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Author Archives: Grace Kim

Ten contemporary Korean artists you should know

09-May-08

Contemporary Korean Art from the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
Korean Cultural Centre, 1 Northumberland Avenue, through 16 May 2008. Free Admission
Review by Grace Kim

Korean Contemporary Art has become something of a recent phenomenon in the western art world, despite developing in Korea with influences from abroad for over 40-50 years. The Korean War, its aftermath, national reconstruction and economic development caused both a disruption and then a subsequent burgeoning of creativity, which has redefined the Korean peninsula as traditional, ancient and eastern, yet international, innovative and modern.

The Contemporary Korean Art Exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre, Northumberland Avenue near Trafalgar Square, includes works of 35 established and emerging artists in different media and styles, exploring the themes of globalisation, alienation, materialism, mechanisation, the change, loss or hybridisation of identity, the uses and implications of technology, and the meaning and symbolism inherent in the new iconography, media or artistic process itself.

The KCC exhibition provides a broad overview of what’s happening in Korean Comtemporary Art and makes for the general viewer or novice an accessible and interesting introduction to this hugely dynamic and diverse field. The Cultural Centre offered an excellent lecture by Dr. Sook-Kyung Lee, Curator in the Exhibition and Display department, Tate Britain, explaining the general history and background development, and the show was curated by Seungmin Kim, KCC Exhibitions Manager, who drew pieces from the National Art Bank, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Korea.

The exhibition would take an experienced but not expert viewer of modern art about 30 minutes to an hour to visit and digest. The catalogue also serves as an excellent, quick and thorough guide to the show. The show is divided into three main parts: Embedded in Eastern Philosophy, Western Symbolism Fused with Local Ideas, Inspired by Ideology and Politics of Korea Today. For a 30 minute tour at lunch hour, I would suggest the following:

Park Seo-bo, Myobop, 2006, texture printed

Seo-bo Park, b. 1931, Myobob (Ecriture) 2006 Texture Printed, Copyright 2008 National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.

Seo-bo Park, b. 1931, Myobob (Ecriture) 2006 Texture Printed
The small print, with its repetition of lines and striations which create an almost magnetic colour field– typifies the style and themes that preoccupied one of the great Korean Modernists. His work is usually on a larger scale and based on the traditional Korean philosophy and aesthetics of wholeness and unity. The richness of texture and color in the paper add an eastern expressionism to the abstract minimalist drawing.

Seung-ho Yoo, b. 1973, Love, soft breeze (2004) Pencil on Paper. The drawing looks from a distance to be light and airy ink strokes from a calligraphy pen, representing birds in flight or a swarm of flying insects. It is actually composed of tiny Hangul characters, similar to dots of pointilism or stipple, but gently combines words with image and shape, like his other drawings of a mountain or landscape.

Myeung-ro Youn, b. 1936, Tableau MVI-815 (2006) Lithograph. The artist uses powder ground from stone to create the visual effect of ink painting, evocative of traditional landscape or natural materials, such as stone, wood, water, marble.

Youn Young-myo, Tableau, 2006

Myeung-ro Youn, b. 1936, Tableau MVI-815 (2006) Lithograph. Copyright 2008, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.

Myung-duck Joo, b. 1940, Daegiri (2005) Colour R Print. A departure from the artist’s established medium of choice, black and white photography, this print is quite dense and dark, not immediately recognisable as a colour photograph. Daegiri conveys the first impression of a painting, treating trees and forest as almost a fabric or mood, and thus creates a mysterious, atmospheric, brooding work.

Hye-rim Lee, b. 1963, Lash (2005) DVD Projection and Sound. This feminist video operates on a subversive, slightly disturbing inversion of Asian sexual stereotyping and virtual reality fantasy. The TOKI cyborg represents the typical, freakishly cute, anime femme, an alien beauty, who seduces with the blink of her eye lashes and the harsh, cracking sound of a whip, contrasted with the hypnotic feminine pastels swirling in the background.

Jung-heun Kim, b.1946, A long horned beetle, A Fly, and Resistance (2003) Acrylic on Canvas. The painting, historical and political, refers to the Japanese Imperial occupation and the Donghak Peasant Uprising of 1894. However, unlike most war paintings or political art, death, bloodshed, resistance are not depicted with overt, gruesome violence and horror, or propagandist kitsch. The fly and the beetle, dots of red, brown, green are superimposed over the image of guns and army.

