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February 01, 2006
Another hero dies...
I know that most people are caught-up thinking about the recent passing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s wife, Coretta Scott King — which is very much due her. Today, though, I found out that one of my personal heroes, Nam June Paik, died. He was 74.
Paik was a musician, filmmaker, and artist (among other things). If you’ve heard his name before, it’s probably because Paik is most noteably attributed with being the “inventor of video art” (which, I would argue is most definitely true). In fact, it is because of Nam June Paik that I first began thinking of film and video as legitimate artform — and one of the reasons why I thought CalArts was the school of choice when I decided to return to school. (By the way, CalArts provided all of the Nam June Paik footage I could have ever dreamed of, despite the fact that most of his pieces are better seen in person.)
I was fortunate enough to be able to see a few of Paik’s full-scale installations at a showing at MOCA a while back. It was awesome. While most of the pieces presented were a bit dated and, since, many times copied, it was like viewing a piece of my history. It was as if I was coming into contact with a long lost relative.
Farewell, Nam June Paik. You made your mark — not only on me, but on culture, and the world.
Posted at 3:17 pm
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