Paik Nam-june’s Robot K Rebooted for 20th Anniversary at Paik Center
Creatrip Team
a month ago
The Paik Nam-june Art Center in Yongin has restored movement to Paik Nam-june’s pioneering robot K-456 for the artist’s 20th death anniversary. First shown in 1964 at the New York Avant-Garde Festival, K-456 was one of the earliest moving robots in modern art. The Center’s restoration (based on technical manuals from collaborator Shuya Abe) made the 1996 version operable again and debuted it in an “AI Robot Opera” performance that referenced Paik’s 1965 Robot Opera. The revived robot rolled, turned its head and raised its arms amid a program blending live robots, AI-written scenarios, and media art, prompting audience applause. The exhibition “A Panoramic Paik Nam-june” (through Feb. 22) screens interveiws and shows works like TV Piano and Video Chandelier (video artworks) to explore Paik’s foresight about video, networks, and tech civilization. The Center will continue programs and a media art festival this year, including family and screening events and a show focused on Paik’s planetary series. (Paik Nam-june is a seminal Korean media artist; TV Piano and Video Chandelier are examples of his video art.)
