[롤링스톤즈 전시] Exhibition for Rolling Stones fans

2009.3.27

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Despite the long-held wishes of its fans here, Rolling Stones has yet to give a show in Korea. The possibility of a future visit is unfortunately slim, given that the graying band has been talking about a "last concert" since the 90s and that they are among the highest paid gigs in the world.

Well, this won't be anything close to a concert but fans can perhaps find some relief in an exhibition.

The exhibition "stART me up! Art Inspired by the Rolling Stones," running at Gallery CHA in Tongui-dong, central Seoul, displays art and memorabilia related to the British rock band. The small-scale show is the country's first exhibition to feature the band.

While the band's greatest hits play in the background, visitors can look at posters from its early days and different visual images the band used for promotional purposes during its career that spans five decades.

Many famed artists helped the band create its posters and album cover images. It was Andy Warhol who designed the cover of "Sticky Fingers," which was the band's first album after the members established their own record company, Rolling Stones Records, in 1971.

Viewers will also find at the exhibition many items with the band's signature logo, "The Tongue and Lip Design," created by John Pasche.

For their concerts and tours, the band always hired top notch photographers like Gered Mankowitz and Jim Marshall to document their on- and off- stage lives on the road. Photographs capturing the younger days of each member might have some fans carrying their thoughts back to the past.

Some of the exhibits are from Yoshiko Matsumoto Gallery and V!P's gallery in the Netherlands, but most items on display belong to Kariem Hamed, an individual collector currently residing in Korea.

Hamed, a young Dutch collector in his early thirties, was born long after the Rolling Stones' debut in 1963. But while he may not be one of the band's earliest fans, he is definitely one of the biggest, having been to more than 60 of the band's concerts.

Ever since his first encounter at a Rolling Stones club show in Amsterdam in 1995, he fell in love with the band. Since then, he started collecting Rolling Stones memorabilia from other collectors, auctions, and even from the actual crew members.

"I love the magic of how the legendary members play, and the energy that comes from the band. It is even addicting. I hope the Korean public will get to see them perform before they get too old," said Hamed, who has been in Korea for about a year and is working at ING Life Insurance Korea.

The exhibition runs through April 10 at Gallery CHA in Tongui-dong, central Seoul. Admission is 1,000 won. For more information, call (02) 730-1700 or visit www.gallerycha.com

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

Finding meaning in small creatures

2009.3.27

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Have you ever knelt down on a sidewalk to take a close look at a nameless flower? Not many of us pay attention to the small creatures, never getting the chance to hear the wonderful stories each of them might be carrying.

Illustrator Bae Min is one of the few people who recognizes their value. Having majored in graphic design at California College of Art and Craft and illustration at Academy of Art college in the United States, Bae is an up-and-coming illustrator.

In his exhibition titled "Unknown Weeds," which starts today at Gallery GreemZip in Itaewon-dong, central Seoul, viewers can check out what the illustrator sees in the creatures.

Bae captures nature which is easily neglected in our daily lives and characterizes them. Using bold lines and significant colors, Bae turns weeds, insects and butterflies into marvelous art.

"I walk on the street that leads to the workroom from home. Even though this familiar street remains always unchanged, a flower blossom in an unexpected corner delights me with everyday life's small pleasures," the artist wrote in an essay regarding this exhibition.

The exhibition runs daily from 2 p.m to 10 p.m through March 31 at Gallery GreemZip in Itaewon-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 792-9279.

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[신오감도] Smell, taste, touch and listen to pictures

2009.3.24

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If you think art is only about gazing at pictures in a silent museum where "Do not touch" is written in bold letters all over, here is an exhibition to break down your prejudices.

"Art & Synesthesia," an exhibition currently running at Seoul Museum of Art in Seosomun-dong, central Seoul, showcases sensuous artworks that tickle your five senses. Twenty-four Korean artists including Kim Whanki and Lee Ufan participated in it.

The exhibition is divided into two sections. The standard two-dimensional paintings displayed in the first section, "Sensory Illusions," know how to attract viewers, or might possibly have some magical powers.

Viewers will be tempted to dance to the rhythm from Woo Jae-gil's "Rhythm," smell the fresh grass from Choi Duk-hyu's "Fragrance of Green Color," and eat the soft, ripe peaches from Yoon Byung-rock's "Fragrance of Summer - Appetizing Box."

