‘Viva the Errors!’:
Lessons from Nam June Paik for the Digital Age

Could you please briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Jung Ah Woo, I teach Art History in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Pohang University of Science and Technology.

Many people have heard the name Nam June Paik, but it is actually very difficult to describe the kind of person he was in a single sentence. How would you, professor, describe Nam June Paik as an artist?
People usually know Nam June Paik as a first video artist. If he were alive today, I think he would likely have become the first artificial intelligence artist because he was someone who continuously explored the relationship between humans and technology. However, he passed away in 2006. Therefore, I would like to define Nam June Paik as an "artist who causes us to keep thinking about the relationship between humans and technology."

Germany is often mentioned as an indispensable place when discussing Nam June Paik. The atmosphere in Germany's art world during that period - how would you describe it?
Paik graduated from a university in Japan. He studied aesthetics and art history at the University of Tokyo, but he was originally very interested in classical music. During his studies in Japan, he wrote a thesis on Schoenberg [1] and graduated, after which he developed a deep interest in contemporary music. So, while looking for the best place to study contemporary music, he decided to study abroad in Germany.

He enrolled at the University of Munich in 1956. The German art scene was still suffering from the aftermath of World War II at the time, and there was a strong trend emerging among many young artists seeking bold and radical break away from existing traditions and conventions. This is when Paik met Karlheinz Stockhausen [2], credited with laying the foundations for electronic and contemporary music. He also met John Cage [3] at one of Cage’s festivals held as part of the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music.

Also, as is well known, a group in Germany called ZERO [4] was carrying out an experimental movement to restart art from 'zero' with the use of light, movement, and machinery. We can say that Paik arrived in Germany at the very time when avant-garde currents seeking to break away from tradition were rapidly spreading in the scene.

The Fluxus movement, emerging in Germany in the 1960s, proposes a concept that still sounds somewhat unfamiliar today. If we were to put it very simply, what kind of art movement was Fluxus?
Fluxus translates literally to "flow" in Latin. This movement began when Lithuanian designer George Maciunas [5]sought to introduce a group of avant-garde young artists active in Germany and New York at the time.

Artists that were part of this Fluxus movement were active in a wide variety of fields, including not only painters but also musicians, poets, designers, visual artists, and dancers. Just like its name, which literally means "flow," it was a movement to transcend the definitions and boundaries of existing art and for different genres to come together to create new art. However, as you know, artists strongly dislike being confined within a mold and are not pleased to be grouped into a single category. Because they were such free-spirited individuals, it seems that defining Fluxus as a single, unified group was actually quite difficult.

It appears that initially George Maciunas, as a curator, intended to bind them into a single group and introduce them as one group. But because the participating artists possessed such free and independent tendencies, they ultimately came to be remembered as a loose network and art movement rather than remaining as a single union. I suspect this is precisely why we are somewhat unfamiliar with Fluxus.

In what way then did Germany's experimental art environment and the Fluxus experience at the time influence Paik's artistic universe?
It can be said to have had a decisive influence. As mentioned earlier, the atmosphere in society and the trends in the German art scene at the time provided fertile ground for a very bold and radical departure from conventional art. At the same time, Germany was also an environment where artists working in completely different fields were able to come together and experiment freely.

In the end, I am convinced Paik presenting an exhibition utilizing television in art for the first time was an experiment made possible precisely because of this fertile avant-garde soil in Germany. The corresponding exhibition was held in Wuppertal, Germany, in 1963. Paik held his first solo exhibition at the Parnass Gallery there, where he utilized about ten television sets to experiment for the first time with how the everyday tool of television could become a tool for art.

An interesting point to note is the fact that the title of the exhibition at the time was still "Exhibition of Music." Paik himself must have thought he was pioneering new music, but ultimately, it became an opportunity to expand art into a completely different realm.

Elements such as humor, experimental spirit, and playfulness frequently appear in Nam June Paik's early works. Could this affinity also be considered an important characteristic of Fluxus? I would be curious to hear about the similarities and differences between him and his artistic comrade, German Joseph Beuys.
Yes, that is a very good question. In fact, if you think about when humor arises, laughter occurs when we deviate significantly from the predictable outcome we were expecting. For instance, when someone who appears very dignified and gentlemanly performs an unexpectedly ridiculous act, or when someone very beautiful and elegant does something completely unexpected. Eventually, humor is created the moment we are confronted with deviance from what we expected.

The same was true for Fluxus artists. They acted in ways that boldly broke away from all the norms and conventions of art that had previously been considered ‘predictable’, and audiences at the time found joy and delight in such behavior.

Even back then, there was a strong perception that art had to be especially noble and dignified. For instance, one convention saw everyone having to sit in concert halls quietly and that performances had to be appreciated solemnly. However, Fluxus artists intentionally broke those very conventions. Consequently, at the time, it was perceived as a highly challenging and, at times, destructive act.

Many artists with such tendencies gathered within Fluxus. They were people who continuously questioned the existing order and authorities and sought to break down the boundaries in the arts. As one of these artists, Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys [6] can be considered representative artists who deeply resonated with one another. It seems likely that from the moment they first met, they felt "Ah, here is someone with a soul like mine."

