Media-technological penetration was his métier – Nam June Paik's life comes to the big screen

Looking back, it can be said that Nam June Paik was far ahead of his time, coining the term "information superhighway" when the internet was still little more than a vague idea. The artist, who died in 2006, a year before the first iPhone hit the market, leaves behind a meaningful and multifaceted legacy, which is now being comprehensively documented for the first time.

The cinematic release of the video artist's biography , NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV, is on September 11, 2025.

In it, Korean-American filmmaker Amanda Kim Nam June Paik's career – from his studies in Munich and the harsh rejections at the beginning of his career to the success of The TV Buddha and Paik's canonization as the father of video art . Fascinating archival footage of all of Paik's works and interviews with many of his contemporaries provide a successful, well-rounded portrait of a groundbreaking artist who virtually predicted the internet. The production is realized and distributed by GRANDFILM , an independent film distributor for artistically valuable cinema.

Born in Japanese-occupied Korea, Paik and his family were forced to flee the country in 1950 due to the Korean War—a circumstance that had a lasting impact on his artistic work. His first works, including the 1963 exhibition "Exposition of Music-Electronic Television" in West Germany featuring manipulated television sets, were initially not met with much recognition.

Nevertheless, he continued to develop rapidly over the next ten years, creating iconic installations like TV Buddha , which today enjoy worldwide recognition. His significance as a video artist, technology visionary, and creator of floor-to-ceiling television tower sculptures has not yet been fully documented.

Therefore, the upcoming German cinema production represents a first milestone in making his work accessible to a wider audience. It has been a remarkable success, with 6 million people watching the one-hour special in South Korea alone.

Nam June Paik's artistic philosophy

Nam June Paik 's artistic vision emerged from a complex relationship with the technology of his time. He was not simply a user of new media. Rather, he saw himself as a critical designer of emerging electronic possibilities.

Technology as a tool and object of criticism

Paik recognized early on the creative potential of television and strove to

to design the TV screen as precisely as Leonardo, as freely as Picasso, as colorful as Renoir and as profound as Mondrian.”

His experiments with manipulated television sets began in 1963, when he distorted images using magnets and altered the wiring. His goal was not just to create new aesthetic experiences, but rather to "humanize" and reveal its intimate connection to the human body.

In his 1964 work "Robot K-456," Paik created a deliberately sloppy-looking humanoid figure that could walk, make sounds, and even urinate. In an exhibition at the Whitney Museum, he had the robot hit by a car on Madison Avenue. This was a staged event through which he addressed the ability of technology to both help and harm.

I use technology to hate it"

This famous utterance by Paik illustrates his ambivalent attitude. For him, television was a "dictatorial medium ," in which those at the top speak to those below, who can only listen and respond "yes. " "I think talking back is what democracy means ," he explained, understanding his art as an attempt "to enter into a dialogue with television .

Although Paik loved entertainment and pop culture, he incorporated them into his work and fundamentally transformed them. He sought to use telecommunications technologies to disseminate art and enable collaboration across long distances.

Humor as a means of provocation

As a central figure in the Fluxus movement, Paik strategically used humor to challenge traditional social values and institutional art. His spectacular and provocative performances are considered representative works of this movement. He continually challenged existing frameworks and presented thoughtful, revolutionary ideas in a humorous way.

For Paik, humor was not just entertainment, but an effective tool for dealing with contemporary issues. His witty yet revolutionary attacks on institutions, rules, and norms created space for change.

Because no matter how hard, no matter how difficult the situation may be, humor could somehow create space for change.”,

could be his legacy.

The most important works at a glance

Nam June Paik's groundbreaking artworks redefined the relationship between humans and technology. Known as the "father of video art ," he created installations that continue to influence the media landscape today.

TV Buddha and the connection between East and West

TV Buddha (1974) is one of Paik's most iconic installations. A Buddha statue contemplates its own image on a television screen, recorded by a camera in real time. This closed loop symbolizes self-reflection in a media-mediated world. As the Buddha—a symbol of Eastern wisdom—contemplates himself on the Western medium of television, a cultural bridge is created.

What's remarkable is that when viewers approach the screen, they also appear in the picture, allowing Paik to create an "electronic environment that is open and encourages audience participation."

