Features key artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and other collections, including the Nam June Paik Estate Archive, acquired by the Museum in 2009. Features Paik's rarely seen installation Moon Projection with E Moon and Birds (1996), on loan from the Paik Estate. Korean-born artist Nam June Paik (1932-2006) is known for his cutting-edge approach to art, and this new volume features both well-known works - such as Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska - and more rarely seen pieces. It also includes an array of objects from the newly acquired Paik Archive at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (toys, televisions, correspondence, and newspapers). Crucial to our understanding of Paik's art, this archive reveals the central role of memory in his creative process, and firmly anchors his work within the social, political and technological contexts of his times. Author John G. Hanhardt considers key questions: "Who was Nam June Paik? - the world's best-known Korean-born artist?", "The world's best-known video artist?", "A Fluxus artist?", "A performance artist?", "An avant-garde composer and musician?", "A German artist?", "An American artist?" The simple fact is that Nam June Paik was all of these things, and more. Nam June Paik: Global Visionary is a new chance to examine the legacy of his work and how it had a pivotal role in transforming the 20th century art world. AUTHORS: Ken Hakuta, one of Nam June Paik's paternal nephews, created the highly popular Wacky Wallwalker toys in the 1980s and hosted The Dr. Fad Show, a children's television programme, which aired from 1987 to 1994. He is the executor of the Nam June Paik Estate. John G. Hanhardt is consulting senior curator for film and media arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Since beginning his career at the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art, he has curated film and media arts at the Walker Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Guggenheim Museum.
