Illustration by Maria Manhattan
1932-present
Nam June Paik was born on July 20, 1932 in Seoul, Korea. He studied music, art history and philosophy at the University of Tokyo, and in Germany at the Universities of Munich and Cologne, and the conservatory of Music in Freiburg. In the early 1960s, Paik, John Cage and Yoko Ono were part of the avant- garde international art group, Fluxus (from ”to flow”) and moved to New York in 1964. A visionary performance and conceptual artist and composer, he works mainly with video, global satellite broadcasts, sculpture, and most recently, on site-specific laser installations—integrating visual images with music.
Throughout his career, Paik has found inspiration in working with some of the most innovative musicians, artists, poets, dancers, and technicians of his day.
