art stories in October 2009

Glimpse of Contemporary Asian Art in Seoul

Clockwise from top left, Turkish artist Hakan Onur's “My Mother Only Wants Me to be Happy,” Chinese artist Bai Yiluo's “Spring and Autumn” and Japanese artist Masaharu Sato's “Avatar11” at the “City_net Asia 2009” exhibition ongoing at the Seoul Museum of Art. / Courtesy of Seoul Museum of Art By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter The vibrant art scenes in Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing are already well known, but contemporary art from Istanbul is still shrouded with an air of mystery at least for the local audience. Elusive samples of Turkish contemporary art are shown side-by-side with works by Korean, Japanese and Chinese artists at the City_net Asia 2009 exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), downtown Seoul. This biennial art event hopes to encourage people to discover the current state of the art scene in four cities. Over 100 pieces by 40 up-and-coming artists were gathered by curators from SeMA, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Today Art Museum in Beijing and Istanbul Modern in Turkey, and shown in four separate sections. ``The City_net Asia 2009 is designed as a venue to provide visitors a valuable opportunity to collectively establish their thoughts on the identity of Asia and to explore the present and future of Asian contemporary art that reflect particular social and cultural issues of their own countries,'' the organizers said. The first section ``A Double-edged Sword,''' curated by SeMA's Cho Ju-hyun, revolves around matters of cultural identity, politics and globalization. The nine artists participating in the Korean section were all born between the 1960s and 1980s. Lee Byung-ho addresses the issue of ``lookism'' and people's desire to look younger in his moving sculpture ``Vanitas Bust,'' where a woman's wrinkled face slowly smoothens out. Kim Jong-ku uses steel powder, in reference to Korea's industrialization, to create calligraphy on the floor for ``Mobile Landscape,'' while Jung Yoon-suk questions his generation's memories in ``Video Killed the Radio Star,'' a video made of clips from news, films, TV, ads and cartoons. Perhaps the most interesting section is the one on Turkish contemporary art, since it is relatively undiscovered here. ``Istanbul as the New Continent'' is organized by the Istanbul Modern chief curator Levent Calikoglu. ``In the 2000s Turkey ― and Istanbul ― were `rediscovered' by the rest of the world. However much they may occasionally suffer from Orientalist blinders, Europe's attitudes towards and its interest in this region down through the millennia have always been overwhelmingly lively and dynamic. Here in Istanbul one experiences an environment in which culture and tourism are intimately intertwined everywhere and in everything from nightlife to alleyways, from historical monuments to bathhouses, and from dignified museums to outre artistic endeavors,'' Calikoglu said, in an exhibition essay. Video installations by Turkish artists Haluk Akakce, Guslsun Karamustafa and Sukran Moral offer insights into the exotic culture and modern society. In the video ``Road to Tate Modern,'' Sener Ozmen and Erkan Ozgen play Cervantes' iconic characters Don Quixote and Sancho trying to find a way to London's famous museum through the mountains, which is obviously an impossible feat. Tokyo offers one of the most diverse and exciting art scenes today, and the section ``Off the Center'' reflects this. There are striking wall murals by Yusuke Asai, colorful images by Yuichi Yokoyama, Masaharu Sato's series of animated portraits ``Avatar 11,'' and Takahiro Iwasaki's small sculpture made out of a pair of black socks. ``These artists ― mainly born after 1970 and witnesses to the weakening of Japan's economic development, the end of its success story, and its diversifying values ― have unique perspectives that don't accommodate transient trends. They remain detached and keep their own pace during the creative process. As such, perhaps they represent a new value that reflects Japanese society today,'' said Mori Art Museum curator Natsumi Araki. Interest in Chinese contemporary art has grown significantly in recent years, and the fourth section ``Sedimentation'' features a new generation of artists. ``Although most artists of this generation appear indifferent to political and social issues, and often purposefully avoid such subject matter in their work, their art demonstrates strong personal style, even self-indulgence, eventually provoking insight into society,'' said Beijing's Today Art Museum deputy director Li Xiaoqian. Bai Yiluo's ``Spring and Autumn,'' which is composed of a tree with rakes and hoes as branches, and a donkey covered in armor made of black-and-white ID photos. In ``Why Should I Love You?,'' Chi Peng shows a cityscape of Beijing, except the landmark CCTV Tower has been turned into a Transformer robot. He addresses the questions of what the CCTV Tower, a symbol of China's modernity, really means for the Chinese people. The City_net Asia 2009 exhibition runs through Nov. 22. Admission is 700 won. Visit http://seoulmoa.seoul.go.kr. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Color Is Olafur Eliasson’s World

