NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV 

DIRECTED BY AMANDA KIM

 

Opens Friday, March 24: 12:50   3:15   5:40   8:00

Film Forum: 209 West Houston St. west of 6th Ave.

 

"Nam June Paik, Moon is the Oldest TV" (2022) by Amanda Kim

 

2023 선댄스영화제(Sundance Film Festival, 1/19-29)에 다큐멘터리 경쟁 부문에 진출한 아만다 김(Amanda Kim) 감독의 다큐멘터리 '백남준: 달은 가장 오래된 TV(NAM JUNE PAIK: Moon is the Oldest TV)'가 3월 24일 맨해튼 필름포럼(Film Forum)에서 개봉된다. 영화 '미나리'의 배우 스티븐 연(Steven Yeun)이 백남준(1932–2006)의 글을 낭독하며, 음악은 윌 엡스타인과 류이치 사카모토(Will Epstein/Ryuichi Sakamoto)가 맡았다. https://filmforum.org 

 

-MoMA 2023 다큐멘터리 영화제(Doc Fortnight, 2/22-3/6): 백남준 다큐 '달은 가장 오래된 TV' 오프닝 나잇

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/?document_srl=4090081&mid=Lounge2

"Nam June Paik, Moon is the Oldest TV" (2022) by Amanda Kim

 

The father of video art and coiner of the term “electronic superhighway,” Nam June Paik was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Born in Japan-occupied Korea, Paik studied as a classical musician before moving to Germany in the 1950s. Forever changed after encountering avant-garde composer John Cage, Paik became a member of the influential experimental art movement Fluxus, which created new forms of art and performance. Eventually immigrating to the United States, he became fully engaged with television and video art in a way that would revolutionize how the world thinks of image-making in the electronic age.

 

 

Nam June Paik, Moon is the Oldest TV, 1965(2000), sculpture·installation, television, variable, 13 CRT TV sets, 12-channel video, color, silent, LD; E-Moon, 1-channel video, color, sound, DVD

First-time feature director Amanda Kim tells the remarkable story of Paik as a citizen of the world and trailblazing artist, who both saw the present and predicted the future with astonishing clairvoyance. With Steven Yeun reading Paik’s own written words — showcasing the artist’s strategic playfulness and immense creativity — Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV is a celebration of perhaps the most modern artist of all time.

 

   Nam June Paik, Moon is the Oldest TV, ca. 1960–1979, vintage TV, 48 x 47.5 x 45 cm.

 

“A gargantuan tower of televisions… a majestic beast of an artwork — captivating, ingenious, exhilarating, and kind of hilarious”: Nam June Paik’s most celebrated sculptural piece, The More, the Better as described by Andrew Russeth (Artforum’s Best of 2022). The Korean-born, German-educated, life-long New Yorker, Nam June Paik (1932-2006) coined the phrase “the electronic superhighway” long before the Internet was born. A consummate shape-shifter — classical composer, subversive trickster, pioneer of experimental “interventions” (he called “action music”) and, according to friends, speaker of nine languages (all badly).  Paik’s influences ranged from Hegel to Schoenberg, from traditional Korean dance to Buddhism, space travel, and beyond.  Debut filmmaker Amanda Kim’s captivating, kinetic documentary — narrated by actor Steven Yeun (MINARI, BURNING) — uses archival footage and clips from the artist’s work to recount his collaborations and fascinations with Joseph Beuys, Charlotte Moorman (the topless cellist), David Bowie, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Allen Ginsberg, Merce Cunningham, and his great mentor and friend, John Cage. 107 min. 

With support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund

 

 

Amanda Kim

Amanda Kim is a Korean American director and producer. A former creative director at Vice Media, she led U.S. video direction for i-D, Creators, and Garage magazine. Kim also worked on Viceland, Vice's TV channel, as a creative producer in an experimental incubator where she directed a nimble production crew to test out pilots and innovative content formats.

 

“Amanda Kim’s feature doc is as sprightly as the man whose life she follows. There’s an innocence here, and an enigmatic genius at play. Marina Abromovic (is) just one of many commentators… happy to contextualize Paik’s work and marvel all over again at the foresight of the man who invented the term ‘electronic superhighway.’ There’s a great deal of charm and humor to Paik’s work, and to this film, but it’s anchored by his perceptiveness and ability to contemplate weighty themes — and, yes, to anticipate the future. Paik’s daring ‘Good Morning Mr Orwell’ live New Year telecast from Paris and the US at the start of 1984, anchored by an increasingly drunken George Plimpton, is a highlight of the film.”

– Fionnuala Halligan, Screen

 

 

*백남준: 시간의 마에스트로' @뉴욕한국문화원, 2019