2009.2.9
The "Multiple Dialogue ?" exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon will send your eyes spinning.
TV screens form an 18 meter high tower in the center of the room, and the countless colorful squares glued on the walls that surround the tower add to the confusion.
Artist Kang Ik-Joong installed his work "Samramansang," which means "all creations" in Korean, around the "The More The Better," by prominent video artist Paik Nam-june.
"These are the biggest and most representative installation works ever of the two world famous artists," said Lim Dae-geun, curator of the exhibition.
The current exhibition is a sequel to an exhibition of the same name that the artists held at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1994.
However, this exhibition is more like Kang's way of paying homage to late Paik, who was not only his artistic mentor but also someone he most sincerely respected.
Kang told the press on Thursday that he could never forget how considerate and full of insight Paik was.
 |
Before their exhibition at the Whitney Museum, Paik sent an e-mail to the museum saying '"I am very flexible. It is important that Ik-Joong has the better space."
"He was a shaman who sees stars even in daylight," Kang reminisced.
Influenced by Paik, Kang himself also became an acclaimed artist. Even those who do not recognize his name right away would probably have seen the glowing wall filled with moon jar paintings covering the construction site of Gwanghwamun since 2007. It is Kang's art piece named "Mountain-Wind (Dream of Kwang Hwa)."
For "Samramansang," Kang covered the 200 meters long spiral wall around Paik's masterpiece with 60 thousand works and little objects. He used various videos, sounds, media, and objects to create "all creations" possible.
"It occurred to me that Paik Nam-june wanted to make the TV tower look like a rocket," Kang said, pointing to Paik's work.
"As his junior, I felt it was my responsibility to light it up, help it shoot through the sky."
According to Kang, his work is supposed to be a mountain. So naturally, the best way to absorb it is to climb up.
"Viewers can see the 'Samramansang' we encounter while we climb a mountain," Kang explained.
Birds chirp, water flows, and recordings of monks chanting sutra play from tiny moon jars installed on the walls. A yellow moon made from a glow lamp shines through an old wash basin, and lights streak down from a waterfall made of white LED lights.
"As Paik's video tower heads upwards, I tried to even things out by making a waterfall that goes down. And because Paik's videos pulse quickly, I made mine breathe slowly," said Kang.
Kang made efforts to make his work to balance, mix and communicate with Paik's works "like bibimbap," as Paik used to say when referring to his art.
The exhibition runs until Feb. 7, 2010 at National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Admission is free. The museum is closed on Mondays. For more information, call (02) 2188-6114 or visit www.moca.go.kr
By Park Min-young
(claire@heraldm.com)
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기