Duk-Jun Kwak, b. 1937. Special Issues (1974 -1998) Silk Screens. The artist places the lower portion of his face wearing sunglasses over Time magazine covers showing the heads of U.S. Presidents, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton — omitting Carter, who famously vowed to withdraw American troops from South Korea. The dark glasses and attire of the artist may imply the look of a third world military dictator, and in spite of his coincidental resemblance to Park Chung-hee, Kwak avers the work is not political.

Ha Kwang-suk, Pond, 2003

Kwang-suk Ha, b. 1970, Pond (2003) Copyright 2008, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.

Kwang-suk Ha, b. 1970, Pond (2003) Video installation, powder sugar. This pleasant, artificial replication of a goldfish pond allows a moment of calm and reflection amid the hectic surroundings of Trafalgar Square, Embankment tube station, or Seoul, Korea. Set in a dark room of its own, Pond utilizes the sculptural surface of sand on the floor, illuminated by DVD projection of fish swimming in a bowl.

Jung-ju An, b. 1979, Their War - 3 (2005) Single Channel Video (5 mins.)
The short but unsettling video shows the Pakistani and Indian military meeting at the Joint Check Post at the Wagah border crossing, which recalls the stand-off at Panmunjom between North and South Korea. The jarring repetition of stomping, grunting and jerking movements express the universal tension and ritual of military, political conflict and division.

Myung-keun Koh, b. 1964, Stone body-33 (2006) Film and Plastic. Quite haunting and beautiful, the sculpture represents the delicate, transient nature of life and beauty as well as the complex relationship between mind, spirit and body, using translucent films of classical western sculptures wrapped around a hollow plastic box. The graceful, ghostlike figures seem almost trapped inside the misty ephemera of the plastic coffin.

Koh Myung-keun, Stone Body, 2006

Myung-keun Koh, b. 1964, Stone body-33 (2006) Copyright 2008, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.

The Korean Cultural Centre exhibition is on loan from the National Museum of Contemporary Art, (MOCA) Korea which was founded in 1969, opening at Gyeongbokgung in Seoul. Four years later, the Museum moved to Seokjojeon of Deoksugung, also in Seoul. By 1986, the Museum had expanded again and moved into its new buildings in Gwacheon and later, in 1998, the Deoksugung Museum Annex of MOCA was opened. The Museum presents the exhibitions of its permanent collection, special exhibitions to focus on specific themes and to exchange exhibitions with major museums throughout the world. The many Contemporary Korean Art works on view at this exhibition make a visit to the Korean Cultural Centre a pleasant and worthwhile lunch time break or unhurried morning or afternoon.

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We are not Chinese: Do not miss JUMP!

20-Apr-08

Jump SwordJUMP! Yegam Theatre at Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre, till 10 May 2008
Winner ‘Comedy Award’ at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2006
Korean National Assembly ‘Grand Prize for Drama & Musical,’ 2006
BBC TV ‘The Royal Variety Performance,’ December 2006

Review by Grace Kim

To start with what everyone already knows, it’s pretty much impossible not to enjoy JUMP! even if you happen to be a sad old grouch sucking on rotten lemons all day. If you haven’t seen it already, and even if you have, take another look at this international smash hit Korean classic– before someone gets hurt!

“Don’t go to the cinema, don’t stay in and watch TV. Go and see the movie length Korean show Jump! and you’ll get a flying fistful of all you could ever want from the screen, right there on the stage. . .” The Guardian * * * *

“Jump mixes Korean martial arts, physical comedy and champion grade tumbling with a wink to soaps and a spoof of all things ethnic. . .There are also brilliant DIY sound effects, laugh-aloud tumbling and a hilarious cross-dressing of cultures. Did I say five stars? Make it 50.” Evening Standard * * * * *

A quick synopsis of the plot from the program notes, “. . . Jump is centred around a typical, but dramatically agile, Korean family - from the authoritarian grandfather, drunken uncle and karate chopping mother to the daughter’s incongruous suitor. Each member is a martial arts expert, possessing championship level Tae-Kwon-Do, Tae Kyun and gymnastics skills. . .What follows is an incredible display of acrobatic and martial arts skills, with a large amount of slapstick humour.”

Jump - duet

At the interval, I asked my good-natured Irish husband, “So, what do you think of the show, so far?”

