Nam June Paik: First video artist in retrospect

A major retrospective of the man widely considered to be the world’s first video artist opens at Tate Liverpool this week.

The exhibition showcases ninety works by Korean/American artist Nam June Paik in the first major retrospective since his death in 2006 and the first UK-based Paik exhibition since 1988.

Celebrating his reputation as the inventor of ‘media art,’ works from all stages in his career, several of which have never before been exhibited in the UK, demonstrate his diverse talents, visionary use of technology and inventiveness.

Click here to preview the exhibition in pictures

His early manipulated television works Zen for TV1963 and Magnet TV 1965 feature alongside the seven TV Buddhas, four robot sculptures, two TV cellos and the mesmerising projection One Candle, 1989.

Rare photographs and performance footage show the artist’s collaboration with cellist Charlotte Moorman, his friendship with and the influence of artists such as Joseph Beuys, John Cage and Karheinz Stockhausen, and the times he worked with famous names like David Bowie and Yoko Ono.

The Foundation for Art and Creative Techology, which collaborated with Tate Liverpool in setting up the retrospective, will present the UK premiere of the installation of major installation Laser Cone 1998 alongside a series of single-screen and video documents including Global Groove 1973 and satellite video Bye Bye Kipling 1986.

Nam June Paik retrospective is at Tate Liverpool from 17 December 2010 until 13 March 2011, Admission £6/£5, www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/