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Art latest tool in golf marketing

For quite some time now, great art masterpieces have lent their designs to various commercial goods such as fashion and furniture. In the meantime, more art shows have been thrown in unexpected places lately, like in trains, hotel rooms and even on the vast green of a golf course. Marketing insiders are the latest to catch up on this new trend. Yes, art has risen to be one of the hottest ways of promoting, well, almost everything.

The exhibition "Eighteen Masterpiece" which took place last week in "The Classic" golf course in Jeju Island was the first-ever art show held amid a golf tournament in Korea.

Installed at the golf course last Wednesday, 18 artworks greeted players and galleries during the KLPGA tour "Nefs Masterpiece 2009" which ran from Friday to Sunday.

The works were removed after the game was finished and the winner Lee Bo-mi, 21, took home the flower patterned trophy specially designed by artist Kang Yong-meon.

The KLPGA tour was broadcasted live on cable channels such as MBC ESPN and J Golf. The art works were placed at perfect spots, right across the mobile units, so that they would have the most exposure on TV.

Every time the golfers took a swing, at least one of the colorful masterpieces appeared somewhere in the frame.

This first golf and art combined event was beneficial for every one of the participants.

The eighteen Korean artists - Kang Yong-meon, Kwon Doo-hyoun, Keum Joong-ki, Gim Mu-jun, Kim Seok, Noh Jun, Park Seung-mo, Park Eun-young, Byun Dae-yong, Shin Chi-hyun, Yong Gwan, Lee Kang-hoon, Lee Jung-hun, Im Ju-ri, Jeong Tae-jeon, Cho Hoon, Choi Tae-hoon and Hong Jung-pyo - gave their works more than enough public exposure in three short days.

Nefs, a Korean kitchen furniture maker which hosted the game, not only promoted their name but also gained a sophisticated and high-end image through exhibiting the art works.

So did "The Classic," whose officials liked their field's new look so much that they are considering a permanent installation of one of the exhibits.

"Everyone is satisfied with the event so far. It will probably be held again next year," said Lee Dae-hyung, director of art company H which was the company that curated the exhibition, on the first day of the show.

One of the most difficult parts in organizing this event was assuring that the artwork would not be damaged. Luckily, none of it was.

The officials carefully went over all possible scenarios, calculated distances and checked the firmness of the ground before installing the works.

"We had golf experts to supervise after we finished the installations. We made sure that the works would neither interfere with the game nor would be damaged due to the game," said Lee.

The exhibits will fly back to Seoul and will be displayed for a month from Sept. 7 at Nefspace in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul.

For more information about the exhibition, visit www.artcompanyh.com or call (02) 445-0853.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young