Seemingly terrified of his ferocious midget of a Korean wife, he replied tentatively, “Er. . really . .great. . .The acrobatics and fighting are. . . er. . .championship level.”

“Hmm. Do you find anything particularly Korean about it?”

“The family,” he said, somewhat ambiguously. (Am I that aggressive, I wondered. Yes, my father is a bit of an authoritarian grandfather figure!)

“Did anything surprise you?”

“The sense of humour.” This from a guy who smiles broadly or stifles a fit of laughter when I’m mid-torrent in a tornado of rage, he concluded nervously, “Oh, yes, I really enjoyed it.” What else could he say? Otherwise, I’d break his neck.

What makes JUMP! so particularly Korean are several ethnic characteristics, I have observed in my own family, upbringing and others. Like their food, Koreans have a certain INTENSITY, or a fullness of flavour, passion or drive in whatever they do. The sheer persistence of this intensity usually results in a wearing down of whatever stone wall or obstacles might lie in the path. Oh, how many times, have my Korean parents said, “Put your whole heart into it! Don’t quit!”

Jump Family

Likewise from the start of JUMP! to its very finish, this Korean intensity begins gradually with an old man in traditional dress and walking stick, stooping such that his bottom points directly and intimately at the audience. (But what well formed, muscular buttocks they were.) The Irishman next to me was looking undoubtedly uncomfortable and embarrassed. The vision of Yegam Theatre Company “is to challenge the performing arts industry with innovative ideas. Through martial arts, acrobatic stunts, dance and comic drama, JUMP depicts all aspects of the human body through comic drama.” It certainly achieves that and more. The show continues with the unrelenting physical intensity of the performance persisting, growing stronger and stronger until at last the cast members are literally climbing the walls and twirling 12 ft long fluorescent fighting sticks on a darkened stage at such a speed, it’s a wonder they haven’t decapitated each other yet.

Wall flip Jump Solo

Koreans generally possess a certain AUDACITY, a willingness to stick their necks out or to go out on a limb, perhaps, as an aspect of their intrinsically extreme or intense cultural personality. Boldness or bravery is much admired, and at home, we often heard the familiar, “Tiger in the house, mouse out of the house.” JUMP! is non-verbal in the extreme. Almost exasperatingly, infuriatingly– but most definitely AUDACIOUSLY SO. Yegam Inc. describes itself as “21st century performing arts ‘new topic, Non-verbal performance.’” Those accustomed to traditional Western theatre might lament, “For God’s sake, when are these people going to talk; just say something comprehensible at last!?” There is a lot of mime, pointing, grunting, screaming, shouting but just about the only verbalisation consists of a somewhat compulsive repetition of “Clean up!” or “Clean up the house!” The compulsion, speed and fury of the cleaning also struck me as inherently, comically Korean.

Another feature of JUMP! seems to be a certain adherence to ELITIST or EXCLUSIVE class, education or family structures. In Korean soap operas, the poor hero who is good and noble, raised by some sort of humble servant, cleaner or worker in the food service industry, surprise, surprise, actually, turns out to be the long lost son of a wealthy yangban turned successful industrialist. Traditionally, the family is an exclusive unit, no one comes in or out, unless through blood or marriage. The “normal” family of JUMP! comprises the tae kwon do elite, the gymnastic and acrobatic upper class, who clearly survive and thrive on competition, winning contests. Koreans believe that competition gains entry for the winner into the class of the elite or experts, thus demonstrated throughout the show in the relishing of the battle cry, “Contest!” (but only so far, as Koreans still demarcate others with the pejorative, “Peasant!”)

Flight

At the same time, there’s a certain NATURALNESS to JUMP!, the sense of humour seems unself-conscious, and the enjoyment of performing, genuine. Despite the extreme difficulty, precision, strength and stamina required by the two hour show, the cast appeared no less energetic and enthusiastic at the end of the show than the beginning. Koreans tend to be quite jolly or sociable in manner, or silent and stoical, but their nature is by and large manifest in their face or appearance.In Audacity, Intensity, Naturalness and Elitism– JUMP! is a uniquely Korean production despite its broad cultural references and international appeal. The biggest disappointment of the show was the fact that there were only a few Koreans in the audience. Some MORON behind me enthused happily, “You know, these CHINESE, they’re really clever!”

All Koreans and those interested in Korea, her people and culture should go out and see this show!

(And non-Koreans too - Ed)

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