The second division, "Multiple Sense: Crossing and Blending," induces more vigorous actions. Viewers are allowed to touch, sit on, and play with the works in whichever desired way.

Composed of pieces that arouse unique experiences through stimulations of the five senses, the section is like a playground.

Move your fingers on the table in the room filled with Yang Min-ha's interactive installation, "Michael's Playmates." Stars start shooting, creating fantasy-like images, and the roaring sounds add to the sensual effects.

Choi Seung-joon installed a microphone for his "A Soundless Shout." A gentle tap on the mic produces colorful images on the big screen in front. The louder the noise you make, the more wildly the image responds.

This exhibition runs through June 7. Admission is 700 won for adults and free for those younger than 19 and older than 65. The museum is closed on Mondays. For details, call (02) 2124-8934 or visit www.seoulmoa.org

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[조선의 마지막 황실] Photos of Joseon's last imperial house unveiled

2009.3.20

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If you found the unveiling of the Joseon King's royal seal on Tuesday interesting, here is an exhibition to excite you -- an exhibition about the owner of the seal and the royal family of that time.

The Museum of Photography in Bangi-dong, southern Seoul is displaying the original photos of Joseon's last imperial house from 1897 to 1910 at its current exhibition, "Portraits of the Great Korean Imperial Family." Some photos are revealed for the first time.

In one of the photos, viewers can see King Sunjong, the last emperor of Joseon, busy plowing a field with his people on April 5th, 1909. It was a cultivation ceremony to sympathize with the people and encourage farming.

Along with this memorable photo, various photos of King Gojong, the 26th King of Joseon, Crown Prince Youngchin and Prince Lee Woo can be found at the exhibition.

Another notable photograph is one featuring a woman who is said to be the last empress. This photo has been copied and fabricated so many times that the display of the original is extra meaningful.

Weirdly enough, however, all faces in the photos look grim. Perhaps an emerging theory could explain why.

According to some historians and photography researchers, The Japanese government at that time tried to damage the power of King Gojong and Joseon's imperial family by distorting the photos.

Take the photo taken by Murakami Tenshin when Japan's Crown Prince Yoshihito visited Joseon in 1907, for example. It is common sense for the figures to stand symmetrically in an official group photo, but here, the figures including Joseon's Crown Prince Youngchin are packed in the right side. It was to place Yoshihito in the center, and slightly more out in the front.

"It seems like the figures in the photo were purposely arranged like this so Yoshihito would look relatively taller, and so that Japan's intended hierarchy between the Japanese and Korean officials would stand out," said Lee Kyeong-min, a researcher at the Photo Archives Research Center, in a report regarding this exhibition.

Look at another photo of prince Youngchin and the cabinet led by Lee Wan-yong -- a pro-Japanese collaborator -- taken by the same photographer in the same year. Viewers can easily spot an awkward right arm of someone in a white hanbok, or Korean traditional costume, sticking out at the right corner of the photo.

Surprisingly, it is King Gojong's. In the original version of the photo, the king stands at the right corner with a blank look, far away from the rest of the figures. But in the photos which Japan distributed, the king is either cut out or erased.

"In the Joseon society, it was a taboo when anyone's body parts were cut off in a picture, let alone the deified king's. It must have been a very disrespectful thing to distribute a photo with more than half the body of the king cut off," said Lee.

This photo exhibition runs through June 6 at The Museum of Photography in Bangi-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets are 5,000 won. For more information, call (02) 418-1316 or visit www.photomuseum.or.kr

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[새김아트 정병례] Ambitious engraver steps out

2009.3.12

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More often than not, you will run into teenagers who have yet to figure out what they want to do in life. Overwhelming information about job choices only makes their decision more difficult.

That was never a problem for veteran engraver Jung Byung Rae. As a teenager growing up in the 1960, Jung knew exactly what he wanted to do.

"I wanted to be an artist," he said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

Born in Naju, South Jeolla Province in 1948, Jung did not receive art education beyond what is taught in schools as a general subject. But he was always into doodling and making small things. People close to him loved his work. So Jung knew he was different, and that he had to be an artist.

After serving in the army, Jung worked in a textile factory for a while. One day, he figured his time there was up and simply walked out. And then, he went straight to a seal engraver's shop on the street for a visit.

"Engraving was artistic enough, and was easy to access for someone like me who never had any professional art education," Jung said.

Everyone thought he was stupid to give up a stable job. But for Jung, pursuing his dream was the most important thing in his life. One by one, he learned the basics of engraving at the shop. Surprisingly, the more he learned, the more he grew unsatisfied.

"I couldn't understand why the engravers couldn't do any better but do the same work over and over again. Engraving is a total art combining letters, drawings, and sculptures. In my view, engraving had infinite potential, and now you see, I was right," he said with a contented smile.

Little by little, he started to develop his talent in engraving. Now, his studio in Insa-dong, central Seoul, is packed with Jung's diverse art that branched out from engraving -- seals, engraved paintings, installation works, calligraphy and animation.

Even those who are unfamiliar with his name would realize his engraved calligraphy used in the title of hit KBS drama "Wang gua Bi," or "The King and the Queen" or products of milk brand "So wa Namu" ("Cow and Tree") from Dongwon Dairy Foods.

Jung's seals have also been presented to Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, the former and current UN Secretary-Generals, and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who recently visited Korea. It was Prime Minister Han Seung-soo who gave them to Ban and Clinton.

"Prime Minister Han Seung-soo really seems to like my work. He calls them national treasure," Jung said with a chuckle.

Jung has become the pioneer of "saeghim art," or engraving art, a name he himself started in 2006 to refer to the wide range of art that is based on engraving. Jung calls himself a "saeghim artist."

Jung explained how he declined the government offer to honor him with the status of a "myeongjang," or master, which is just below the level of a human cultural asset.

"I'm not someone who simply transmits some techniques from the past to the future, I am a creator," he said.

Considering how he started from nothing, Jung has definitely achieved a lot. Works are under way for him to open his own seal engraving museum in Cheolwon, Gangwon Province in October. The 51-year-old artist, however, says that his challenges are still ongoing.

"My whole life was driven by challenges, and it still is," said Jung. This time, he is headed overseas.

He is participating in the "31st Toronto Festival of Storytelling in Canada," which runs from March 27 to April 5. Under the title "Once upon a time, there lived a tiger in Inwangsan, in Seoul," Jung will display his related works and demonstrate how he engraves.

The Toronto exhibition is Jung's only fourth show overseas in a career that has spanned 35 years.

"I don't have any regional or educational connections in this field. I never received any government support. It was the hardest thing for me -- to pave the way through all by myself," he said.

Due to these limitations, the "saeghim artist" said he has only achieved one tenth of his dream.

"Right now, my ideas are spilling out but I don't have the means to express them all. Someday when I have expressed them all and have no ideas left over, maybe then, I could be satisfied," he said.

For more information about Jung and his work, visit his website www.junggoam.com

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[손으로 말하다] Shows take a closer look at hands

2009.3.12

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They are too familiar to take notice of, and too common to think highly of. But hands are one of the most expressive and powerful things that humans possess.

And two exhibitions in central Seoul are taking a closer look them.

At Daelim Contemporary Art Museum in Tongi-dong, well-known U.S. art collector Henry Buhl is exhibiting his collection of hand-themed works under the title "The Buhl Collection: Speaking with Hands."

About 150 pieces of photographs and sculptures by 136 artists including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin are on show. Works of Korean artists No Sang-gyun and Seo Do-ho are also included.

Born into a wealthy Detroit family in 1930, Henry Buhl was able to collect art rather easily with his inheritance. Starting from the piece "Hands with a Thimble" by Alfred Stieglitz, Buhl now owns a hand-themed collection of over 1,000 works.

"He did not only collect hand-themed works, but he was actually a man famous for his helping hands," said Ryan Russo, curator of the exhibition.

After working for many years as a Wall Street financial expert, Buhl established SoHo Partnership, which helps homeless people find jobs, and The Buhl Foundation, which supports young artists through scholarships.

The exhibition "Speaking with Hands" has been held in other countries prior to the Seoul show.

"People all over the world loved the exhibition because a hand is a very universal theme. Everyone has it, and everyone can feel sympathy towards it," said Elga Wimmer, another curator of the exhibition.

At the Guggenheim Museum exhibition in New York in 2004, the exhibits were divided according to the meanings of the hands, such as merciful hands or saving hands. At the Seoul exhibition, however, the collection is displayed in chronological order.

Depending on the time, space and of course its owner, each hand shows a unique expression. Some shout in joy, some allure, some destroy, and some give hope.

The exhibition is also a chance to see the hands of famous figures such as Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Henry Moore, and Mother Teresa.

If the Henry Buhl collection features actual hands, the exhibition "The Great Hands" running at Gallery Hyundai spotlights unbelievable works done by meticulous hands.

Seeing the exhibits of 17 Korean artists, viewers are likely to be lost in admiration.

Hundreds of tiny Swarovsky diamonds are embroidered on a black canvas, making an image of a Buddha. In another work, thousands of colorful acrylic paint dots are dropped on the canvas through an injector to make a big image of a sweater.

Lee Jae-hyo bended nails and clumped them together to turn them into a chair-like sculpture. Jeong Gwang-sik delicately carved a gigantic piece of black Granite into a landscape painting.

"These works required an amazing amount of labor," said Koh Hee-kyeong, curator of the exhibition.

"There are some contemporary artists today who rely on a single sparkling idea without making arduous efforts. This exhibition will make viewers have second thoughts on what the role of an artists' hand is, and what the true meaning of art is," she said.

"The Buhl Collection: Speaking with Hands" runs through May 24 at Daelim Contemporary Art Museum in Tongi-dong, central Seoul. The museum is closed on Mondays. Tickets are 4,000 won for adults and 2,000 won for youth. For more information, call (02) 727-0667 or visit www.daelimmuseum.org

"The Great Hands" runs through April 5 at Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul. The museum is closed on Mondays. For more information, call (02) 2287-3500 or visit www.galleryhyundai.com

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[카쉬전] Check out 'Karsh-Look'

2009.3.9

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If you want to be a great photographer, maybe you need the guts to snatch a lighted cigar from the lips of a prime minister.

Yousuf Karsh, considered one of the world's greatest photographers, did. Barely 33 at the time, the Canadian photographer of Armenian heritage snatched a cigar out of Winston Churchill's mouth to record him on the day he had addressed the Canadian Parliament.

"Instinctively, I removed the cigar. At this the Churchillian scowl deepened, the head was thrust forward belligerently, and the hand placed on the hip in an attitude of anger," Karsh reminisced in his book, "Faces of Our Time."

Karsh pressed on the camera shutter. The photo captured Churchill and Britain of the time perfectly: defiant and indomitable. Naturally, the British prime minister was furious, but later said to him, "You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed," allowing Karsh to take one more photo.

That is how the legendary photograph "The Roaring Lion" was taken. It was sold to many reputable magazines, and Karsh soon rose to stardom. Since then and throughout the 60-year career that continued until his death in 2002, Karsh was referred to as the portrait photography master.

To commemorate the master's 100th birthday, about 70 of his representative works, including the portrait of Churchill are displayed at the exhibition "Faces of Our Time," at the Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul.

The exhibition has three divisions. The first part, "Portraits," is the main one. Leading figures of the 20th century like Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Audrey Hepburn, Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Pablo Picasso and Jacqueline Kennedy posed for Karsh.

While most photographers at that time had the guests visit their studios, Karsh packed up his cameras to visit their homes or offices. That way, he could adequately arrange the backgrounds using the subject's personal belongings or space to better express their characters.

"He always went through in-depth research about his subjects beforehand, to create photos that reveal not only the subjects' looks but also their occupations and personalities," said exhibition curator Ahn Sun-young.

What is more amazing is that all his masterpieces took three shots at the most, many just a single shot.

"The photos are so delicate that it looks like they have been retouched by Photoshop, which wasn't even there then. Karsh printed the original vintage films much more delicately than we handle digital films now," Ahn said.

Karsh was especially brilliant at using light. He would deliberately darken one-quarter of the photo to make the subject appear more dramatic. This unique style is known as the "Karsh-Look," and is still favored by many photographers today.

In the other two parts of the exhibition, viewers can see the photographer's earlier works, featuring nude models and Canada's postwar years.

The Karsh exhibition runs through May 8. Tickets are 8,000 won for adults, 7,000 won for adolescents and 6,000 won for kids. For more information, call 1544-1682 or visit www.karshkorea.com

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[마이클 크레그 마틴] Making familiar objects unfamiliar

2009.3.4

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Michael Craig-Martin, one of the key figures in the first generation of British-based conceptual artists, is hosting a solo exhibition at PKM Trinity Gallery in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.

Craig-Martin was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1941, brought up in the United States and educated at Yale. He returned to Europe in the mid-'60s to be a professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London.

There he taught Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and many other artists who would become known as the members of the "Young British Artists" group in the early '90s.

Craig-Martin has since been best known as the teacher of Hirst, one of the best-selling contemporary artists in the world. In describing his famous student, he can't help but use the word "very" over and over.

"Damien is very unusual, very powerful, very clever, very ambitious, very thoughtful, and very courageous," he said at a press conference in Seoul last week.

"From the 1980s till now is one period in auction. For me, this period opened with Damien Hurst's exhibition 'Freeze,' and ended with Damien Hurst's auction. It is amazing to find one person to define one period."

Although he might have been pushed out of the spotlight by his talented student, Craig-Martin is an acclaimed artist in his own right. His specialty is to give unusual perspectives to everyday objects.

"Andy (Warhol) always used images of people who are famous, like Marilyn Monroe. So I thought: 'Who is more familiar than Marilyn Monroe?' I thought of chairs, shoes and tables. These simple objects we make have become an international language of our time," the artist said.

Boldly outlined images of a chair, a light bulb, or a sandal float in fluorescent colors on Craig-Martin's canvases.

"I deliberately make the drawings very simple and very impersonal. It is because I want my drawings to have the same characters (the actual objects) have," he explained.

"All mass-produced objects have this look. You can see how elegant, poetic, complex, and how much of an architecture they are. In a way, it's perfect."

While he features mass produced objects, Craig-Martin's paintings are labor intensive. He first draws a rough sketch and makes all the changes on his computer with a mouse. Then he projects the sketch onto a canvas, puts a special tape along the outlines of the sketch, and colors the canvas elaborately with various acrylic paints. To make the color look more intense, he uses the exact colors the paint factory made, straight out of the tube.

Many people think of him as a pop artist because he uses such radiant colors. He only started to use colors in the 1990s, though.

"I never think of myself as a pop artist. For many years, all the work that I did was in black and white and nobody ever said that I was a pop artist. It was only when I introduced the color," he said.

The biggest difference between pop art and his work is that pop art uses images that already exist in photos or comic books, while he makes his images himself, he said.

He admits that he was influenced by pop art, as he was a student when it began in the early 1960s. He remembers it was the first time art reached such a wide audience.

"The idea of making art which people who are innocent and know little about art can also participate in it was great," he said.

Craig-Martin's exhibition runs through March 31. For more information, call (02) 515-9496 or visit www.pkmgallery.com

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)

[데스티네이션:서울] Korean designs take on Big Apple

2009.3.2

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Talented young designers from Seoul are showcasing their whimsical works at one of the most stylish cities in the world: New York.

It is a part of the "Destination: Design" project of New York's Museum of Modern Art, in which the museum is displaying and exclusively selling creative works by up and coming designers from all over the world.

The MoMA design store chose Seoul as the sixth destination for the project, which first opened in 2005 and takes place twice every year. It has already showcased designs from five cities including Tokyo, Berlin and Buenos Aires.

The current collection called "Destination: Seoul," covers 75 products used in everyday life such as housewares, toys, books and accessories. The creative items are contemporary, but are based on Korean culture and are usually found only in Korea.

"We were aware of Korea's superb cars and electric devices, but never realized it had so many talented designers with brilliant ideas," said Bonnie Mackay, the creative and marketing director of MoMA Retail at the launching party of the project earlier this month in New York.

A design group "Second Hotel" punched holes in spoons to make "spooners," which are spoon-shaped bottle openers. It portrays the common practice in Korea of opening beer bottles with spoons when a bottle opener is not available.

Chang Hui-eun created "Kimchi Magnet Sets" featuring different kinds of kimchi such as stuffed cucumber kimchi, radish kimchi, and cabbage kimchi. Chang also made "Korean Meal Business Card Holders" which have three dimensional ramen noodles being scooped up by a pair of chopsticks and a dinner setting of "galbi," or Korean beef, and soju.

Kim Jeehee's "Ten Symbols Umbrella" features "Sibjangsaeng," or ten symbols of longevity which is a traditional theme in Korea. The 10 symbols - sun, mountain, stone, water, cloud, pine tree, herb of eternal youth, turtle, white crane and deer - are vividly painted on the umbrella.

The items are exclusively sold through MoMA. Prices range from $3-$108 and can be purchased at the MoMA store in New York's SoHo district, or at the gallery's online store. Some of the products are already sold out, according to the MoMA.

"Destination: Seoul" was developed in collaboration with Hyundai Card, the Korea Institute of Design Promotion and Design Seoul Headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

By Park Min-young

(claire@heraldm.com)