international collections, museums, artists, curators, and academic institutions including Museum of Modern Art (New York), Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea to maintain Paik’s heritage across exhibitions, residencies, and scholarly projects. It operates at the intersection of institutions such as Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, The Kitchen (arts center), Walker Art Center, and Zentrum für Kunst und Medien.
The Foundation serves as a custodian for Paik’s oeuvre, holdings, and intellectual property, liaising with collectors like Saatchi Gallery, commissioners such as Lincoln Center, galleries including Gagosian Gallery, and archives such as Smithsonian Institution and Getty Research Institute. It collaborates with festivals and events like documenta, Venice Biennale, Whitney Biennial, Seoul International Media Art Biennale, and Ars Electronica to stage works, loans, and retrospectives. Partnerships extend to universities including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Seoul National University, and KAIST for research, teaching, and conservation protocols involving electronic art, videotape, and mixed-media installations.
Founded in 2005 by stakeholders close to Nam June Paik and based in Seoul, the Foundation emerged following a career that included exhibitions at Guggenheim Museum, collaborations with figures such as John Cage, Joseph Beuys, Charlotte Moorman, Yoko Ono, and projects commissioned by BBC, NHK, and Deutsche Grammophon. Early institutional interactions included retrospectives at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, acquisitions by Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and exchanges with collectors like Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The Foundation’s archival work built on prior documentation held by New York Public Library, private archives in Munich, and artist estates in Berlin. Its development paralleled the growth of media art infrastructures exemplified by ZKM, Eyebeam, and STEIM.
The Foundation’s mission emphasizes conservation, authentication, exhibition facilitation, and intellectual dissemination tied to Paik’s practice and the broader trajectory of video art. Activities include authentication services for collectors and museums such as Fondation Beyeler, consultancy for major commissions with institutions like Stedelijk, and advisory roles for public art projects in cities including New York City, Seoul, Tokyo, and Berlin. Programming spans fellowships linked to Getty Foundation, curatorial residencies at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and collaborations with broadcasters such as NHK and BBC to digitize and present historical broadcasts and performances.
The Foundation manages inventories of tapes, sculptures, and documentation, coordinating loans to venues such as Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, MoMA PS1, Hayward Gallery, and regional museums including National Museum of Contemporary Art (Korea). Major touring retrospectives have been staged in cooperation with Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Ludwig, and Kunsthalle Wien. The holdings include seminal works that intersect with other artists and institutions: fluxus-related pieces associated with George Maciunas, performance works with Charlotte Moorman housed alongside materials in The New School, and video collages that travel to festivals like SXSW and International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Scholarly programs support researchers from Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, Goldsmiths, University of Tokyo, and Korea University examining Paik’s influence on later practitioners including Bill Viola, Jenny Holzer, Ryoji Ikeda, and Pipilotti Rist. Educational outreach includes workshops with Tokyo University of the Arts, lecture series featuring curators from Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and catalogues prepared with publishing partners such as Thames & Hudson and MIT Press. The Foundation engages with digital preservation initiatives similar to projects at Internet Archive and Library of Congress to stabilize videotape, monitor electronics, and document installation schematics.
Governance comprises a board and advisory panels drawing expertise from institutions like National Museum of Korea, Korean Cultural Center, Asia Culture Center, and international museums including LACMA and Tate. Funding sources mix endowment, philanthropic grants from foundations such as Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation, corporate sponsorships from technology firms akin to Samsung and LG Electronics, and income from licensing and loans to institutions including Guggenheim and Walker Art Center. Conservation partnerships follow standards developed by conservation bodies like American Institute for Conservation and collaboration networks such as ICOM.
The Foundation amplifies Paik’s legacy across generations, shaping curatorial practice at institutions like MoMA, influencing academic curricula at New York University and Seoul National University, and informing contemporary production by artists exhibited at Frieze Art Fair, Art Basel, and Transmediale. Its role in media art historiography intersects with scholarship on Fluxus, early video pioneers like Nam June Paik’s contemporaries Paul Sharits and Andy Warhol, and institutional developments exemplified by ZKM and Ars Electronica. By stewarding archives, facilitating loans, and supporting new research, the Foundation sustains Paik’s presence in exhibitions, publications, and pedagogy across global nodes such as New York, Seoul, Berlin, London, and Tokyo.
Category:Foundations based in South Korea Category:Media art organizations