art stories in August 2009

Artist Djurberg Invites Viewers to Prada Transformer

Nathalie Djurberg is holding a solo exhibition ``Turn into Me'' at the Prada Transformer, Gyeonghui Palace, Seoul. / Courtesy of Prada Transformer By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter After being the venue for a fashion exhibition and a cinema program, the Prada Transformer has once again been rotated to take a new form. The rotating building, designed by Rem Koolhaas and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), is hosting an exhibition of works by rising Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg. Djurberg was specially chosen by Fondazione Prada, the non-profit organization devoted to contemporary art founded by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, for the art program at the Transformer in Seoul. Only 31, Djurberg was recently honored with the Silver Lion for the best young artist at the 53rd Venice Biennale this year. With such high expectations, it's no wonder Djurberg looked nervous when talking about the ``Turn into Me'' exhibition during a press conference at the Seoul Museum of History, Thursday. ``I'm very happy but I'm also nervous, which I think I should be because if you are completely secure with what you do, then you don't need to do it. It was more challenging than I expected but that made it so much more interesting. I think that what comes out of sweat and tears and nervousness is the most important. As an artist, I think that if I don't have any challenges, there's no reason for me to work. In the end that's what makes it all worth it,'' she said. If Djurberg was challenged with turning the Transformer space into something memorable and unique, visitors will also be challenged with the enigmatic installation pieces. Upon entering the Transformer, visitors are greeted with music composed by Hans Berg to accompany Djurberg's artworks. Inside, there is a dark brown potato-like structure, a cave, and two small whales. Some of the installations have been exhibited in 2008 at the Fondazione Prada, Milan, but being displayed inside the Transformer, Djurberg's works are seen in a different light. The interiors of the Transformer have been covered in white felt, creating a warm, womb-like atmosphere. It also served as a canvas for Djurberg's large paintings of menacing figures and two sets of creepy eyes on it, which unfortunately will be destroyed once the Transformer is rotated again for the last program. Inside the potato and the cave pavilions, visitors can watch Djurberg's surrealist animated videos. She makes short animated films using stop motion technique, with darkly humorous and violent narratives featuring plastic grotesque figures Fondazione Prada artistic director Germano Celant described Djurberg as a ``troublemaker,'' but smilingly added ``in a good way'' because of the risks she takes in making difficult art. ``All the videos of Nathalie are very emotional because everyone projects themselves into it. it forces you to think what is in your inside? What is your relationship with your mother, your father or your lover? All these are inside, and we are able to get inside our own body. and we are able to open up ... You enter the Transformer, which is like a womb, and you recreate yourself,'' Celant said. Djurberg wants visitors to come up with their own interpretations of her works. The exhibition title itself ``Turn into Me'' is an invitation, Djurberg says, for people to ``enter another world of subconsicousness.'' ``It is not for people to try and understand the way I look at my own art, but what's most interesting and makes me happy is when people see it and have other interpretations. Every time I hear someone's interpretation of my work, I always feel it's right, even if it may not be what I thought of in the beginning. I think one of the most beautiful thing about art is that when we make it, we also have to let it go and allow people to see it,'' Djurberg said. The exhibition at the Prada Transformer, located beside Gyeonghui Palace, runs through Sept. 13. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free, but online reservation is needed in advance. Visit www.pradatransformer.co.kr or call (02) 737-4772. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Discover Magic of Photography

"String Mirror" by Hong Sung-chul is part of the Magic of Photography exhibition at Museum of Photography, Seoul. / Courtesy of organizers By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Photography has come a long way from the pinhole cameras of ancient times to film and now to its digital form. The term photography was coined by Sir John Herschel in 1839, combining Greek words ``phos’’ for light and ``graphos’’ for writing. Photography, in short, was ``writing with light.’’ Photography continued to develop using glass plates and printing, but in 1884, George Eastman developed film technology. Film has been widely used in cameras, but has been challenged by the widespread use of digital cameras in recent years. With all the developments and innovations in photography, it is interesting to see how these have made an impact on artists and their works. The on-going ``Magic of Photography’’ exhibition at the Museum of Photography Seoul shows how 14 Korean artists have adapted new technological developments and used them for creating inventive and modern art works. Through the development of digital technology, artists have expressed their artistic sense and ideas in photographs more freely. Artists expanded the boundaries of photography, even incorporating painting, sculpture and installation in their works. Bae Joon-sung makes use of the lenticular technique, which creates multi-dimensional photographs. He turns two-dimensional images into three-dimensional works, as shown in ``The Costume of (the) Painter.’’ Another section sheds light on the boundaries of three-dimensional images and photography. Kang Young-min, Kwon Jung-jun, and Jang Seung-hyo reconstruct three-dimensional pictures with people and create distorted images. Jang made a distinctive photo collage, ``Mad About You,'' while Kwon built an installation, ``Fine Apple,’’' an acrylic box covered with digital print. Another section introduces computer graphic imagery, featuring works by Kim Joon, Lim Taek and Lee Joon-keun. For example, Lee creates optical illusion graphics that will hold the viewers’ attention. Kim’s digital prints are filled with naked bodies decorated with beautiful tattoos. However, Kim uses 3D computer graphics programs to create these images. Lastly, photography is combined with films and performances to make a unique work. In ``The Finale of (the) Story,’’ Jun So-jung took clever photographs of a play that she directed. A video of the play is also being shown as part of her work. Kim Joon and Bae Joong-sung will give lectures Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. at the museum. Kang Young-min and Cho Byung-wang will have their turn Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. There will also be a free magic show Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. Photo Kids, a special children’s photography program is being held Aug. 22 and 29, Sept. 12 and 26 at 10:30 a.m. The exhibition runs through Oct. 1. Opening hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m., weekdays and 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., weekends. Tickets are 5,000 won for adults and 3,000 won for students. Visit www.photomuseum.or.kr. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Art Lovers Flock to Hotel

