‘Nam June Paik’s Transmission: journey over two centuries’ Cover image ©Nam June Paik Art Center
Nam June Paik Art Center has published NJP Reader #13, Nam June Paik’s Transmission: journey over two centuries, an online scholarly research publication. NJP Reader is an academic research publication published by Nam June Paik Art Center in conjunction with the annual international academic symposium ‘Gift of Nam June Paik.’
‘Gift of Nam June Paik 15’, which was the basis for Nam June Paik’s Transmission: journey over two centuries, focused on the collection, exhibition, documentation, and preservation of outdoor media installation artworks held in art museums, centering on Nam June Paik’s Transmission Tower (2002) and 32 Cars for the 20th Century: Play Mozart’s Requiem Quietly (1997).
Artists who collaborated with Nam June Paik, along with experts from Nam June Paik Art Center and Leeum Museum of Art, participated in this symposium. They shared their research findings on the variability and originality of media installation works, their relationship with space, and other related topics.
The first part of the book explores the history of the production of 32 Cars for the 20th Century: Play Mozart’s Requiem Quietly, with expert discussions of the collection, exhibition, and conservation. Part 2 includes articles on the conservation, construction, and exhibition of Transmission Tower and Nam June Paik’s laser work.
It also includes first-hand accounts of museum acquisitions and conservation of contemporary works of art under the theme of ‘Keeping Artworks Alive in Museums.’ The book provides vivid examples of artists and academic researchers who were involved in the acquisition, exhibition, conservation, installation, and documentation of each work. It also asks new questions about the conservation and restoration of variable media installations that are distinct from traditional hardware-centered conservation.
The contributing writers include Mark Patsfall, Tae Hyunsun, Chin Zeeyoung, Lee Kijun, Yun Jeho, Kim Yoonseo, Park Sang Ae, Kim Hwanju, and Pip Laurenson, and the book is available for free download in English and Korean on the Nam June Paik Art Center website.
