Influential Korean video artist Paik Nam-june‘s largest video tower, “The More, The Better,” will start operating at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, in September following the completion of a test run last week.

“We will most likely resume operation in September to coincide with the exhibition ’The More, The Better Archive,‘” an official from the national museum told The Korea Herald on Monday. The exhibition aims to give new life to Paik’s masterpiece, which was initially planned for June but pushed back to September.

The 18.5-meter-tall tower had a six-month test run starting in January and ending on July 8. The video tower, created in 1988, was completely shut down in 2018 due to technical problems, with frequent repairs having been made since 2003. The museum announced a three-year restoration plan in September 2019, intending to maintain the work‘s prototype. The test run was part of the final stage of the restoration project.

Another exhibition, “Paik Nam June Effect,” will be at MMCA Gwacheon in November to present artists from the late-20th century who were influenced by Paik, according to the museum. The museum announced plans to remember Paik’s legacy early this year, including an exhibition schedule and follow-up on the restoration process of “The More, The Better.”



Meanwhile, Daejeon Museum of Art announced it has begun restoration work on Paik‘s “Fractal Turtle Ship,” starting Thursday. The artwork was displayed in 1993 at the Taejon Expo ’93 in Daejeon. The large-scale video piece consists of 309 monitors and antique objects. Paik created the work in homage to the Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin. According to the museum, the restoration is expected to be completed in October.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Paik‘s birth. The Korean-born avant-garde artist was born in 1932 in Seoul and died at 74 in 2006 in Florida, US.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldocpr.com)