Construction begins on Nam June Paik museum

Paik Nam June

government of Gyeonggi Province commenced the construction of the Nam June Paik Museum in Yongin, south of Seoul, on Tuesday as part of its efforts to remember the Korean-born American artist who is considered the father of video art.

Marking the 100th day of his death, the provincial government started work on the 28.9 billion (31 million USD) project that is set for completion next year.

The first museum to be named after the artist will display 67 of Paik's works, as well as personal belongings and a video archive of his 2,285 studies, said the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, the cultural arm of the province handling the museum.

The Gyeonggi foundation bought the artworks from Paik after signing a memorandum of understanding with him in 2001 to build the museum. The project moved into full force after Paik's death in January at his home in Miami, Florida.

The museum will stand on 10,000 pyeong (33,000 square meters) of land, 1,695 pyeong of which is reserved for buildings.

Coinciding with the groundbreaking, the foundation is presenting a reproduction of his art studio for a month from this week. A hall at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul has been decorated to emulate his Brook Street Studio in New York, where Paik had worked since the 1960s. The hall is littered with a pile of television sets, scribbles of telephone numbers, sketches, posters and photographs of his friends on the wall, and shelves full of tangled wires, instruments and helmets.

"This exhibition is to remember and look back on his artistry, achievements and his life, rather than to display his works," Song Tae-ho, president of the foundation, said. (Yonhap News Agency)