Korea's Experimental Art Spreading to the World

 

 

 

 

Korea's Experimental Art Spreading to the World

 

 

 

'Rebellion of Impure and Decadent Things'

Korea's Experimental Art Spreading to the World

 

 

 

On the 28th of last month, artist Lee Geon-yong presented his performance art piece 'Snail's Pace' at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. The surrounding audience members were holding their mobile phones and recording the performance.

 

 

 

The exhibition titled 'Korean Experimental Art of the 1960s and 1970s' features an elderly artist standing on a 15-meter-long black rubber sheet.

 

Surrounded by a breathless audience, he sits barefoot, holding a white chalk, and starts drawing lines from side to side, erasing them with each step of his following foot.

On the 28th of last month, artist Lee Geon-yong (81), a representative figure of the first generation of avant-garde artists in Korea, presented his performance art piece called 'Snail's Pace' at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul.

 

This performance, for which he received a standing ovation at the 1979 São Paulo Biennial in Brazil, showcases his patented technique.

 

Now an elderly artist, he took deep breaths and occasionally stood up during the performance, receiving applause and encouraging shouts of "Hang in there!" from the audience.

 

As he slowly but steadily advanced like a snail, two rows of footprints remained clearly behind him.

 

The artist stated, "This act of repeatedly drawing and erasing, striving for completion, resembles the essence of painting."

 

 

 

 

Just like a snail, he slowly but steadily moved forward, leaving two distinct lines of footprints behind him.

 

 

This performance took place in conjunction with the exhibition 'Korean Experimental Art of the 1960s and 1970s,' a joint effort between the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Guggenheim Museum in the United States.

 

It was attended by 320 on-site spectators and live-streamed to 300 online viewers, with an additional 220,000 people watching the video through Instagram's replay feature.

 

This performance demonstrates how experimental art, which was once marginalized as "impure and decadent," is now confidently recognized not only in Korea but also in the global art scene.

 

The museum staff commented, "Regardless of what others may say, the lifelong trajectory and artistic world of an artist who walked steadily, even if slowly, are reminiscent."

 

 

 

 

Kim Ku-rim, "Meaning of 1_24 Seconds," 1969, 16mm film, color, silent, 9 minutes 14 seconds, ed. 2/8, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Collection © Kim Ku-rim, Photo courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

 

 

The exhibition showcases the avant-garde experimental art of the "youth" who resisted state control during the rapid industrialization era and rebelled against institutionalized art.

 

It features 29 representative works by artists such as Kim Ku-rim, Seong Neung-kyung, Lee Kang-so, Lee Geon-yong, and Lee Seung-taek, totaling 95 pieces, along with 31 archival materials.

 

These artists, who were once criticized as "crazy" for burning objects, shaving their heads, and resisting press oppression by folding newspapers, have now become acclaimed masters receiving calls from the global art world.

 

The performance 'Transparent Balloons and Nudes,' which took place in the Secci Gallery in 1968 and received criticism as "bizarre and insane," remains as Korea's first feminist project with women as the subjects.

 

 

 

 

A sculpture titled 'Kiss Me' by Jeong Kang-ja displayed in the exhibition hall (1967/2001 remade). It features a giant pair of lips made of plaster, brightly colored, with a woman's head wearing sunglasses installed on top of teeth and household rubber gloves. Through exaggerated body parts, it expresses the idea that women are not objects of male desire but rather individuals with their own sexual desires and agency.

 

 

The Seoul exhibition runs until the 16th, and it will continue at the Guggenheim Museum in New York from September 1st and at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles from February 11th next year.

 

 

 

 

 

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‘불온한·퇴폐적인 것’들의 반란… 이제 세계로 뻗는 한국 실험미술