Exhibition to find the next Lee Bul

2008.12.8

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The best part of being young and having less experience is that one is forgiven for being bold and fearless.

Seventeen up-and-coming artists show off their daring, uninhibited ideas in the "2008 I AM AN ARTIST" exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art.

Started in 1981, the biannual exhibition is the museum's oldest project. The project brought to light more than 300 artists in the past 27 years. Some of them grew to be leading artists in Korea and the world, such as photographer Koo Bohn-chang and installation artist Lee Bul.

The museum is sure that the artists participating this time also possess great potential.

"Korean contemporary art market has greatly expanded in the 20th century, and it seems to be getting more and more corrupt and commercialized," said Lee Chu-young, assistant curator of the exhibition, at a press conference last Thursday.

"We selected artists aged 24 to 38 years old who do not compromise with the existing art world but reveal their existence as artists in their own ways. They seem to cry out 'I am an artist!' by uniquely expressing their view of people, society and history."

The 17 artists are: Oh Suk Kuhn, Safranski Mackerel, Lee Eun Sil, Lee Hyein, Na Hyun, Chu One Joon, Kim Yun Ho, Ahn Doo Jin, Lee Jae Hoon, Kang Seok Ho, Lim Seung Chun, Lee Wan, Wee Young Il, Liil Liil, Kim Si Won, Kwon Kyung Hwan and Lee Jin Joon.

"Erotic jjamppong man in distress" by Wee Young Il [National Museum of Contemporary Art]

They exhibit various kinds of artwork, ranging from paintings and installations to sculptures, photographs, videos and animations in their separate spaces. There are a total of 250 pieces of work on display.

Liil Liil's space is like an amusement park. Viewers can wear 3D glasses and enjoy her "Voyage to Vanishing Landscape Project" series, which shows the landscapes of the South Pole and the desert in Central Asia.

Wee Young Il's space is full of satire, ready to make viewers crack up. Wee's "Artist Color Chart" criticizes some of the famous artists who repeat the same style of work over and over again.

By creating a "jjamppongman" character, which is a mixture of superheroes, including Batman, Superman and Spiderman, he made fun of the typical American heroes.

Some works are so raw and unfamiliar that viewers might even question if it can be called art or not.

Kim Si Won makes a room full of white boxes of different sizes, which signify the amount of sleep he had while preparing for this exhibition. He also pushed one of the walls everyday until it slightly tilted, to show how much strength he put into the preparation.

"I decided to turn the changes that occurred to my body during preparation into an artwork," Kim said.

At any rate, the emerging artists will more than fulfill viewer's anticipations, if what they expect is some spunkiness, a lot of inspiration and a basket full of fun.

"2008 I AM AN ARTIST" will be on display through March 8 at National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets are 3,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2188-6000 or visit www.moca.go.kr

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)