Video artist Paik Nam-June i his studio in New York
Goodbye to Paik Nam-June
"Father of Video Art" Dies at 74 in Maiami
Paik Nam-June Survived by His Japanese Wife Kubota
"Father of Video Art" Paik Nam-June died of natural causes at 74 around 8 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2006 (local time) at his residence in Miami, Florida. Paik is survived by his Japanese wife Shigeko Kubota.
Paik's funeral will be held on Feb. 2 or Feb 3, 2006 (local time) at Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel at 1076 Madison Ave. 81st St, New York, NY 10028 (Tel: 212-288-3500 Toll Free: 800-423-5928. Services will also be held in South Korea and Germany.
Sources close to Paik's family said that his remains will be distributed in South Korea, the US, and Germany after his cremation.
Paik Nam-June was born in Seoul, Korea on July 20, 1932. After graduating from Gyeonggi High School in Seoul, Paik went to Hong Kong to enroll in Royden House Junior and Senior School.
A year after graduation from Royden School in 1949 Paik went to Japan for advanced studies.
Paik studied music history, art history, and philosophy at the University of Tokyo, where he graduated with a dissertation on Arnold Schoenberg.
He then went to Germany in 1956 to continue the study of music history at the University of Munich. In Germany he met Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage who inspired Paik's interest and subsequent development of electronic art.
Both composers, Stockhausen and Cage influenced Paik through their ideas of composition and performance.
Paik worked with Stockhausen in a studio for Electronic Music. He then got involved with the post neo-Dada art movement, fluxus. Fluxus was founded by George Maciunas. George invited Paik to join his group of artists and he accepted.
Paik returned to Japan to conduct experiments with electromagnets and colour television, alongside electronic engineer Shuya Abe.
In June, 1996 Paik suffered a stroke that left part of his body paralyzed . But the wheelchair-bound Paik continued holding numerous exbibitions both in South Korea and around the world.
The rise of new technology led him to use the video image. Today he is known as the father of video art and influences the younger generation of artists.
"Paik Nam-June Art Museum," will open in October in 2007 in Yongin, south of Seoul.
