United States / South Korea 2023, 107 min, English, German and Korean, Hebrew & English subtitles
He studied to become a classical pianist, had a PhD in philosophy, and spoke twenty languages—without being understood in any of them. Nam June Paik, the father of video art, was more than an artist: he was a prophet and a relentless iconoclast. Born in Korea under the Japanese occupation, Paik made art in Germany and in the United States, always with a focus on burning issues like propaganda, oppression, and brainwashing. Described as a “cultural terrorist,” he embraced every new technology and promptly incorporated it into his art in a subversive way. Amanda Kim’s film tells his life story and spotlights the artists who influenced his work (Cage, Beuys, and of course, the Fluxus) using interviews, installation footage, and clips from films, proving that even fifty years later, the world has yet to catch up with Paik.
Previous Festivals: Sundance, CPH:DOX
Arts and Culture International Competition Portrait The artists: art and architecture docs Treasures of the Archive Official Website
Production: Jennifer Stockman, David Koh, Amanda Kim, Amy Hobby, Jesse Wann, Mariko
Production Company: Curatorial, JBS Arts
Editing: Taryn Gould
Cinematography: Nelson Walker
Music: Will Epstein, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Source:
Dogwoof