Nam June Paik, born in Seoul, was a pioneering avant-garde artist and a seminal figure in the development of media art on a global scale. After living in Hong Kong and Japan, he moved to Germany in 1956, where he became actively involved in the experimental art scene. There, he collaborated with contemporary avant-garde artists and began exploring radical performance practices that incorporated emerging technologies, laying the groundwork for his lifelong engagement with new media.

In 1964, Paik relocated to the United States, marking the beginning of his full-fledged exploration of video as an artistic medium. He developed a video synthesizer, a device that enabled the manipulation and synthesis of video imagery, combining this technological innovation with his ongoing investigations into music, the human body, and performance. This fusion became the foundation of Paik’s singular artistic vision.

From the 1980s onward, Paik expanded his practice to include satellite technology, orchestrating large-scale, live global television broadcasts that blurred the boundaries between avant-garde art and mass media. These groundbreaking projects reflected his ambition to democratize art and reimagine communication in the age of globalization. In 1993, he represented Germany at the Venice Biennale and was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Pavilion.

Continuing to push technological boundaries, Paik later incorporated laser technology into his work, further expanding the vocabulary of media art. Until his passing in 2006, he remained an indefatigable force in contemporary art, constantly evolving in both medium and message.

Paik believed that the role of the artist was to envision the future. Through his art, he pursued the ideals of global connectivity, intercultural dialogue, and the transformative power of communication across borders.

Night Flight (Vol de Nuit) is a video sculpture commissioned by the now-defunct French bank CSIA for its new headquarters in Paris. The work pays homage to French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whose adventurous spirit Paik deeply admired. Paik was particularly inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s literary works, especially The Little Prince and Night Flight.

The novel Night Flight is based on the real-life experiences of early airmail pilots who undertook perilous nighttime journeys in order to ensure the rapid delivery of mail, often competing with other modes of transport. Saint-Exupéry, himself a lifelong devotee of both literature and aviation, served as a French Air Force officer and was among the pioneers of night aviation. He disappeared in 1944 during a reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean Sea at the age of 44.

In this commemorative work, Paik constructed an airplane-shaped video sculpture comprising 44 television monitors, symbolically echoing the age at which Saint-Exupéry vanished. Through this assemblage, Paik not only honors the legacy of a writer and aviator, but also channels the spirit of exploration, innovation, and courage in the face of the unknown—qualities that resonated deeply with his own artistic philosophy.