While this book is ostensibly based on the results of an international symposium held to commemorate the ninetieth anniversary of Paik Nam June’s birth, it also seeks to go beyond simply remembering him and summarizing his achievements, and to bring his artistic experimentation into the present. In fact, as the conservation and restoration process of The More, The Better has shown, the task of preserving his works, which are now part of the collections at many institutions around the world, in a way that is relevant to today’s viewers is a significant challenge for conservators and institutions. As such, the diverse opinions on media art conservation raised in this book can serve as a meaningful reference for a variety of issues that may be encountered in the future. In addition, this research publication also aims to draw attention to the potential of Paik’s legacy for future generations. In conclusion, the spirit of experimentation that Paik pursued is still relevant today, and his imagination continues to be further expanded on by artists of later generations. His artistic output throughout his life was vast, and his experiments were always in a category all their own. To be sure, it still takes a great deal of time and effort to get to know the creative artist known as Paik Nam June, whose artistic achievements were clearly ahead of their time. In any event, we know that our Paik Nam June is still smiling brightly in the photo of him looking up at his work that was taken at the opening ceremony of The More, The Better all those years ago.
--- p.9, 「Han Jungin (Curator, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea)
INTRODUCTION TO MY PAIK NAM JUNE: MEMORIES, CONSERVATION, AND THE SPREAD OF DISCOURSE」중에서
In the mid-1970s, whenever Paik was in town, he would stop by my minuscule MoMA office at the end of a long hallway. Surrounded by an overflowing bookshelf and an overstuffed filing cabinet, we would sit and chat about his new projects and the state of video and the world. He usually arrived with an armful of treasures: his out-of-print early catalogs, old, yellowed newspaper clippings with reviews that he would sign, posters, and other rare printed matter. In his inimitable sagacity, he knew that my collection of ephemera documenting video’s history would one day become an important research archive at MoMA. He knew I would save and organize everything, which I did. Eventually, I transferred it all to the MoMA Library, where it became important resource material.
Barbara London
--- p.24, 「Paik Nam June: Visionary Artist and Diplomat」중에서