Contemporary artists honor Nam June Paik in two high-tech exhibitions

Arts & Design

Published: 30 Mar. 2024, 07:00

Contemporary artists honor Nam June Paik in two high-tech exhibitions

A still from ″Good Morning Mr. Orwell″ (1984) by Nam June Paik [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

YONGIN, Gyeonggi – When George Orwell released his dystopian novel “1984” in 1949, readers feared that totalitarianism, mass surveillance and propaganda would soon become a reality.

Then 1984 actually came along, and Nam June Paik (1932-2006) famously said, “George Orwell, you were only half right.”

On New Year’s Day that year, the pioneer of video art launched his first global satellite broadcast “Good Morning Mr. Orwell,” which simultaneously reached an audience of 25 million worldwide, including viewers in the United States, France, Korea and Germany.

The hourlong live broadcast was filled with groovy spectacles of music performances, dance segments and comedy sketches, which Paik collectively called a “global disco.” The project was able to go through with the help of the U.S. television network WNET, local city stations and popular music artists at the time.

A still from ″Good Morning Mr. Orwell″ (1984) by Nam June Paik [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

“Paik had a similar idea with Orwell on how technology would develop in the future, but he disagreed with the dystopia that was depicted in Orwell’s book,” said Kim Yoon-seo, curator at the Nam June Paik Art Center. “Paik had a rather enthusiastic outlook: The television was not a tool to brainwash people, but one to help people connect with each other and enjoy diverse cultures.”

It’s now been four decades since Paik shocked the world with “Good Morning Mr. Orwell,” and the Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with two exhibitions: “Wake Up! It’s 2024” and “Big Brother Blockchain.”

Over the years, the Nam June Paik Art Center has frequently commissioned new works by contemporary artists who have been influenced by Paik’s avant-garde and experimental art. In these latest exhibitions, visitors can check out the original “Good Morning Mr. Orwell” along with video works and installations by 11 art teams or individuals that present their own reinterpretations.

“Saranghaeyo Art Live″ by Balming Tiger and Sungsil Ryu [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

“Saranghaeyo Art Live,” by alternative K-pop group Balming Tiger and artist Sungsil Ryu, pays homage to “Good Morning Mr. Orwell” with a series of performances that allude to achieving world peace, including an exercise routine and rock show.

But this video piece resembles a YouTube livestream, as an updated version of Paik’s original satellite broadcast.

“I remember learning about ’Good Morning Mr. Orwell’ in my art textbooks when I was in school,” Hong Chan-hee, a member of Balming Tiger, said during a press conference at the Nam June Paik Art Center earlier this month.

“And when we re-watched it for this project, it reminded us of how all our concerts and music festivals were canceled during the pandemic, and we had to perform through YouTube livestreams instead. I thought livestreams were extremely similar to satellite broadcasts.”

A still from ″Good Morning Mr. Orwell″ (1984) by Nam June Paik [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

“Humans always crave live interactions, which is shown in our heavy use of YouTube, TikTok or video calls,” said San Yawn, another member of the 11-man band. “This video work was our message to Mr. Paik that although the technology is different now from when he was alive, the human desire to interact in real time hasn’t changed much.”

Works in the “Big Brother Blockchain” exhibition expand on that discourse by touching on the blockchain. A digital database that can equally be accessed and used by anyone, the blockchain contradicts Orwell’s Big Brother character in “1984,” a symbol of monopoly and manipulation.

“This exhibition represents the blockchain’s fight against Big Brother,” curator Lee Soo-young said.

″Altar Music (liturgy for an indecisive believer)″ (2022) by Samson Young [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

The nine artists are Hong Min-ki, Chang Seo-young, HWI, Kwon Hee-sue, Hito Steyerl, Samson Young, Cho Seung-ho, Lee Yang-hee and Sanghee.

Of course, what would be a video art exhibition without virtual reality (VR)? Sanghee’s “Oneroom-Babel” (2022-23) used lidar scanning, which is a special combination of 3-D and laser scanning, to calibrate the inside of Korean studio apartments.

Visitors can explore the blobby, computer-generated spaces. The subject of studio apartments, Sanghee believes, correlates with the social status of young Koreans today.

“People tend to live in these small one-room houses when they’re at a point where they don’t have stable living yet, and their future is still uncertain,” Sanghee said. “I think that the stories from these apartments and the people living in them were intriguing.”

“Oneroom-Babel” (2022-23) by Sanghee [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

She believes that Paik would have used VR himself if he was still alive. “So I, too, as an artist, wanted to experiment with what potential these technologies have.”

Lee Yang-hee’s “Trip the Light Fantastic,” an edited film of numerous teenagers each repeating a different dance move on video calls, stemmed from the artist’s concern that the performing arts may someday disappear from the offline stage.

“It’s inevitable that we think of the future and what it holds,” said Lee, who is also a choreographer. “I’ve continuously been worried that the performing arts would become a thing of the past someday, with more and more dance challenges becoming popular on platforms like TikTok. But working in this project, I realized that an even brighter and fresher prospect for the performing arts may be waiting instead.”

“Trip the Light Fantastic″ by Lee Yang-hee [NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER]

“Wake Up! It’s 2024” continues until Feb. 23 of next year. “Big Brother Blockchain” runs until Aug. 18. The Nam June Paik Art Center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Mondays. The exhibitions are free to all.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]