“Your Shared Space” is a work of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who is holding a solo show “Is the Sky Part of the Landscape” at PKM Trinity Gallery, Cheongdam-dong, through Nov. 30. / Courtesy of PKM Trinity Gallery By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Huge color wheels seem to pulsate with shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The longer you stare at the painting, the more intense the colors become ― almost with an energy of its own. These are part of the "Colour Experiment" series by internationally renowned Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who is known for his research with color, light and space. Eliasson created several new works for his solo show, ``Is the Sky Part of a Landscape," at the PKM Trinity Gallery, Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. He has been doing experiments with color for the last two years, and established a studio laboratory for spatial experiments in Berlin, where he is currently based. Eliasson's artworks provide sensory experiences that engage the viewers with the space not just physically but mentally. For the Color Experiment series, he worked with a color chemist to try to mix one color for every nanometer in the spectrum of light, or in simple terms, a "rainbow." A nanometer is equivalent to 1 billionth of a meter. "It was an attempt to see if a color for every visible nanometer can be mixed, to represent a wavelength. We came up with 360 different colors. Each color was individually mixed and represents 1 nanometer," he told reporters at the gallery, Friday. ``Colour experiment no. 7" features 360 colors, but it is hard to distinguish each and every color that the artist was talking about. Instead, the colors seem to intensify or lighten as it bleeds into the next one. Staring at his Color Experiments can become overwhelming at times, as the colors seem to have a life of their own. The Dane admitted the human eye is not sensitive to each individual color, and can only discern the differences in color between 5 to 10 nanometers. The differences in color are only apparent if one uses a nanospectrum device. In the light installation "Your Shared Space," Eliasson played with light and color, showing how a color system can become three-dimensional. A circular mirror is placed at an angle on the wall, while six colored spotlights are trained on it, creating colored shadows on the wall. Eliasson said this plays with the idea of human perception. "Black is the absence of color, while white is the mixture of all the colors. If you put purple with white, then the white becomes more yellow. Yellow is only created in the context, but it is actually not there. We see things by perception rather than what's there," he said. Taking this one step further is "Complementary Colour Chart," wherein a fog-filled room is lit up only by a red and green lamp at opposite ends. "When someone walks from one end, the movement of the body changes the color of the room. Walking around would change the colors. A person walking one way, and another person walking the other may see different colors. It's a situation where color is created by the presence of a person and movement," Eliasson said. These works are only the start of what Eliasson sees as a long-term involvement with color research. ``I'm only at the beginning of a long project to make a color system or color theory. I want to create a color system for me. You can also create your own color system. Everyone can have their own color system, instead of a universal one," he said. The exhibition runs through Nov. 30 at PKM Trinity Gallery, located in the basement of The Trinity Place, Cheongdam-dong. Visit www.pkmgallery.com or call (02) 515-9496. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Artist Brings 'Abraham Obama' to Seoul

American artist Ron English stands in front of his work ``Bunny Spring'' at Opera Gallery Seoul, Cheongdam-dong, Monday. / Courtesy of Opera Gallery Seoul By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter American artist Ron English may not be a household name here but you might remember the memorable mash-up of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama's faces called ``Rainbow Abraham Obama.'' English visited Seoul earlier this week to attend the opening of ``Bright Society,'' a joint exhibition with Korean artist Park Young-gyun at Opera Gallery Seoul, Cheongdam-dong. The 50-year-old artist looked tired from his flight the previous day when he met with The Korea Times at the gallery, Monday. He admitted he was still functioning on New York time which then was around 2 a.m., but gamely talked about the guerilla street art and ``Popaganda'' studio art he became famous for. ``Popaganda'' is