In his 1963 exhibition Exposition of Music—Electronic Television, Korean American artist Nam June Paik showed how television images could be...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this passage. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentences as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

Sentence 1:

• In his 1963 exhibition Exposition of Music—Electronic Television,
• Korean American artist Nam June Paik
  • showed
    • how television images could be manipulated
      • to express an artist's perspective.

Sentence 2:

• Today,
• Paik
  • [?] considered the first video artist.
    [where ? = will be / had been / was / is]

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence gives us historical context:

• 'In his 1963 exhibition Exposition of Music—Electronic Television,'
  • This tells us about a specific event that happened in 1963
• 'Korean American artist Nam June Paik showed how television images could be manipulated to express an artist's perspective.'
  • Paik demonstrated that TV images could be changed and used as artistic expression

Now the second sentence starts with an important time marker:

• 'Today,'
  • This tells us we're talking about the present moment - right now

Now here's where we need to fill in the blank:

• 'Today, Paik ______ considered the first video artist.'

Let's look at our choices:

• We need a form of the verb "to be"
• The options are: will be, had been, was, is

What do we notice about the time context?

• 'Today' is a present time marker
  • It tells us the sentence is stating something that is true right now
  • When we're talking about the present moment, we need present tense

So we need is - the present tense form that matches 'Today.'

The complete meaning: In 1963, Paik showed how TV could be used as art, and today (in the present), he is considered the first video artist.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Matching Verb Tense to Time Markers

Time markers are words or phrases that tell you when something happens. Your verb tense must match the time context these markers establish:

Present time markers → Present tense verbs

• Today, the museum is open (not "was" or "will be")
• Currently, scientists believe this theory (not "believed" or "will believe")
• Now, we understand the problem better

Past time markers → Past tense verbs

• Yesterday, the store was closed
• In 1969, astronauts landed on the moon
• Last year, she graduated from college

Future time markers → Future tense verbs

• Tomorrow, they will announce the results
• Next week, the concert will begin

In this question:

• Time marker: "Today" (present)
• Correct verb: "is" (present tense)
• The match: "Today, Paik is considered the first video artist"

The technical term for this is "verb tense consistency" - making sure your verb tenses align with the time context of your sentence.