Leeum Art Museum

Our group visited the Leeum Art Museum. It was a real treat to see the artwork housed there and to be in such a thoughtfully designed building-- very inspirational. I kept a little list of interesting pieces I saw and figured I would share my findings with y'all. (Sorry, no pictures!!!!) 

So, things of note:

1.) Korean Ceramics--If you haven’t already heard, Korea has a rich ceramic tradition. Leeum has some very fine and richly ornate celadon pieces from the Goryeo dynasty, as well as many gesture works from the later Joseon period (some of which could easily be mistaken for contemporary vessels despite being hundreds of years old). In addition to being priceless and very beautiful, I think what is fascinating about these pieces is thinking about how permanent the ceramic medium is. That is, once you fire clay it remains in a hardened state forever (albeit, maybe cracked or in many fragments at the bottom of some deep, deep riverbank). This fact about the permanence of a ceramic object always astounds me. Today, however, it was particularly interesting because I was viewing through the lens of the global holistic body whose work is so temporal in nature. It made me wonder how our pieces will live on past the six weeks together and how they will appear in documentation form at the Olympics in October.

2.) Royal Procession Back to Seoul (Late Joseon Dynasty)—I’ve seen these types of pieces in books, but never in person. The depth is much more vivid when you stand in front of it, or at least I think so. What I liked about this particular work was how it showed movement of people through space and particularly, the city. I also like that this information was conveyed in an almost map type format but in a painterly style. I see many possibilities for contemporary versions of this type work.

3.) Fantasy Homeland, Choi Young-Li, 1978 — When I saw this piece I was reminded of the first day I met my group mates. I asked them about their favorite books and one member mentioned the novel Taekbaek Mountains by Cho Jeong-rae. Apparently the novels are quite popular and it seemed odd to me, a westerner, that a nature-centered book could be so highly revered in the mainstream. When I asked her about it, my group member explained that South Korean people can no longer see the mountains in the Northern regions so they have to imagine them. This statement in itself is amazing, in much the same way Fantasy Homeland is as a painting—it creates a limitless space where one can project what they want to see but for one reason or another, can’t. So yeah, its kind of corny nowadays to say that you’re an artist because you want to imagine something for other people or because you believe in the power art has to connect people and places, but I’m learning that there is still validity in these unifying statements-- especially in Seoul where the legacy of division from the Korean war is still so deeply felt.

4.) My Faust, Nam-jun Paik, 1989-1991 — When it comes to contemporary artwork, I like to be challenged. And I like when something engages me like a puzzle and I can pick and choose the parts that make-up meaning. This piece works on that level for me. Something about the fast flashes of information mixed with the emotional content/images really resonated and made the Faust idea fresh. It is easy to see why this artist is so respected.

5.) I Have to Learn English, Kang Ik-Joon 1991-1996—The title is good. Everyone in the gallery seemed to chuckle a little when reading it. Perhaps, the joke is funny because it’s true. It seems to me a lot of Koreans are learning English but not many Americans are learning Korean. Perhaps, this has to do with the economic and trade trends of the world and how the English language is fast becoming a marketable skill. Or maybe it’s a comment on deeper east vs. west ideas or maybe its something to do with the absurdity of everyday life? I’m not entirely sure. Either way, it got me thinking and, like I said, the title is good.