the term he coined for his works that combine pop culture characters and American symbols to express satirical metaphors. Aside from the Rainbow Abraham Obama, Opera Gallery is also showing paintings such as the fat Ronald McDonald ``MC Supersized,'' genetically modified cowgirl ``Cowtown Cathy'' and dark humorous works featuring a three-eyed rabbit, which he says is meant to represent himself. English, who grew up in Decatur, Illinois, says he was always controversial ― even his childhood drawings got him in trouble in school. ``(My) teachers always said `he's trouble.' I was always getting in trouble for my art. I wasn't trying to be mean or anything. I would just draw a monkey peeing on a fire hydrant, while a dog looked at him like `that's my fire hydrant'. That's just the way I thought,'' he said. As a student in Texas in the early 1980s, he was already hijacking billboards and replacing them with his own work, long before people knew what street art was. In New York, he became an even bigger name with his critical but humorous way of subverting corporate America's ad campaigns. He created billboards of ``Cancer Kids'' with Camel Joe children smoking, and turned Apple's Think Different ads on its head by featuring Bill Gates and Charles Manson. The fat Ronald McDonald was prominently featured in Morgan Spurlock's Oscar-nominated documentary ``Super Size Me.'' ``I thought it would be funny to show what Ronald McDonald would look like if he really ate at McDonald's every day. He won't be skinny or anything. I did the billboards as if McDonald's were putting them out, so it had a very prankster-ish and playful way,'' English said. His street art has attracted a lot of attention, and last year, English was one of the street artists asked by the Obama campaign to contribute works inspired by the presidential candidate. Immediately thinking of the similarities between Obama's and Lincoln's presidential campaigns, English merged their images in a rainbow of colors. ``Obama pretty much had the same experience as Lincoln had, and no one seemed to have argued with his abilities. Then I realized there were similarities between these two skinny guys from Illinois,'' he said. Asked about what he thought of the U.S. president receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, English admitted people may have given Obama a place of history before he even earned it. ``Maybe Obama's like the Paris Hilton of politics. She's never done anything but she's famous all over the world,'' he said. Some of his works may have some political undertones, but English says ``art is about life.'' ``I try to make art not just about a very myopic slice of life, but kind of the whole spectrum of life. … My goal isn't to alienate people. That's why I use a lot of humor,'' he said. In the past, he used pop culture icons like Mickey Mouse and Marilyn Monroe in his works, but English is now using more of his own quirky characters. ``Everyone was making toys and doing licensing deals, and I found I couldn't do that because I can't license crucifying Mickey Mouse on a mousetrap. So I've been doing a lot of my own characters. With a little luck, we're trying to get a TV show about some of the characters and stuff. There's this new world that opened up to me because I wasn't doing Mickey Mouse anymore,'' he said. English no longer hijacks billboards these days, preferring to do things the legal way. It started when he and his band toured ten cities in the U.S. to promote ``Rainbow Abraham Obama.'' English made sure everything they did was legal, since any hint of illegality would perhaps affect Obama's campaign. ``In the process of doing that, I realized it was sort of an addiction to doing billboards. I've been doing billboards for 30 years,'' he said. ``I'm trying to be on the right side of the law, which can sometimes be very difficult. I think being a 50-year-old man going out and committing crimes is probably not good. At some point, you probably need to grow up,'' he wryly admitted. But judging from the array of amusing, surrealistic artworks at Opera Gallery, growing up does not mean English's art will be dull and boring. Opera Gallery Seoul is located on the first floor of the Nature Poem Building, Cheongdam-dong. Email seoul@operagallery.com or call (02) 3446-0070. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Exhibition Explores Art’s 'Flexible Aura'

