Nam June Paik: The Miami Years
An exhibition initiated by The Bass’s acquisition of a major work by Nam June Paik, offering renewed insight into the artist’s connection to the Miami region.
Curated by James Voorhies
The Bass Museum of Art
Miami Beach, FL
October 4, 2023—August 18, 2024
Made possible with funding and staff from The Bass, with generous support provided by Art Bridges; realized within my responsibilities as Curator of The Bass
Nam June Paik (b. 1932, Seoul, Korea; d. 2006, Miami Beach) was a pioneer in using electronic images and digitized compositions as creative expression, and is often referred to as the “father of video art.” Coining the term “electronic superhighway” in 1974, Paik envisioned the transformative power of electronic media to network and connect people from every part of the globe. His progressive ideas, experimental working methods, and playful works demonstrated an acute awareness of the rising power of digital media—not only in contemporary art but also the future of social networks and our enmeshment in technology today.
Celebrating The Bass’s acquisition of Paik’s TV Cello (2003), Nam June Paik: The Miami Years introduces visitors to the artist’s important connection to Miami, his innovative art practice, and his optimistic aim to humanize technology. In fact, Paik kept an apartment in Miami Beach from the 1990s until his death in 2006. And in the 1980s, his videos were screened at local festivals and institutions. The Bass’s 1987 exhibition Video Transformations featured Paik alongside Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, and Bill Viola. Indeed, Paik was very present on the Miami arts scene. He made numerous relationships and was a regular at Miami Beach restaurants like The Strand. Art Miami bestowed its International Distinguished Artist Award on Paik in 1999, and he was honored at the 2001 Miami Beach Festival of the Arts, with a festival poster designed by the artist. But it was his time in Florida in the late 1980s—working on two large-scale, site-specific projects for Miami International Airport, unveiled in 1990—that led Paik to make Miami a home base.
Nam June Paik: The Miami Years examines the history of these public artworks, with a deeper look at the artist’s advanced philosophy towards technology and its relationship to the body. Paik’s pioneering art practice holds an enduring global power to excite audiences and fellow artists, and continues to influence developments in art, popular culture, and technology today.
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