Korean contemporary

131 Pages·2012·30.34 MB·English

Korean Eye 2012
Booth-Clibborn Editions
Korean Eye 2012
Sponsored by:
Choe Kwang-shik Tim Miller
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Director, People, Property & Assurance,
The Republic of Korea Standard Chartered Bank and
Chairman, Standard Chartered Korea
It gives me great pleasure to again offer my The Ministry’s role is to develop and Welcome to Korean Eye 2012 I would also like to extend my thanks and
wholehearted support to Korean Eye 2012. implement a wide range of policies to congratulations to the Korean Eye team,
promote culture, arts, sports and tourism Korean Eye has provided an excellent the Standard Chartered teams in London
The success of the inaugural Korean Eye: in order to provide a wide variety of platform for Korean art to be showcased in and Seoul, and the Saatchi Gallery who have
Moon Generation exhibition, held at cultural opportunities. It is thus natural Seoul, New York, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and worked hard to make this exhibition
the Saatchi Gallery in London in 2009, for the Ministry to support Korean Eye’s London, allowing over 700,000 visitors to a success. My thanks also go out to all of
has subsequently been built upon year role in producing this international date to enjoy this unique artwork. the sponsors and artists and to those of
after year, and we are very proud to have exhibition on Korean contemporary art It is our hope that these exhibitions will you visiting the show.
been able to introduce so many of our and providing a regular platform for Korean bring international appreciation for the
leading young contemporary artists to art and artists to present themselves, depth of talent within Korea, providing an Enjoy the exhibition.
the international art world. both at home and abroad. excellent opportunity for more established
contemporary Korean artists and upcoming
The follow-up exhibition, Korean Eye: This year, Korean Eye’s largest exhibition talent to step into the international arena.
Fantastic Ordinary, was exhibited throughout to date, to be held at the Saatchi Gallery in
2010 in London and Singapore, followed London and taking up its entire 70,000 sq. ft. The Saatchi Gallery, famous for discovering
by Seoul during the G20 Summit. The third space, will be launched in July and run for and promoting obscure but promising
exhibition, Korean Eye: Energy and Matter, the entire duration of the Olympic Games; artists, reviewed over 2,000 Korean emerging
was previewed at the National Assembly made even more special by the fact that artists’ portfolios, provided by Korean-Eye, to
in Seoul before a run in New York at Korea has been chosen to host the Winter select the 33 artists for this exhibition. It will
the Museum of Art and Design and a very Olympics in 2018. be the first time that the entire Saatchi Gallery
successful showing in Abu Dhabi at the has been given over to artworks outside
Fairmont Hotel, where it was held under the I’m delighted that this new exhibition, built on its own collection, reflecting Standard
patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan the success of the previous exhibitions, will Chartered’s strong support for the exhibition
bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. not only provide audiences worldwide with the and the focus by the Saatchi Gallery’s
opportunity to experience the strong, visceral curatorial team on arresting contemporary
Korea is renowned for its fast-growing and visionary contemporary art of Korea, but art, wherever in the world it is being made.
economy and ability to create global brands, will also give the Korean art community a
such as Samsung and LG. Along with its new platform to widen their communication For over 150 years, Standard Chartered has
economic strength, Korea has shown a channels with the rest of the world. supported diversity and inclusion within our
strong and vibrant artistic and cultural scene global communities – in this instance, as the
with huge possibilities and the capacity to Lastly, I would like to offer my sincere main sponsor of the Korean Eye exhibitions.
become a leading part of the international art congratulations and thanks to the organizers, The benefits of this type of exhibition are
world, as seen in the increasing popularity the sponsors, the catalogue publisher and many, such as helping to promote discussion
of hallyu, or the Korean Wave. It’s easy to all those concerned in this fantastic and understanding of cultural differences and
recognise the ingenuity and diversity of initiative—especially the selected artists. similarities, and for people in other countries
Korean art, quite distinct from Chinese and I very much look forward to following the and cultures to experience and appreciate
Japanese contemporary expression. Rooted future of these artists. Korean art. The timing of the exhibition,
in a magnificent heritage, contemporary running throughout the 2012 London
artists in Korea take into account global as Olympic and Paralympic Games, where the
well as local issues in their work, while also international spotlight will be on the UK,
blending in individual characteristics, which provides a unique opportunity for both artists
result in a uniqueness that makes the world and visitors alike.
sit up and take notice.
Nigel Hurst David Ciclitira & Serenella Ciclitira
Chief Executive, Saatchi Gallery Founders of Korean Eye
The Saatchi Gallery’s role is to bring Wherever you go in Korea, there is fluency Following the success of the last three Korean Eye 2012 opens at the Saatchi
contemporary art to as wide an audience as with technology and incredible attention to Korean Eye exhibitions, Korean Eye: Moon Gallery on July 26 and will be on show
possible and make it accessible, and I would design and detail that comes to the fore in Generation, Korean Eye: Fantastic Ordinary during the London Olympic and Paralympic
like to thank Standard Chartered and Korean its very diverse new art, which is why we and Korean Eye: Energy and Matter, we are games until September 23. This gives us a
Eye for choosing to work with us towards wanted to take this opportunity to show it delighted to present Korean Eye 2012. unique opportunity to reveal the breadth of
this aim. to the wider world. contemporary Korean culture and we hope
The 33 artists in Korean Eye 2012 were the exhibition will reach out to a new audience
Korean Eye 2012, and this special Through our collaboration with Standard chosen from over 2,000 artists, who who will be able to share in our passion.
collaboration, presents a wonderful Chartered and Korean Eye, the Saatchi submitted portfolios containing more than
opportunity to bring Korean art to a new Gallery has already hosted two smaller 28,000 works. Korean Eye 2012 is a tribute Special thanks must go to our main partner,
international audience in London to coincide scale exhibitions of new Korean art: Moon to the extraordinary standard of the artwork Standard Chartered, without whom none
with the Olympic Games. The Saatchi Generation in 2009, and Fantastic Ordinary and the dedication of the Saatchi Gallery of this would have been possible, and their
Gallery believes that contemporary art in 2010. Both were hugely popular with our in helping us select and create the final continued support of this initiative shows
should be available to everyone, fuel debate visitors. Korean Eye 2012 will provide the exhibition. As a result this is the largest a dedication to the promotion of Korean
and become integrated into a nation’s largest survey to date of work by young show we have ever staged. Enthusiasm contemporary art. We would also like to
culture. Over the last three years, the Saatchi Korean artists, and be the very first time for contemporary Korean art is growing thank all of our other sponsors for their
Gallery has hosted seven out of the top ten this group of artists have shown their work continuously, and what was once an idea generosity and commitment to this exciting
most visited exhibitions in London, according together. It will also be the first time that the has blossomed into a multi-exhibition exhibition. Lastly, We would like to thank all
to The Art Newspaper’s international survey Saatchi Gallery has chosen to help curate initiative with accompanying publications, the team at Parallel Contemporary Art and
of museum attendance, and attracts over and show a major exhibition of work from including Korean Eye: II, to coincide with the Saatchi Gallery, for their hard work in
1.3m visitors a year. The Gallery’s website outside its own collection. the launch of this exhibition. Korean Eye’s making the exhibition a reality.
has also become a global meeting place for mission is to introduce as many people to
people interested in art. Korean Eye is set to play a key role in Korean contemporary art as possible, so that We are pleased to welcome you to Korean
shaping our understanding of these artists’ they can experience such fantastic artwork Eye 2012, and hope you find as much in the
This important survey of work highlights work and provides an important gateway to and talent first hand. work as we have.
an exciting new generation of artists who the wider culture of their homeland, because
have recently emerged, producing work that they have absorbed many aspects of life in
provides an arresting insight into the future Korea and chosen very individual ways to
of art in Korea. communicate this, showing extraordinary
talent and energy. Through this exhibition,
Now is a particularly exciting time for Korean Eye and Standard Chartered are
contemporary art wherever it is being clearly embracing new art. I would also
made. As the world grows smaller through like to applaud the Korean government’s
information technology, for which Korea is a commitment to its contemporary art scene
world leader, the art world grows larger, in and support of emerging Korean artists.
inverse proportion. It is now possible to see
work as it is being made In Africa, America, Last, but most importantly of all, we would
Asia and Europe, in Seoul or London in the like to thank the artists in Korean Eye 2012
same time scale; whereas it used to take for making such exceptional work.
years for developments in different parts
of the world to filter through to each other.
Lee Daehyung
Connection to the New Conditions
A time capsule of the last 100 years of Korean history has landed at raises questions such as ‘Has this image been objectively selected
the Saatchi Gallery in the shape of Cho Duck-Hyun’s installation work to represent ‘Koreanness’?’ This predictable contradiction was
The Nora Collection. The piece fills one room with the very private unavoidable as it attempted to explain or verify the art and culture
story of a woman and her extraordinary life against the backdrop of with calculated measures.
strict Korean views of femininity, Japanese occupation and the Korean
War. Yet she fought her way to be the first fashion designer in Korean Many words can sum up ‘Koreanness’ in art, but ‘nature’ is probably
history, changed her name to Nora Noh and divorced at the age of 19 the most suitable. The wind, the pine tree, the moon, and the sparkling
to protect her professional career. However, Cho Duck-Hyun focuses streams and the gentle terrains of the mountains... are some signature
more on the traumatic memories of all the women who survived these vocabulary exercised to describe Korea’s nature. However, no other
harsh realities. The room, with more than 50 portraits on the walls, is refined word or modifier can be compared to the deeply rooted
not a mere restoration of old memories, because we see through the language of the Aesthetics of Chosun, once beautifully articulated by
work, the dilemma of the identity crises of her time. Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889–1961) ‘Pure nature without imitation’, ‘serene
and simple’ and ‘gentle and carefree,’ Yanagi describes Korean
1. The Dilemma Continues aesthetics as the ‘aesthetics of the curvy line’ that is different from the
What is the difference between culture and identity? Culture is only aesthetics of China, where form is emphasised; or the aesthetics of
possible when it is shared by at least two people, and identity is only Japan, where colour is key. In the case of white porcelain and wooden
visible when one person is differentiated from another. Yet, despite furniture from the Chosun Dynasty, a sense of elegant beauty and
their inherent differences, culture and identity are inseparable in simplistic naturalism can easily be detected, even without having to
contemporary art. This is because new art, in its essence, wants master Yanagi’s philosophy. So his dense and analytical observations
to be something different, but at the same time, it must be able to may be useful in making the aesthetic observations or evaluations.
communicate with others. This is why contemporary art exists within
the oxymoronic connection of culture and identity, of similarities On the other hand, the principles of Ko YuSeop’s theory of Korean
and differences, inclusion and exclusion, and of tradition and aesthetics centre around ideas of imagination and conception
contemporaneity. to overcome the limit of formal aesthetics. His theory hints of a
transcendent dynamism between space and time, and suggests
This seems fairly simple, but a problem arises in Korea, a country aesthetic traits such as ‘technique without technique’, ‘pleasant
which carries the recent memories of occupation by a series of taste’, and ‘elegant style’ as part of the principles of the traditional art
foreign powers, including China, Japan and the United States. of Korea. Whereas, Kim WonRyong argues that the harmony between
Cultural identity in Korea, for the last half century, tends to be in the the art of nature and the man-made is the backbone of Korean art
oppositional mode to foreign influence, based on a subconscious and depicts conciseness, the ordinary, and rhythm as forming the
desire to restore pre-colonial cultural purity. But after the 2010 G20 aesthetic features of the traditional art of Korea. Thus, to this day, the
Seoul Summit, more people regard trans-cultural hybridisation as sense of Korean identity still seems to be focused on tradition rather
an inevitable part of Korean identity. One thing for certain is that the than the contemporary.
identity of Korean contemporary art practice is not bound by the mere
differences in visual elements such as form, colour, size, texture and Ancient and modern Korean art history abounds with countless
material. Beyond the aesthetic orders in an artwork, what constantly research data, whereas contemporary Korean art seems to shiver
changes on the borderlines of the diverse culture shifts that determine shyly in the shadows, and commentators are still conservative in
what new Korean art is. defining its identity. This lack of discourse is the reason behind the
disparity between contemporaneity and so-called Koreanness. The
In 2010 The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) issue at hand seems to be the realisation of how dangerous the word
published a book titled ‘Korean Beauty (Ahn Graphics/KOCIS). The ‘ Koreanness’ may sound with time because the majority of artwork
book crosses the boundaries between traditional and modern genres that wears are cognisable. Koreanness as a signature departs strongly
and uses key words such as ‘void’, ‘window landscape’, ‘overlap’, from the traits of the past. The word Koreanness is still framed within
‘ humour’, ‘taste’, and ‘convergence’ to describe cultural identity. Its the range of traditional art and is stuck within the boundaries of
use of a new, as-yet-unproven method of juxtaposing different genres specific topics and conventional formalities. Imagine the fruit (the
and spaces is quite different from a typical chronological method. It contemporary) without the root (the past) or vice versa.
2. Four Conceptual Spaces for artists. Since the 1990s artists have felt the pressure from the
Here are four conceptual categories: the ‘modernist space’, the market to transform experimental themes and forms into sources
‘ political space’, the ‘capital space’ and the ‘knowledge space’. Each of capital. ‘Modernist space,’ ‘political space,’ and ‘capital space’
one of the categories is a space where a dialogue can be shared to are the three main factors that have substantially influenced the
reinterpret the idea of Korean beauty without reference to subject, contemporary Korean art scene. Contemporary Korean art has always
shape, colour or format. been tied up to those systems only to remain at a passive level. To be
more specific, due to the absence of initiative, contemporary Korean
Firstly, the ‘modernist space’ in Korea indicates the time from the art is sometimes considered as imitating what is already out there, or
1960s to the late 1980s. The conceptual backbone for artists during always being dependent on political authority and capital.
this time was the semi-political disposition of Greenberg’s approach
to Modernism, which argues that art can develop through the means So lastly this leads us to ‘knowledge space’, a space made from
(or the ideas) of exclusive criticism. Its political tendency resulted the balanced involvement of artists, curators, collectors, art
from the social exhaustion that grew from the sectarianism and critics, editors, ministers of culture, art historians, art dealers and
the ideology of anti-communism of the time. The artists insisted auctioneers. Within this sphere, ‘knowledge space’ may construct
on defining fine art as a refined form, completely pure of worldly creative connections based on active communication with other
elements and entirely exclusive of their own forms of structure. fields. ‘Knowledge space’ is a space of constant change. Korea
has shown great development in the past few years as social
Secondly, the political space was born as a reaction to the ‘modernist infrastructure such as urban planning, architecture, media and
space’. It has two spatial dispositions that stretched out from the Internet have become highly established, and social, cultural,
the 1980s to the late 1990s. First, the Minjung Misool was an art aesthetic, institutional, and moral attitudes have reached a certain
movement of the 1980s that reacted to Korean Modernism and stage that can be understood and accepted internationally.
confronted the military regime at the time. In the mid 1990s and
onwards, the political space extended the individual’s social interests The contemporary Korean art world has shown much development
to areas such as the communication and harmony between art and too. Now many collectors are equipped with a keen eye for judging
technology, sex, feminism, subcultures, urbanism (metropolis) and the and evaluating a work of art after experiencing both the growth
media. If the first disposition represented the social outbursts against and recession of the art market. The working realm of artists has
political suppression, the latter represented curiosity about the also become more diverse as artists from different genres and
outside world and a reaction to the birth of the Internet. The reflection backgrounds work together and Korea has developed a more global
on the existing values, ethics, and systems of Postmodernism led to perspective.
a diversification in the methodologies of contemporary art. Thus, in
terms of artistic practice, the basis of an individual’s interests became This kind of, ‘knowledge space’ provides an environment in which
more significant than the formative practice of many schools and opposing aesthetic ideologies can communicate, transform even their
institutions that exerted their taste and power over various exhibitions. original character, evolve and, in turn, open doors for new conditions
to develop. It is a sign of the shift from the strict, institutional
Thirdly, the capital space reflects the rise and fall of the art market organisational categories to the flexible perception of nationality,
after the year 2000. Many auction houses gained significant power gender, generation, class, geopolitical locale and more. These
and influence over museums or galleries. Such a phenomenon changes are not those that can be determined from international
became apparent when exhibitions in Korea showed a preference art theory or the newest trends in Western contemporary art alone.