Goldin+Senneby’s “After Microsoft” is an image of the same landscape in Sonoma Valley, Calif., which was the basis for the “Bliss” landscape used as the default Microsoft Windows desktop image. / Courtesy of Brain Factory By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter In the age of the Internet, art lovers don't even have to leave the confines of their home to admire the Mona Lisa or see the latest Damien Hirst. Artwork is just a click away on the Internet. High-quality images are easily available, saved and can even be printed out. So how does this affect the artwork, the artists and the experience of viewing art? This is one of the issues central to the ongoing "Flexible Aura" exhibition at Brain Factory, Tongui-dong, Seoul. Curators Byeon Hyun-joo and Christine Takengny wanted to explore "the notion of the aura and the experience of art in the age of digital reproduction where limitless global communication and image distribution is possible via the World Wide Web." The exhibition took its cue from Walter Benjamin's 1936 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of its Mechanical Reproducibility" wherein the author claimed the "exclusive experience of an artwork's unique aura has been replaced by a collective experience of mass reproducible art." "Our theory is the aura nowadays can be flexible and can be changed," Takengny told The Korea Times. The works are accessible from different places ― inside the museums or online ― and can be transformed depending on the setting. Candida Hofer's photographic series "Twelve" depicts all 12 casts of Rodin's "The Burghers of Calais," showing how its aura changes depending on where it is located. The Internet was also used as a tool to curate the exhibition. Byeon and Takengny used the medium to communicate with each other, find information on the artists and look at digital images of artwork. "We exchanged information on the Internet, checked links to the artists' homepages. We did it for nine months, corresponding through e-mail or Skype," Byeon said, although she added there is still nothing like seeing the artwork in person. For example, the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and widely reproduced works of art, but people still line up at the Louvre for a glimpse of the Da Vinci portrait. "Art has become more accessible and democratic, and can be seen outside the gallery. It reflects how through digitalization, how banal an artwork can become. But at the same time the aura of the original one seems to become so important now that people go to the museum to see it and take a photograph of the original artwork," Takengny said. You don't even need to go to the Louvre when you can have the Mona Lisa on toast, thanks to Danish artist Kristoffer Akselbo's "The Mona Lisa Toaster." The toaster imprints the image of the famous Da Vinci portrait on a piece of bread, which can then be eaten. Artists Tasha Aulls and Niina Hartikainen worked on "November Telepathy," a series of digitally printed drawings. They tried to use telepathy to send images of their drawings to each other, when Aulls was in Canada and Hartikainen was in the U.K. and Finland. "I was interested in the idea of dissolving the sense of self and removing the barrier between self and others. Niina was interested in the consciousness. We thought telepathy would dissolve the boundary between self and others," Aulls told The Korea Times. London-based artist Tina Hage's "Dream Start" is a triptych of sports scenes, showing people cheering and celebrating after scoring goals. Hage re-enacted the scenes, placing her image in each of the figures in the crowd. Microsoft Windows users may vaguely recognize the dull brown fields in the landscape featured in Goldin+Senneby's "After Microsoft." It is the same landscape which was the basis for "Bliss," the default desktop image on Windows showing bright blue skies and green slopes. Goldin+Senneby tracked down Charles O'Rear, the photographer who took the photo of the landscape in Sonoma Valley, Calif., in the late 1990s. They revisited the area, and took the photo of the largely changed landscape. Popular video streaming Web site YouTube has also become a curatorial tool, as shown in Supercream/Catherine Borra's "The Setting of X." A link to the work, a playlist of YouTube videos with the theme of migration, can be found on the exhibition Web site flexibleauras.blogspot.com. The exhibition also featured London-based artist Jee Oh's performance piece broadcast live through Skype at the opening party. Additionally, artist Bona Park hired an actress to "play" herself at the party, "playfully exploring how the contextual integration of the aura can be transformed when an artwork is immaterial." "Flexible Aura" runs through Nov. 1 at Brain Factory (Gyeongbokgung Station line 3, exit 4). Visit www.brainfactory.org or call (02)725-9520. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Yang Holds 1st Solo US Exhibition

“Yearning Melancholy Red” is the centerpiece of Korean artist Yang Haegue’s exhibition at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Yang Haegue, one of the fast rising Korean artists in the international scene, is once again attracting attention for her first solo U.S. museum exhibition ``Haegue Yang: Integrity of the Insider'' at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minn. She is presenting her photographs, paper works, videos, sculptures, slide projections and installations at the exhibition. Yang, who was the first female artist representing Korea at the Venice Biennale last summer, is primarily known for her abstract works. ``Abstraction is the language I choose to give true value to the presence of narrative inside of me as well as the narratives I have encountered and realized as relatives, which exist outside of me,'' Yang said, in a press statement. ``I think what fundamentally lies beneath these narratives can be shared without being told as a story. For me abstraction is not anti-narrative, it is not a language that attempts to negate narration but rather allows a narrative to be achieved without constituting its own limits. The form of language I choose to experiment with is abstract even if the motivation is always concrete.'' Doryun Chung, exhibition curator, said Yang creates ``carefully orchestrated and nuanced installations that operate as a microcosm of sensory experience.'' ``These works result from Yang's ongoing engagement with certain historical figures of interest ― people whose life narratives are characterized by a political commitment shared with others, coupled with personal failings or tragedies.'' In the exhibition's main work ``Yearning Melancholy Red,'' Yang explores the life of the late French writer and filmmaker Marguerite Duras, who is best known for her autobiographical novel ``L'Amant'' (The Lover). The installation is composed of venetian blinds suspended from the ceiling and arranged in interconnecting forms around mirrors, heat lamps, fans, theater lights and a drum kit. While there are no specific references to Duras in the work, Chung says that through geometry, light and sound ``Yang's practice translates the landscape of her own emotional and intellectual life into a democratic space of experience.'' Also included at the exhibition are smaller works, such as the ``Gymnastics of the Foldables,'' ``Dehors'' and ``Hippe Dippie Oxnard.'' Yang says that while the titles of her works are mostly descriptive, her exhibition titles are often controversial, such as ``Integrity of the Insider.'' ``I was interested in how the title could create an introductory moment of skepticism, one that could only be resolved through the experience of my exhibition. `Integrity of the Insider' came to my mind out of my constant interest in the location of the self, subjectivity and community. I have been interested in questioning how we might be able to create a non-excluding frame to accommodate ideas, existence and emotions without loss,'' she said. Yang is currently an artist-in-residence at the Walker to take part in the experimental project ``Shared Discovery of What We Have and Know Already.'' In the project comprised of seminars and workshops, Yang will be both teacher and student as she tells others about the wide range of subjects that have influenced her work. Born in Seoul in 1971, Yang divides her time between her hometown and Berlin. She gained attention in 2006 for two solo exhibitions: ``Sadong 30'' in a dilapidated house in Incheon and ``Unevenly'' at BAK in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Yang made her debut in the U.S. when her installation ``Series of Vulnerable Arrangements ― Blind Room'' was featured in the group exhibition ``Brave New Worlds'' at the Walker Art Center in 2007. The exhibition at the Walker Art Center runs through Feb. 28. Visit www.walkerart.org. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

Light, Hope Fill Su Kwak’s Paintings

U.S.-based artist Su Kwak stands beside one of her works that incorporate light and time on exhibit at the Sun Gallery, Insadong, Thursday. / Korea Times Photo by Cathy Rose A. Garcia By Cathy Rose A.Garcia Staff Reporter Light has always fascinated U.S.-based artist Su Kwak. Her canvases have always been filled with sparkling yellows and rich blues that seem to exude a feeling of hope. And hope is exactly what Kwak wants people to feel whenever they see her artwork. ``I felt I wanted to do something that makes other people feel good and feel hope and peace, instead of trying to achieve fame," she told The Korea Times at Sun Gallery, Insadong, Thursday. Kwak expanded her art to include not just light, but also the element of time. Her current exhibition at Sun Gallery features new works that express the interwoven nature of the two elements. ``I've been working on the time element for only about a year or two. When I work with light, I think of day and morning, while evening is darkness ― there's no light … I realized time and light are closely related," she said. ``Eternity" features three panels, each depicting the past, present and future of the world through light. ``There's the beginning of creation. The present is filled with slashes, symbolizing how in order to give light, you have to go through difficulties and sufferings. Then, the future is the world of light," Kwak said. Her works are filled with bright colors and lightness, but upon closer scrutiny, you'll find layers of Korean Bible pages. She tears off the pages, places them on the canvas, and covers them with paint. ``By coincidence, there are few words showing, and people have fun trying to read it. It's like a jigsaw puzzle," she