The two first met in Germany in 1961 and worked together as artistic collaborators until Joseph Beuys passed away in 1986. There is an interesting anecdote illustrating their relationship. It is said that at Paik’s solo exhibition held at the Parnass Gallery in Wuppertal in 1963, Paik had prepared a piano, but Joseph Beuys smashed it to pieces with an axe. Paik was so shocked that he wondered, "Why is he so radical?" However, the artistic vision they shared was clear. They believed that art up until then had been too detached from people's daily lives and that art needed to return to everyday life. But their approaches differed with Beuys placing greater interest in society, nature, and mythical elements, while Paik paid more attention to machines and science and technology.

A prime example illustrating this is Joseph Beuys’s representative work, the 7,000 Oak Trees project. As part of this project, which began at Documenta Kassel in 1982, he planted oak trees and erected basalt pillars together throughout the city. By placing artificial sculptures alongside living trees, he sought to demonstrate how with the passing of time and as the trees grew, they transformed the city and enriched people's lives.

On the other hand, Paik spent effort contemplating what profoundly affected people in their daily lives and found the answer to be "machines" such as televisions. By making use of televisions as a tool for art, Paik sought to pursue art that draws people closer to people's everyday lives. In this respect, I believe the two shared considerable artistic comradery, literally of one soul, sharing a common critical awareness of seeking to transform daily life through art.

At the same time, Nam June Paik clearly possessed shamanistic tendencies. Joseph Beuys was no exception. Both men possessed their own mythical worldviews that were difficult for others to easily understand, and I believe it was indeed in this respect that they resonated with each other the most and were able to harmonize with each other so well.

So, how was Nam June Paik, who was active in Germany at the time, perceived by the broader art world and its audiences? Was he a shocking experimentalist, or was he regarded as an artist symbolizing a new era?
In fact, Nam June Paik was a very shocking figure back then. John Cage once remarked, "I don't understand why on earth he acts so extremely. He seems to be behaving too frighteningly," and even Paik himself went as far as to say, "I am the Yellow Peril. I am the Yellow Disaster."

Nowadays, no matter where you go in the world, if you say you are from Korea, there will be almost no one who does not know Korea. But, if we recall the late 1950s and early 1960s, the era when Paik introduced himself in Germany by saying, "I am an artist from Korea," it is difficult to easily imagine just how great the prejudice and unfamiliarity he had to face must have been.

In that context, Nam June Paik was accepted as an even more alien presence in the German art world at the time, while at the same time being also perceived as a very mysterious figure. So, I think the radical and destructive performances he displayed were also received in a more dramatic and amplified form.

However, with the mid-1960s passing, the situation began to change little by little. As he continued his work, including collaborations with Charlotte Moorman, the production of robots, and the active use of television as an art medium, it seems he began to be recognized not merely as an artist of shock and destruction, but as one symbolizing the innovation of a new era.

In today’s era where AI and digital technology are rapidly changing our lives, what message do you think Nam June Paik and Fluxus still convey to the younger generation of today?
When many people think of Nam June Paik, they likely think of him first as the founder of video art. However, what we must also observe is the fact that the future he envisioned is now coming into realization, one by one, in our reality today.

For example, as early as the 1970s, he spoke of the need to establish a high-speed electronic information network connecting the entire world (his so-called "Electronic Superhighway"). Furthermore, when a robot he created in the 1960s was involved in a traffic accident during his solo exhibition in New York in 1982, he predicted the future when he said, "By the 21st century, an era will come where robots get into traffic accidents."

As such, Paik was a figure who foresaw a future that has become our present with astonishing accuracy. But how could he have made such predictions? I believe the reason lies in his fundamental worldview. He held the extremely optimistic view that science and technology would constantly advance, and that humans would eventually utilize these advanced technologies for the betterment of society and improvement in our lives. In contrast, today, whenever new technologies, including artificial intelligence, emerge, we feel both anticipation and fear. It is more common to think of the risks before the possibilities that new technologies will bring.

However, considering Nam June Paik, I feel I can gain a little more faith in humanity. This is because his optimistic belief, that while technology will continue to advance, humans will eventually utilize it for the better and for the benefit of humanity, resonates deeply even today.

On the other hand, there is a letter from Nam June Paik that I really love. As I recall, a friend asked Paik to write a piece for a book about Yoko Ono, but Paik ended up sending in the manuscript quite late. Along with it, he sent a letter apologizing and in it there is a passage that reads as follows: At the end he closes the letter with: "Viva the errors!” celebrating making mistakes.

I believe this one phrase is an important message Nam June Paik conveys to us. Everyone will make mistakes. And mistakes are similar to the humor I mentioned earlier. When we expect a certain outcome but something unexpected happens, we call it a mistake. However, such unexpected results can in fact represent an alternative possibility, a new source of humor, or sometimes even lead to the most creative achievements.

Therefore, it seems Nam June Paik is telling us not to be afraid of mistakes. He is putting forward adopting an attitude of being a little more forgiving of mistakes, accepting humor with an open mind, and viewing unexpected outcomes not merely as failures but appreciating them for the new possibilities they give rise to. In this respect, I believe Nam June Paik is an artist who still conveys a particularly important message for us today.


Interview & Concept: Sohee Shin
German Translation: Leslie Klatte
English Translation: Star Korea AG