Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rteacher]

Paik Nam-June, famous Korean-born avant-garde video artist, died Sunday of natural causes. His ashes will be "buried" in three different locations that were important to him: Korea, New York and Germany.

Here's the link to a bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik

Here's an excerpt from the Korea Times article:

His family, including his Japanese-American wife Shigeko Kubota and nephew Ken Paik Hakuta, will hold a press conference at the chapel Tuesday morning to announce detailed information regarding the burial venue.

However, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea has prepared a place for condolence callers to light incense in front of his representative work ``The More, the Better'' at the museum.

A local memorial service will be held as early as Feb. 7 at the National Museum of Art in Toksugung Palace in downtown Seoul, according to Kyonggi Cultural Foundation.

``Paik's funeral service will be held on Feb. 4 in New York, followed by a cremation the next day. His ashes are expected to be brought here as early as Feb. 6,'' said the foundation, which is constructing a museum dedicated to the artist in Yongin, Kyonggi Province. ``Although we have to consult with his family, a local memorial service will be possible Feb. 7 or later.''

Paik had reportedly been working on a new piece in his New York studio, tentatively titled ``Mom,'' before he moved to Miami in November to escape the winter cold. The new work, whose theme is a Korean woman, is scheduled to be unveiled in April but needs some final touches.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200601/kt2006013117134210230.htm

Visitors look at the video art work, ��Phiber Optik�� by the late Paik Nam-june during an exhibition at the Insa Art Center in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Visitors to the exhibition surged after news of the artist��s death became known to the world.

[Rteacher]

He's also known for this famous quote:"Art is just fraud. You just have to do something nobody else has done before", he famously declared during an interview with a Korean newspaper ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik

[mindmetoo]

I was surprised my students knew who he was. I can't imagine many Canadian students going "Oh my god, Alex Colville is dead!" They'd be like "Alex who?"

[Rteacher]

Frankly, I'd never heard of Alex Colville either, and I sometimes consider myself an artist. (I knew about Paik Nam-June from some articles I'd seen in Art News, etc.) Of course, that might be because I'm usually more interested in more abstract, crazy stuff... Anyway, I checked out some of Coleville's stuff, and it does seem to be excellent. Here's one of his "war drawings":

[Tiger Beer]

thats too bad.. i saw a lot of artwork in Manhattan 5-7 years ago.

[Rteacher]

Here's "Casablanca" by Paik Nam-June:

[Rteacher]

This one, Couch Potato, is more my style (minus the video tech stuff...):

[Bulsajo]

He'll be missed. I think this is his most recognizable:

Nam June Paik - The more the better - Installation pour 1003 moniteurs - Jeux Olympiques de Séoul - 1988

For more Paik Nam-June images click here



As my most famous relative (mom's second cousin), I'd love to start a Colville thread.


But he's not dead yet.



In the meantime:

On a River, 1996, Acrylic polymer emulsion on hardboard, 48.0 x 110.8 cm, Private Collection


"Embarkation", 1994 by Alex Colville (b. 1920)
acrylic polymer emulsion on panfibre 43.2 x 69.9 cm

Unfortunately my favorite, the one with the man walking his dog through a park at night, is not available for linking.

[Rteacher]

OK...you're related to famous Canadian artist, Alex Coleville. I'm the reincarnation of Arshile Gorky (co-founder of American Abstract Expressionism...)





The top one is titled "The Waterfall"...the bottom one is "Garden in Sochi" (1941) - I don't know the title of the middle piece...

[Rteacher]

Here are some samples of my stuff. There's not really much resemblance to Gorky's, but I intuitively think that I may be the same person reincarnated: He was also Armenian; he was a seeker of spiritual truth; he suffered a lot, and he eventually hung himself in Conneticut, July, 1948... I was born in May, 1949, in Massachusetts; until I was around five years old my neck and head were bent over to one side; I was voted "best artist" by my peers in elementary school; I received an individual artist's grant from United Arts of Central Fla., won a "Best of Show" award, exhibited at Orlando City Hall's gallery and got represented by a Sotheby's agent - all with practically no formal training...







The titles are "Return of Arshile Gorky", "Magic Carpet Creatures in Space", and "Creationing2"...

[Hollywoodaction]

[Bulsajo]

[Rteacher]

Self-portrait? - looks like good art with very dark, sinister (possibly paranoid) overtones ...

Here's my self-portrait:

[Bulsajo]

I like it very much, but I guess I'll have to take your word that it's a self portrait...

Mine is "Man and Sisiutl".
Pen and ink on illustration board, using traditional Kwakuitl forms and conventions.
The Sisiutl is a mythological creature of Northwest Coast legend.
http://www.civilization.ca/aborig/grand/gh09eng.html
http://www.coastalpeoples.com/purchase/masks/sisiutl_by_simon_dick.htm

[Rteacher]

Northwest Canada? Hmmm... I bet it was a primitive human form that crossed over from Asia - maybe Mongolia (probably related to "bigfoot'...) Your artwork's pretty good. If you have enough stuff we could open a gallery - You can manage it, and I'll give you my stuff on consignment... (Maybe fill out the gallery with Coleville prints and some of my black- light posters...)

On the "Off-Topic" forum thread, I'm trying to instigate an art competition among expats in Korea, but I've been accused of trolling, using reincarnation as bait ...