said. Born in Busan, Kwak grew up Catholic and converted to Judaism when she married her husband in the U.S. Now she's a Catholic again. Although religious by nature, Kwak does not see ripping out the Bible's pages and using them in her artwork as a sign of disrespect. ``The only thing I thought is the Bible is like the riddle of life. It's a book of riddles. You can read it and read it but you don't always get the meaning. I thought it was the most important thing to attach it (on the canvas). … For me, the spirit of the bible is more important than just having the physical book," she said. When she was 23, Kwak moved to the United States to study at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, and later pursued graduate studies in fine art at the University of Chicago. She recalled having difficulties as a young Korean woman living alone in the U.S., dealing with a different language and culture. But with the help of many people, she overcame these challenges. ``Being an artist and going through these hardships, it helps you realize what's most important in life, and that's how I started with light,'' she said. Perhaps it's because of these experiences that Kwak has always managed to convey a spirit of hope in her paintings. Kwak, who currently lives in Washington, D.C., has held several solo exhibitions at the June Kelly Gallery in New York, Sun Art Center and Jean Art Center in Seoul. In 2000, she received a Korean government award for advancing culture overseas. Her exhibition at Sun Gallery runs through Nov. 6. Visit www.sungallery.co.kr. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr

British Photographer Walks From Busan to Seoul

A photograph from Oliver Raw's exhibition "Korea on Foot" at Gallery M. / Courtesy of the artist By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Armed with a camera, a good pair of walking shoes and a handful of Korean words, British photographer Oliver Raw set out to walk from Busan to Seoul in April 2008. Raw, a Shanghai-based illustrator, wanted to capture the true essence of Korea by exploring the countryside, meeting people and taking photographs of his journey. A selection of Raw's photographs are currently on display as part of his solo exhibition ``Korea on Foot'' at Gallery M, Jung-gu, Seoul, through Wednesday. ``I've lived nine years in Asia, usually in big cities. I thought it would be good to travel and walk, but where? Korea is a good idea, because one, it is not as big as China, and two, it's a country that not many people know about. I wanted to get a new look at Korea,'' he told The Korea Times at the gallery, last week. Throughout his trip, Raw discovered many unusual things about Korea, which most tourists will probably overlook or ignore. ``This is what was good about a walk, you see unique things that you don't see in other countries, or something you probably won't see if you just took a tour bus in the big city,'' he said. One of the things that surprised him was the hospitality and warmth of the Koreans he met during his travels. ``The hospitality was something that was very special in Korea. In England, I can't imagine seeing that kind of hospitality. People are more reserved there, whereas here in Korea, they would welcome me. It's more hospitality than I've ever come across before… I didn't expect so much goodwill from people here.'' Raw walked most of the way, and sometimes hitch-hiked, but he always found people to be extremely helpful. Sometimes, he would find a Buddhist temple, where he would be given a meal and even allowed to spend the night. The usual tourist spots did not interest Raw, who instead focused on little interesting things and quirks about Korea and its people. The contrast between modern and traditional Korea was always a source of fascination for the British photographer. He took over 1,000 photographs, but only picked a few to represent each leg of his trip. There are photos of rice fields with buildings being constructed in the background in Suwon, a fish vendor in Busan, a couple enjoying the beach, temple food, street stalls and motel rooms. When he's taking photographs of people, Raw found that Koreans were generally accommodating and would smile for the camera, unlike in China were people were more wary. One of his favorite photos is of three teenage girls who are admiring their reflections on their phones, with an old king's tomb in the background. Another one is a close-up of a pretty Korean girl with a patch over one eye and holding a colorful juice box. Raw hopes to publish a book of his photographs of Korea, and is even planning another walk in another country, maybe Tibet, next year. The exhibition runs through Nov. 4. To get to Gallery M, get off Exit 5 of Chungmuro Station, go straight and turn right at the second corner. Walk for about 200 meters, and you'll find Gallery M on the first floor of Keumpoong Building, in front of Joong-bu Police Station. Call (02) 2277-2437or (02) 2273-5066. Visit www.gallery-m.kr. cathy@koreatimes.co.kr