Nam June Paik

Nam June Paik (1932–2006) was a Korean-born artist whose work helped establish video as an artistic medium. Trained in music, he moved through Japan and Germany before settling in New York, becoming involved with Fluxus and artists including John Cage. His early experiments altered television sets and treated electronic images as material that could be manipulated.

Working with engineer Shuya Abe, he developed a video synthesiser. Projects such as Global Groove, TV Buddha and TV Cello combined performance, sculpture and broadcasting. His satellite production Good Morning Mr. Orwell connected live events across countries, anticipating new possibilities for electronically shared culture.