Global Groove and the Democratization of the Media

With Global Groove (1973), Paik created a groundbreaking work of early video art. This 28-minute electronic collage begins with the prophetic words, "This is a glimpse into the video landscape of tomorrow, when you can tune into any television station on Earth ." Produced with John Godfrey at WNET, the work blends traditional Korean dances with American rock, Japanese Pepsi commercials with Navajo chants, and features appearances by John Cage and Allen Ginsberg.

Technically revolutionary was the use of the video synthesizer developed by Paik with Shuya Abe, which produced visual effects similar to today's video mashup.

Electronic Superhighway: A vision becomes reality

Electronic Superhighway: Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii (1995) embodies Paik's vision of a global communications network. The gigantic installation consists of 336 televisions, 50 video players, over 1,100 meters of cable, and 175 meters of multicolored neon tubes.

Each U.S. state is outlined by neon lines and displays specific video clips—for example, scenes from "Oklahoma!" for Oklahoma or footage of the Civil Rights Movement for Alabama. For Washington, D.C., Paik installed a camera that shows visitors in real time—a reminder of how media shapes our perception of ourselves and others.

Nam June Paik's works in museums worldwide

Paik's influence is reflected in the worldwide presence of his works. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum houses TV Garden (1974/2000), an installation in which monitors playing Global Groove are placed among living plants. The Smithsonian American Art Museum displays Electronic Superhighway as well as Megatron/Matrix (1995).

His works are also included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Australia, and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. His most recent traveling exhibition, "The Future Is Now," began in 2019 at London's Tate Modern and has toured the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

A life between cultures and systems

Nam June Paik's fragmented life reflects the political upheavals of the 20th century. As a child in Japanese-occupied Korea, he witnessed teachers forcing students to "repent" if they spoke their native language.

Identity as Korean, American, global citizen

As a "citizen of Korea, a minority nation in a minority continent," Paik described himself as a "necessarily cynical observer" who learned three Western and three Eastern languages during "18 years of wandering from Hong Kong via Cairo to Reykjavik ." This border-crossing existence made him "particularly sensitive to the East-West problem ." After fleeing during the Korean War, he lived abroad for more than three decades, describing his daily life as a "communication problem."

Artistic response to political systems

Paik's works, such as "Guadalcanal Requiem" (1977/1979) and "Good Morning Mr. Orwell" (1984), clearly demonstrate his political stance. The live broadcast of "Good Morning Mr. Orwell" was shown simultaneously in the United States, France, Germany, and South Korea—as a counter to George Orwell's dystopian projections. Paik was convinced that technology and rock music posed the greatest threat to state communism.

Return to Korea and fear of repression

Upon his return to Korea in 1984, Paik seemed unusually anxious and uncertain about how he would be received. Nevertheless, he was greeted like a national hero. This homecoming inspired a new phase of introspection.

He created a commissioned work for the 1988 Summer Olympics and subsequently used his international contacts to connect Korea with the world. He was instrumental in establishing the 1995 Gwangju Biennale and the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Influence on today's media culture

Paik's prophetic visions of the media landscape are more evident today than ever before. His experimental video collages of the 1970s anticipated the visual language of our digital present.

From MTV to TikTok: Paik's visual language lives on

The "father of video art" shaped MTV's aesthetic with his fast cuts and psychedelic colors. However, his 1973 work "Global Groove" anticipated far more—namely, a world in which "every artist would have their own channel"—a precise prediction of YouTube and social media. Young content creators today are amazed to discover that Paik was already using techniques they considered original in the 1970s.

Reception in pop culture

Paik's satellite productions reached an audience of millions—"Good Morning Mr. Orwell" alone was seen by 25 million people worldwide. He worked with artists such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, and the Philip Glass Ensemble. His installation "Electronic Superhighway ," featuring 336 television sets and cultural references for every US state, anticipated the fragmented communication of today's meme culture by establishing pop cultural snippets as a distinct form of communication.

What today's artists can learn from Paik

Paik's curious, experimental approach remains exemplary. Instead of using technology solely for a specific purpose, he encouraged "disassembly" and rethinking of technical possibilities. He understood technology as a "double-edged sword" yet used it to connect and communicate with people.

His work is now exhibited at Tate Modern, SFMOMA, and other leading museums, where it continues to attract young audiences and inspire numerous social media posts.

Anyone who wants to take an hour out of the constant and exhausting pull of the media landscape to gain a multifaceted and critical perspective from an artistic distance should definitely mark the film's release on September 11th in their calendars."

All information about the documentary and the German cinema release can be found on the GRANDFILM project page .