한국에 사는 다국적 아티스트들, 경계를 뛰어넘다

Erasing boundaries in Korea through art

 

한국에 사는 다국적 아티스트들, 경계를 뛰어넘다

인터내셔널 아티스트 커뮤니티”와 “서울 아트 콜렉티브”는 한국에 사는 외국인 작가들과 우리나라 작가들의 모임이다. 서로 언어가 통하지 않더라도 미술로 대화하며 전시나 자선활동 등 다양한 활동을 함께한다. 그들은 한국에 이런 다문화 모임이 늘어나는 건 서울이 곧 뉴욕, 파리와 같은 문화의 중심지가 될 수도 있다는 것,” 이라며 “국적, 나이 불문하고 창조적인 마인드만 있으면 누구나 회원이 될 수 있다,”고 말한다.

Defining individuals through conventional standards like nationalities is becoming more and more meaningless in our time.

More than 1.2 million expats are living in Korea today and that, of course, includes those who are artists.

Some of these artists, who have already blurred the border of their "home" countries by settling down in Korea, are set to break more cultural limits.

Richard Beaumont, a British artist who has been living in Korea for 10 years, recently gathered 18 artists from seven different countries to found an International Artists Community.

"Korea is becoming a multicultural society where other cultures are starting to play important roles. This could be a threat and danger of losing one's own identity. But every culture has both positive and negative affects to other cultures. The goal of this community is to bring people from other cultures together and have them appreciate, respect and learn others through creative action called art," Beaumont told The Korea Herald.

The community is based on personal network. Friends introduced friends. Sometimes Beaumont seeks new members by contacting artists whose works he found interesting on the internet, and sometimes artists contact him first.

"The group is open to everyone who is creative, which again means everyone. I would like this group to evolve," Beaumont said.

"My wife's Korean and I had only known Korean people here. I live in the Korean society, not just in an expat bubble. In fact, I never used to speak English in normal speed here until I met some of the artists through this community," he added, laughing.

His wife Jang Oui-loung is also an artist who belongs to the community.

Like Jang, half the members are Koreans. Most speak English but some do not. Beaumont said that it is fine because they can communicate through art.

All of the members, however, are familiar with multicultural societies either by birth or by education and are open-minded to all cultures.

For instance, Loreta Medina, whom Beaumont contacted to invite into the community after seeing her works online, was exposed to multiculturalism from birth, as she was born and raised in the Philippines.

"A great lot of English teachers were practically dumped to our country. The Americanization in our country is very strong, probably the strongest in Asia. Besides, we already had Muslims in the south and Chinese in the north, not to mention the Spanish who soon arrived. We had a hundred languages in our country," Medina said.

She naturally learned how to accept and sometimes refuse unfamiliar cultures all the while respecting them. After spending eight years in Korea, Korean culture was also caught in her radar.

Medina said that she loves half of Korea but does not like the other half.

"I am captivated by Korean calligraphy and oriental paintings. I love the view in Korea, you know, because we don't have snow or fall in Philippines. I am also collecting galbi bones for a future project," she added.

Living in such a multicultural ambience must evoke homesickness for some. The main materials for Medina's works are tree barks, which Filipinos used to use in traditional clothing.

But her super multicultural background could not be hidden, as she admits that she sometimes feels her "Spanish self coming out" when she spots images of veils in tree barks.

International Artists Community is preparing their first exhibition which will open on Dec. 2 at Jay Gallery and Na Gallery in central Seoul.

Including Medina, the artists -- Alexandra Beneteau, Choi Ko-ya, Kang Jea-Uk, Ko Sun-im, Kwon Song-won, Lee Ji-young, Mike Stewart, Rawini Sulaiman, Genn Toffey, Sarah McCauley, Ryan McLay, Roh Young-sun, Seo Hwa-suk, Lee Dong-seok, Olivia White, Jang and Beaumont -- will showcase various works that cannot be limited as a reflection of a single culture. International Artists Community is not the only artist group composed of international and local artists. There are several throughout the country.

Seoul Art Collective, founded in 2006, is another one. Composed of about 20 British, U.S. and Korean artists, it is an artist's community for networking and exchanging ideas.

The SAC does everything from gallery hopping, art critiques, holding exhibitions to even charity events that benefit orphans.

"People don't have to be of any particular nationality to become involved with the SAC. We aren't primarily interested in foreign art but art in general and art that is happening in Korea," said Zach Eichelberger, president of SAC.

If one is wondering if there are any rivalries or competitions among the groups, one is too much into conventional thinking.

The concept of "membership" is very loose in all groups, which may as well be considered as another meaning of blurring borders. Artists freely go in and out of the groups and sometimes even join several.

"I see it (artist groups) as acting as a catalyst for any artist wishing to collaborate on projects with other artists irrespective of nationality, language, social status, gender, age or membership of other groups. Several members of SAC are in fact taking part in this show (Cultures Connect) and I am sure this collaboration will continue in the future," said Beaumont, who is also a member of the SAC.

"To artists, freedom is very important. We like to be all over the place. We like the imagination to be free. When we belong to a rigid structure, we don't like it," added Medina, reminding how even Picasso had participated in several art groups like Cubism and Dada.

SAC is currently holding its 28th exhibition titled "Ism" at The Siuter Art Space in central Seoul. Participating artists include Choi Ko-ya, Courtney Lyn Zach, James Topple, Kim Chang-han, Kwon Sung-won, Laine Alexander, Lenny Correa, Matt Flanagan, Park Jin-seoung, Ryan McLay, Shaun Stamp, Beaumont and Eichelberger. Eichelberger also curated the exhibition.

At this exhibition, SAC took a step further. Rather than simply cross the borders between different cultures, it attempts to cross the borders between the conventional categories in art which are usually categorized with the suffix "ism."

"What 'ism' are we in today? It's hard to tell," said Eichelberger.

"The concept of the show came about by looking at the work of several artists and realizing the link between the works was in large part connected by the past. In some ways, I think art is looking to the past in order to move forward these days. There's a lot of room, or a lot of freedom to make whatever you want, and freedom can be daunting given the scope of what is out there in art, or the world at large."

Eichelberger said he would be very happy if the viewers might think of the last great line in "The Great Gatsby": "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

"But if perhaps they don't, I'd like the message to be that we are blind to the future, but moving on forward, and every flashlight is useless," he said.

Market insiders see the emergence of new foreign and local artist groupings as an innovational change for Korean art market.

"I think it is a very important moment for the Korean society. These kinds of cultures mixing together can create some really interesting, original forms of art. If this continues, Korea could become a cultural center of art like New York or Paris," said Young Jay Lee, director of Jay Gallery.

"Ism" runs through Dec. 13 at The Siuter Art Space in Gugi-dong, central Seoul. For more information, visit www.siuter.com or call (02) 394-2596. To find more about SAC, visit sac.travisleestreet.com

"Cultures Connect" runs from Dec. 2-15 at Jay Gallery and Na Gallery in SK Hub Plaza in Gyeongwun-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 2666-4450 or visit www.jaypia.com for Jay Gallery or call (02) 2732-8846 or visit www.na-gallery.com for Na Gallery.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young