A pair of sculptures by Choi Sung-chul is placed at the entrance of Gallery Seojong's room during the Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair 09, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times Photo by Cathy Rose A. Garcia By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Most art fairs are held in large, brightly lit convention halls, where art collectors look for new pieces to buy and art lovers content themselves with admiring the works. Over the weekend, a new art fair concept was introduced in Seoul with the opening of the 2nd Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair 09 (AHAF). This was the first time for the art fair to be held here, after Tokyo last year. The 10th and 11th floors of the Grand Hyatt Hotel transformed into a veritable art marketplace, with 65 galleries from Korea, Japan, China and other Asian countries turning hotel rooms into mini-galleries. Visitors had to walk along the dimly lit corridors to go in and out of the rooms filled with art works. It sometimes got crowded in the corridors and small rooms, but somehow it was part of the charm of the event. It also proved to be a challenge for the galleries to display paintings, sculptures, prints, installations and other works in the small rooms assigned to them. A few galleries removed the beds, allowing more space for sculptures and installations. Some were creative, using every inch of the room, including closets and bathrooms, as space for art. Gallery Jinsun placed some creepy-looking monster sculptures on top of the toilet seat, while Gallery Godo displayed a sculpture by Park Young-soo inside the closet. Other galleries were more conventional, putting paintings and prints on the walls and on top of the bed's snowy white sheets. In Shanghai-based Hwas Gallery's room, Wang Xiang Ming's painting ``Pay Respect to Masters Basquiat Scribbles Forever," was placed against the bed's headboard. David Chau, Hwas Gallery director, said this was the gallery's first time participating in the hotel art fair. ``We thought it was a good idea. We heard the hotel art fair in Tokyo did very well, so we wanted to see how it would be this year. We've seen a lot of creative stuff being done to the rooms by the galleries. We're still pretty conventional," Chau told The Korea Times. There was a lot of interest in Asian artists. Works by established Asian artists still had some eye-popping price tags, but there were surprisingly affordable pieces by young and fresh talent in the region. Tokyo-based Gallery Yamaguchi brought works by 24-year-old Japanese artist Chisato Sakaue, most of which were already sold during the VIP preview. Some of the artists were at the fair to meet and talk with the visitors. At eitoeiko gallery's room, Japanese artist Masaru Aikawa explained how he duplicates CD album covers of his favorite rock groups, such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Megadeath, on canvas. ``I love rock, punk and hardcore metal music. These are all my favorite CDs," he told The Korea Times, gesturing to the bed strewn with albums, which are accompanied by an actual CD on which he sings the songs a cappella. As expected, Korean artists were in the spotlight. There were Kim Dong-yoo's elaborate pixel paintings, Bahk Seon-ghi's charcoal sculptures, Lee Heum's eye-catching cake paintings and Lee Kyung-ho's lenticular works. The usual big name galleries ― including Arario, Kukje and Hyundai ― were missing from the list of participants, but it didn't seem to matter to the crowd at the AHAF. The special AHAF exhibitions caught the attention of visitors. Celebrity artists Naul and Minki Zio filled the rooms with their works. Zio created bed sheets silk-screened with a seascape, while Naul showed African influences in his art works. Renowned Korean artist Lee U-fan's works were displayed in a suite for the exhibition ``Communication and Relational Aesthetics," which was organized in collaboration with Shimoda Kenzi, who has collected Lee's works for 30 years. Overall, the hotel art fair concept did garner a lot of interest, but it remains to be seen whether it will be the start of a new trend in Korea. By presenting a diverse selection of Asian artists, the AHAF 09, which ended Sunday, seems to have fulfilled its goal of promoting cultural exchange among the art markets in the region. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

American Artist Stewart Shows 'The Hard Way'

