The purpose of this exhibition is to show Nam June Paik’s continued interest, his philosophy and pursuit on a deep and delicate level through various works of his drawings, collage, performance records, video sculptures, video installations, and laser installation transformed in a form of video projection.  The title as well as the theme of the exhibition, ‘Telotopia’ is synthesized by combining ‘Tele’(in Greek, meaning far) from the word, television, which is considered Paik’s trademark and ‘Topia’ from the word, utopia which means ideal society. Teletopia reflects Paik’s artistic philosophy and vision which is evident when he portrayed in his works the ideal society based on communication and harmony between art and technology, and nature and humanity.  As can be inferred from his saying, “the role of artist is to contemplate the future,” Nam June Paik thought and contemplated endlessly about the future and expressed through his works the opinions that he obtained. The important issues he dealt with such as the combination and harmony of nature and technology, relationship between human and machines, and media communications, are still valid today.  This precisely is the world of Teletopia that Nam June Paik dreamed of.

As the sub-title, ‘from drawing to laser’, suggests, the exhibition showcases great many 156  excellent artworks. They consist of 16 large-scale video installation works such as and , 78 painting/drawing works, 42 pictures of Paik’s performance art photographed by Young Gyun Lim, 9 single channel videos, 7 documentary videos from 1993 Venice Biennale and 2000 New York Guggenheim exhibition, and a video documentation of a laser work from Bilbao exhibition.

This exhibition revives the Teletopia that Nam June Paik so passionately pursued and the viewers can experience the artist’s rich body of works displayed in 7 different spaces, subtitled, ‘Continuum’, ‘Phantasma’, ‘Teletopia’, ‘Originale’, ‘Performance Path’, ‘Kaleidoscopic view point’, and ‘Electronic Sublime’.  The viewers enter the exhibition hall and climb the stairs to the second floor and it’s there they begin viewing the exhibition.  Between the elevator and the exhibition room 2 on the second floor, 2 works, a video sculpture, and a video image, <9/23/69: Experiment with David Atwood>, can be seen. This space welcomes the viewers as it the two beautifully suspended video chandeliers greet the viewers, leading to the main space called the ‘Teletopia’. This first space also displays a 72 minute long single channel video work called “experiment with David Atwood” which is considered a master abstract piece of Nam June Paik.  Together the chandeliers and the large projection of abstract movement on the grand scale wall create a space that can be liken to a intangible but nevertheless existing body/space of  ‘Phantasma.’ It allows the viewers to imagine wide and far the art world where abstracts and concreteness, and reality and imagination co-exist.  The second floor’s exhibition room 2 can be considered as the space of experimental materialization of the exhibition’s title, ‘Teletopia’. This exhibition room produces a phantasmagorical atmosphere with movements of lights and colors.  In the middle of the room are which looks like a house from a fairytale and will remind the viewers of childhood dreams no matter who they are and which looks like a flower tree planted in a garden.  is a video installation that consists of 33 TV monitors, ordinary looking dressers that might be from 70 or 80’s American households, TV cases and the changing images inside them, its roof made out of backsides of laser disks, and a crow that’s sitting on it. It is an expression of what might be called ‘neo-environmental house’ which combines the old with the new and mechanical things with natural things. Next to that, there is a video piece made of laser which moves like a waterfall or vortex, Paik’s last medium which quickly became his passion. There is also which reminds the viewers of constellations on a night sky or highway and next to that, , robot Joseph Beuys.  After passing through the , the viewers will come upon a large-scale video, , which is considered to be Nam June Paik’s definitive piece in single channel video category.  Past the , entering into an opening where light is soft, the space is illuminated by and it symbolizes the hazy and warm world of unconsciousness. This room, with at the center, showcases Nam June Paik’s collage piece for the first time ever.  Consisted of 73 artworks, the piece is from the private collection of Ms. Kyung Hee Lee, an essayist and a childhood friend of Paik.  The majority of the artworks on the printing paper are pictures, phrases, and words and each is like a sign that hides a code or a riddle. These are the first pieces that Paik worked on after he was discharged from the hospital after suffering a stroke in 1996. Accordingly, deeper meanings are attached to these pieces and they are thought to have served the important role of rehabilitating the body and mind of the artist.  In the documentary room, the 7 documentary videos of Paik’s monumental exhibitions such as 1993 Venice Biennale where Paik was honored with the Golden Lion Award and 2000 New York Guggenheim Solo Exhibition provide the domestic viewers with an opportunity to experience and confirm Paik’s international reputation and excellence. 

In the corridor that leads to the balcony on the second floor, the viewers will come across the records of Nam June Paik’s achievements in the form of performance pictures of him taken by photographer, Young Gyun Lim and the essays written by the exhibition curator. On the balcony, the viewers can enjoy 4 s  made in 1990’s and 5 pure and innocent drawings and at the same time can glance down at the large-scale installation works on the first floor which might resemble a scene from a cartoon.  Leaving behind the drawings and walking down the stairs which leads to the first floor, the viewers will see Paik’s self-portrait and his famous saying, “There is no rewind button in life”.  Arriving on the first floor, the viewers will experience the grandeur scale of Nam June Paik’s video installations when observing , the highlight and climax of this exhibition which consists of 166 monitors and with sub-title ‘Death of Mozart’, and feel the sublimity of the whole electronic art that combines music, art, dance, technology, and electronics. Finally, the viewers return to the space that is the beginning and the end of this exhibition. Arranged here are , the most recent work in the exhibition and the experimental single channel videos from the early years between 1965 and 1972, which are projected on to a large screen.  Even after his death, Nam June Paik continues to be remembered and revered and this space is dedicated in praise of timelessness of his works.

The Nam June Paik Special Exhibition looks back and reaffirms the power of influence that Paik’s imagination and vision have had on culture and art and furthermore on modern society as a whole.  It is intended that the viewers experience Nam June Paik’s dream and vision to create his own utopia, ‘Teletopia’, through the harmony of nature, human, and technology, that is to say, the reciprocal effect between humanity and nature.
                                                                                                                      Guest Curator Inhee Iris Moon