towards the art market, and universities began to show enthusiasm They are determined from changes in cultural, economic, social and
for the teachings of market and capital as opposed to an education political situations beyond the boundaries of Koreanness.
based around ideology and philosophy. Furthermore, auction bids
made news headlines in the media and newspapers, as critics and
curators lost their voice. The capital began to command the interests
and direction of art from then and there. With the expansion of the
market, there began many residency programs, art fairs, corporate
awards and hundreds of newly opened galleries starting their search
3. Five Conditions to Revisit Contemporary Korean Art This new definition of illusion has captivated many Korean artists and
This new environment may spur more independent conditions in pushed them to invent new ways of making more plausible illusions.
Korean contemporary art, augmenting it with diversity rather than Today’s cultural convergence of art, science and technology provides
fitting it to a trend, and reforming its hierarchy The first two (a & greater opportunities for the artists to challenge the very notion
b) conditions explain the cultural, technological, and theoretical of how art is presented and to call into question its definition and
backgrounds while the final three (b, c & d) visualise the dilemmas function in our rapidly changing convergence society. Virtual reality,
and conflicts for the artists in the transition of social, cultural and augmented reality, 3D mapping effects, and many other multimedia
technological conditions. technologies are already prevailing in Korea’s multimedia environment,
and thus the artists are more exposed to this new reality that keeps
a) The Fastest SNS (Social Network Service) erasing the distance between reality and illusion.
If globalism is a kind of economic, political and cultural concept,
SNS is a kind of structure and network that opens possibilities and This is why we see many solid illusionists in the contemporary Korean
acts as a means to utilise these concepts in a novel way. When art is art scene. For example, it is easy to define Bahk Seon Ghi’s Point of
viewed as a medium that modern mankind consumes, the study and View 09-08 in terms of mimesis. His illusionistic technique is trying to
significance of social networks, which transmit this medium, should evoke the perception of form without suggesting a literal meaning.
not be overlooked. Especially for Korean contemporary artists still But the classic concept of illusion is destroyed in his charcoal site-
on the periphery, social networks act as platforms for overcoming specific installation. An image that initially looks solid is dismantled on
the disadvantages of being potentially marginalised. In this new closer viewing.
environment, without having to follow a trend, artists can promote
themselves and create a showcase for their work. Uram Choe’s kinetic sculpture Varietal Urbanus Female engages the
viewer in the artist’s futuristic fantasy world. This female Urbanus
b) The Rise of GeoAesthetics releases its energy as a light form from the flower-like mechanical
Can contemporary art anywhere be defined by one aesthetic body. His use of technology transforms the traditional definition of
standard? How would Korean contemporary art be defined by a realism as a trompe l’oeil painting or sculpture into a hackneyed
British critic who has studied and written about British artists? Can anachronism. He is not simply duplicating reality, but has created a
globalism be applied to art theory? This is not entirely irrelevant to work that moves so slowly that the illusionary movement becomes an
the changes in the cultural environment and media systems such interaction between the viewer and the object. ‘Seeing is believing’ is
as SNS as discussed earlier. However new, Korean art has matured not always right.
enough to exert greater influence than before. That is not to say
that GeoAesthetics should be mistaken for something so weighty as d) WOMAD CODE: Woman Nomad Code
to reflect one nation’s history. Rather, the burden of representing a The mobility of information and people has changed our perception
nation’s cultural identity should be shaken off. The key is how well the of space, time, place, social relations and even our identity. WOMAD
equilibrium is maintained. CODE is a metaphor for young Korean female artists in their 20s
living, working and travelling outside Korea. WOMAD CODE, a
c) Reality Becomes Solid Illusion hybrid between woman and nomad, equally focuses on the issues of
The concept of a solid illusion is a paradox, a contradiction and a kind nomadic culture and the changed female identity. Nomad symbolises
of impossibility. It is a metaphor to describe a condition of illusions mobility. Their starting point is Korea, but what we encounter here
created between tangibility and intangibility. Of course it is a mere is not the typical image of Korean women who have been pictured
reflection of a physical entity, but that reflection begins to seem as obedient and dutiful but that of ‘Anti-Orientalists’. Cheaper
real.  Therefore what we call reality may in fact be merely an illusion international travel and easier access to higher education, economic
of what we are actually able to observe. In this context, the targets affluence and globalism has allowed them the experience of making
of perception are not solely aimed at objects per se but to wider work outside Korea and exhibiting it on an international stage. They
perspectives, views, relationships and communication. connect new social, political, cultural and historical experience and
have invented a more fluid place for progressive politics, change and
multi-layered meanings in their work.