One of the works by American artist Mike Stewart. / Courtesy of artis By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter In today's world, it's hard to imagine what life was like without computers, the Internet, cell phones and other technologies that make everyday life so much easier. American artist Mike Stewart has always thought about what life would be like in a world without technology. It is human nature to look for the easiest way to do things, but he wanted to explore what would happen if everyone had to go back to doing things the hard way. His original concept has evolved into a new series of prints that delve into a world in which the government forces people to do everything in a difficult way. Around 18 new prints will be displayed at Stewart's ``The Hard Way'' solo exhibition at the Sun Baba Ra Gallery, which opens Sept. 1. ``It's sort of an imaginary world where there are no convenient things, where there is no technology, or technology has been abandoned or refused. In the past, I did some installation work on that topic, showing examples of the world without technology. This new exhibition is about the government machine pushing this concept, telling people to not do things the easy way. It's sort of an upside-down fantasy world,'' he told The Korea Times over coffee last week. Stewart, who is originally from Connecticut, has been teaching English and fine art courses here since 2003. Like many expatriates, he noticed striking cultural differences when he first moved to Seoul. ``I'm from a very suburban area in the States and coming to a big city like this, right at the peak of technology, you see all these little gadgets. Then you see guys carrying pieces of furniture on their backs ― these things seem so difficult and strange. It seems like they're doing it the hard way. Why don't they do it the easy way?'' he said. But his works are not simply a commentary about Korean society, with which most foreign artists are preoccupied. Stewart admitted having gone through a phase in which he would make works about the foreigner's experience in Korea, but now he has taken on a much broader concept. His prints are inspired by a lot of North Korean, Russian and even American propaganda posters from World War I and II, and the Cold War. Stewart initially wanted to be an illustrator, but decided he liked the physical and laborious process involved in printmaking more. ``I originally started doing prints with the traditional Korean printing block style, and I thought about how it was a really difficult way of doing things. It transformed from there and now I just imagine myself in that space, looking at how difficult things can become,'' he said. Stewart carves his images on wood or linoleum, and then prints everything by hand on Korean hanji paper. ``Right now, I'm sort of in between printing presses, so I'm actually doing all the printing by hand with a wooden spoon,'' he laughed. ``I have blocks of wood in my house right now. I carve them and put the paper on top and rub the back with a wooden spoon. I think I almost burned a hole in the spoon.'' Stewart's way of hand printing his works does seem like the embodiment of doing things the hard way, but he says it's worth it. ``If I accomplished something and if I did it the hard way, then yeah, it feels good,'' he said. The exhibition runs from Sept. 1-15 at the Sun Baba Ra Gallery (located near Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, subway line 1). An opening reception will be held Sept. 5. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Art Fair Promotes Prints, Photography

“Pumpkin” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will be shown by FMH Trading Limited at the Seoul International Print Photo Art Fair (SIPA 2009). / Courtesy of SIPA By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Print and photography are often overlooked in the Korean contemporary art scene. The upcoming Seoul International Print Photo Art Fair (SIPA 2009) hopes to shine the spotlight on print and photography, especially works by Korean artists. The SIPA opens Sept. 12 and will run through Sept. 16 at the Hangaram Design Museum, Hangaram Museum and V Gallery, Seoul Arts Center. Hwang Dal-seung, chairman of the Korea Print Photography Promotion Association, said this year's art fair will tackle the issue of technical replication in the print and photography genre. ``What is the meaning of the value of the arts that exist not as one pure original but as many?" he said. ``Thus what is the genre for the arts that are classified as an edition? SIPA2009, now holding its 5th event, is opening an exhibition of print and photography with the idea of reproduction or multiple editions as its superior concept. The print genre is the first medium to make technical reproduction possible and because of this, diverse images and graphic products have been represented in the market.'' Hwang hopes the SIPA 2009 will become the discussion forum for this issue by bringing together various types of artworks from all over the world. SIPA was organized to promote and develop printmaking and photography in Korea. This year's event features 43 galleries that are mostly from Korea, with a handful from Japan, France, Germany, the U.S., Italy and Singapore. It is much smaller than last year's event, which featured 63 participating galleries. Visitors will be able find works by Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama and Bill Viola at the various gallery booths of the art fair. Aside from the galleries, the SIPA 2009 will also offer several special exhibitions. ``Visual Intersection.kr.nl'' features artists from this year's guest country, the Netherlands. Participating artists are Eelco Brand, Ellen Kooi, Erwin Olaf, Martine Stig, Phillip Provily, Popel and Ruud van Empel. Photographer Yoon Joo-yeong will show off his series of photographs of mothers throughout Korea in the exhibition ``The Mothers.'' Another special exhibition will be the Ex-libris exhibition, which is being hosted by SIPA for the first time. Ex-libris, which means ``from books'' in Latin, are bookplates that indicate ownership of books. The Korea Ex-libris Association and Dong Sang Bang Gallery will show a variety of bookplates from all over the world from their own collections, as well as exquisite Korean ones. For the fair's public art project, Australian artist Jayne Dyer will be showing ``The Book Project," featuring installations filled with books. She is interested in the relationship between people and books, as well as issues of translation and communication in today's globalized society. The SIPA also selected several rising Asian artists to showcase new works. Japanese photographer Nabuhiro Nakanishi was chosen for the Asia BELT Artist Project, while artists Kim So-hee and Cho Hyun-sook were picked for the BELT Artist Project for Korea. For the duration of the art fair, SIPA is also organizing a children's art program, in collaboration with German art supply maker Faber-Castell. It includes a guided tour and a special art class to be conducted in Korean and English. The art fair is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are 10,000 won. Visit www.sippa.org (Korean and English). To get there, get off Nambu Bus Terminal Station line 3, exit 5, and go on green bus 12 or 4429. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr