Paik, Nam June (näm j

n pīk), 1932–2006, Korean-American artist, b. Seoul. A performance and conceptual artist, Paik worked mainly with video, integrating visual images with music. A characteristic work, Fin de Siecle II (1989–90; Whitney Mus., New York City), incorporates hundreds of television monitors, confronting the viewer with multiple images and sounds.

Paik, Nam June

(born July 20, 1932, Seoul, Korea) Korean-born U.S. sculptor and video and performance artist. He studied music at the Universities of Tokyo and Munich and came to the U.S. in 1964. Inspired by Joseph Beuys and John Cage, he joined the Fluxus group. He is considered the father of video art. His sophisticated video displays, such as TV Buddha (1974), an installation with a Buddha contemplating himself on television, were seen as uniquely appropriate to the Information Age, in which fascination with electronic media has replaced spirituality. Prolific in many media, he was honoured with many major retrospectives in the late 20th century.