Edinburgh International Festival to Celebrate Nam June Paik on The Space, 8/8

In association with the Edinburgh International Festival, The Space (www.thespace.org), the free, digital arts service from Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC, is to present a retrospective of seminal artist Nam June Paik's workfrom Thursday, 8 August. It coincides with a major exhibition, TRANSMITTED LIVE: - NAM JUNE PAIK RESOUNDS, opening at the University of Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery, as part of this year's Edinburgh International Festival. The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Paik's first solo show, EXPOSITION OF MUSIC - ELECTRONIC TELEVISION (Wuppertal 1963) when the artist brought television into the realm of art for the very first time.

Four new video works inspired by Paik have been commissioned and will be exhibited simultaneously on www.thespace.org and at the University of Edinburgh, in this collaboration by Edinburgh International Festival, the Talbot Rice Gallery, the Nam June Paik Art Center and BBC Scotland Arts.

Exploring the theme of art and technology the quartet of new commissions includes leading Scottish artist, Craig Mullholland, German artist and Glasgow resident Torsten Lauschmann along with, Stephanie Mann and Adam Gierasimiuk - two recent graduates from Scottish art schools.

Visitors to www.thespace.org will be able to access a new film exploring Paik's legacy, including interviews with Pat Fisher, Principal Curator of Talbot Rice Gallery and Seong Eun Kim, curator of Nam June Paik Art Center. They will discuss the particular themes of the Edinburgh exhibition focusing on music and technology and offer insightsinto Scotland's history of invention from television itself to telephone and importantly electromagnetism.

The exhibition will include iconic works such as TV BUDDHA, film collaborations with John Cage, Merce Cunningham and Joseph Beuys as well as the artist's signature electronic collages such as GLOBAL GROOVE. The Space will also showcase substantial excerpts from some of these major film/video works.

The Space will broadcast live from 6pm at the opening of the Paik exhibition on Thursday, 8 August on the eve of the Edinburgh International Festival opening weekend.