Nam June Paik’s Nephew Donates $1 Million to Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums has announced that it received a $1 million gift from business school alumnus Ken Hakuta, the nephew of pioneering video artist Nam June Paik, as well as ten of Paik’s works.
Director Martha Tedeschi said, “Ken Hakuta is dedicated to the legacy of his uncle, Nam June Paik, and the important contributions he made to contemporary art. Ken’s generous support will lead to groundbreaking scholarship that will benefit students and scholars around the world.”
The gift will establish the Hakuta Family Endowment Fund, which will support a two-year Nam June Paik Fellowship for the advancement of scholarship and research on the artist’s contributions to twentieth-century art. Hakuta said, “Nam June Paik was a real renaissance man. He was a global thinker, media visionary, composer, writer, video artist, painter, sculptor, performer, engineer, television producer, and much more; the research topics on Paik, including the conservation of Paik video art, are limitless.” He added, “I could not be more pleased that the Harvard Art Museums will be the center of Nam June Paik research for generations to come, working with other institutions globally with an interest in Paik and, most importantly, educating the next generation of scholars.”