In her deceptively beautiful installation Translation-vase series 2011, Ahn Doojin’s Fault Lines enjoys a kind of absurd confrontation
Meekyoung Shin reproduces Chinese porcelains with perfect soap between the sacred and the playful. Unpolished and coarse light-
replicas and places them in completely different historical, cultural heartedness infiltrates into a holy structure of the sanctified. This
and institutional contexts. These artifacts, as they travel between heterogeneous collage attacks the strict dichotomy between the
Korea and Britain, the bathroom and the museum, bring together very artist’s private realm and history’s public space. His critical pun
different cultural contexts. The smell of soap further widens the gap encourages interaction in these seemingly incomparable arenas
between what you see and what they are. while encompassing a wide range of artistic encounters.
Korean-American artist Debbie Han’s 32 Venus busts installation, Lee Ji-Yen’s collage Wherever You Will Go is not depicting a space but
The Battle of Conception, emphatically demonstrates the idea accumulating different times. In other words, multiple time-zones create
that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. She confronts the an imaginary space where fragments of different times exist in the
standardised definition of beauty by abandoning the traditional same space. The result is an amazing spectacle that defies boundaries
Venus face, and replacing each bust with the mutated faces or between beginning and ending, centre and periphery, individuality and
those of different ethnicities. collectivity, private and public and local and global identity.
e) Collage – From Medium to Philosophy Conclusion – From Utopia to Heterotopia
Collage has become more than a medium. It is virtually everywhere. This essay explores connections, contexts and conditions behind
From TV to the Internet, newspaper to smartphone, and signboard to what we might expect to be Koreanness in contemporary Korean
media facade, everything we see is an assemblage of fragments with art. Changed conditions have forced artists to accept different
varying points of view. The flow of information moves in a non-linear viewpoints and contexts. Enjoying the moment of resistance against
way and people use multiple windows to see the world that defies any any assumed or imposed hierarchies, new Korean art is still in a
unifying system or perspective. However, this does not necessarily profound process of redefinition. The current re-emergence of collage
mean that there is no ruling perspective, but rather the value of many in contemporary art practice has its root in globalism and Korea’s
smaller and varied viewpoints superseding a bigger one. new social, political and economic conditions. These unprecedented
influences have generated a ‘world-is-flat’ phenomenon. This being
Many artists presented here have a unique understanding of media, the denationalising of artistic movements, the inflation of ‘being
history, private memories, culture, identity and globalism. Their international’, and the homogenisation of cultural differences. Some
interpretations using collage unmask the very nature of their changed people thought globalism might kill local identity, but in reality, while
society. The artists commonly arrive at an aesthetic position that local values remain, Korean artists enjoy ever-increasing chances to
creates not only a methodological bridge beween art, novel, design, show their work on the international stage and expose their practice
technology, architecture and motion picture, but also a chronological to new influences. They have begun to rethink their own individual
link from the past to the present, and even to the future. identity, history and culture in a broader geo-aesthetic situation where
a rigid national label is no longer necessary.
Cho Duck-Hyun’s highly controlled installation of drawings in The
Nora Collection precludes the preoccupation with hierarchies, family
and conflicts in Asian history. His understanding of history relies
instead on an aesthetic of symbolic exchange, rooted in generosity
and intimacy. The result presented to the viewer successfully
transforms mundane subjects into a fantastic and obviously fictional
history. The precision with which a myriad of details by charcoal
drawing are arranged, mixes history, nostalgia, romance, identity,
family and spirituality into a single frame.