Features

Gallery Seoul

31 Aug 2008 by business traveller

Government policy, companies committed to the arts and recent economic prosperity have cultivated the ground for Korea’s cultural craze, says Margie T Logarta.

In 2003, we were invited by Hyatt International to attend the opening of the Hyatt Regency Incheon, a stylishly zen property not five minutes from the futuristic Incheon International Airport.

While the lobby boasted the impeccable designer palette of blonde woods and buff-textured stone walls, providing the backdrop for oversized sofas and plush carpets, what caught my eye was a whimsical Frank Stella piece by the entrance. Then, there were two rectangular paintings behind the front desk, a mix of modernism and Orientalism.

Intrigued, I wandered around, admiring what I saw, when I was drawn to a corner where stood a curious robot-like installation – it consisted completely of TV monitors featuring multi-hued fluorescent filaments. The name of the work: The 25,000-Year-Old Man. The artist: Nam June Paik.

When Nam died two years ago at 73, praise couldn’t come fast enough. Hailed for pioneering “video art” – defined by some observers as using electronic images in the art context – the former classical pianist and avant-garde composer went on to become one of the mid-20th century’s notable visual provocateurs. Through Nam’s puckish point of view (he once fashioned a woman’s bra out of two small monitors; he made gardens full of TVs), the public learned it no longer needed to passively consume what was pumped into their homes by the networks, but could use the images on the airwaves any way they wanted.

Innovators, trend-setters, pranksters or artists, Nam, whose works are found in the Smithsonian in Washington and the DaimlerChrysler Collection in Berlin among others, showed that television and its accompanying features belonged to all.

While Nam will always be an international celebrity, there are many other artists in Korea, although not as well known in rarefied collectors’ circles, who are no less creatively unique.

Interviewed in the ’90s, Ian Findlay-Brown, editor and publisher of the long-running Asian Art News said: “When most Westerners think about contemporary Asian art, they think about China and a few add-ons to that. But you are talking about well over 50 countries, from the Middle East to the Pacific Islands and Mongolia. There are vast differences here and a richness and variety that are harboured within the borders of each country.”

Well into the first decade of the millennium, China continues to be piping hot, as proven by the astronomical sums fetched by Mainland artists at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions. Unfortunately, the Koreans haven’t enjoyed similar success due to lack of a strong system to promote their artistic stable abroad, and hence, only a few names ­– mostly expats working in New York and Paris – have emerged in the buying market.

That problem aside, Koreans are enthusiastic patrons, if not connoisseurs, of art and all its complex manifestations. After the dissolution of the military regime in 1993 and the Asian Crisis of 1997, came a new boom period, which witnessed more Koreans travelling abroad and becoming exposed to different lifestyles and aesthetics. This was accompanied by a spike in the purchase of international art, the mushrooming of galleries and the spate of sculptures commissioned for building fronts, resulting from a law that required 1 percent of construction be allocated to art work. All these factors have helped fertilise the environment and created an orientation for self expression.

It is a fact the chaebols (Korean conglomerates) – for all their controversies over mismanagement and corruption – have been largely responsible for the preservation and promotion of the arts in Korea. Lee Byung-chul, the late founder of the mighty Samung Group, was at the forefront of these efforts, continued after his death by his family. The four-year-old Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul’s Itaewon district, is a jaw-dropping repository of a company’s long-term commitment to feeding a society’s soul.

Not only are the contents (there are more said to be stashed in various Samsung warehouses) remarkable in quality, representing the whole spectrum of Korean art history: traditional, modern and contemporary; and futuristic experimental, but the design of the three-building complex is outstanding as well.

Museum 1, displaying exquisite cultural gems such as buncheong ware and Buddhist paintings among other items from prehistoric times to the Chosun Dynasty (1395-1910), was designed by leading Swiss architect Mario Botta, who drew inspiration from Korean traditional porcelain.

Museum 2, where contemporary pieces are housed, was the work of French legend and 2008 Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel, who used “revolutionary materials and styling” for the project.

The third structure, Samsung Education & Culture Centre was conceptualised by Dutch celebrity Rem Koolhaas as his rendering of the direction of art and culture.

Leeum’s public zones are not just utilitarian but also excuses to view more art. The park in Museum 1 is dominated by Louise Bourgeois’ Maman, two bronze sculptures of a mother and baby spiders – said to represent the French sculptor’s painful memories of her parents – accompanied by her surreal Eye Benches made out of smooth Zimbabwean granite. And yes, you are invited to sit while contemplating the arachnids.

The pathway entrance to Museum 1 is imprinted with Tatsuyo Miyajima’s Transcend Section, bright aqua LEDs with endlessly changing numbers from one to nine, symbolising the cycle of life, and which turn off when reaching zero (death). Also keep your eyes peeled for the transcendent works of Donald Judd, David Smith and video artist Kim Youngin, scattered around the building.

To get the most out of a visit, it’s wise to rent an audio-guide from the front desk (only US$1.91) that automatically loads in front of the corresponding art work. (Now how cool is that? Naturally, the technology is Samsung!) The PDA also contains bios of the artists and even connects to the internet. The gift shop offers some interesting souvenirs, books and fashion accessories, although these are somewhat pricey.

Samsung also carried over this passion for culture into the iconic Shilla hotel, which it owns, incorporating the works of some 70 well-known Korean artists into the 9.29-hectare Jangchungdan Park nearby, making jogging a truly stimulating experience.

In recent years, the district of Samcheongdong, beside Gyeongbokgung Palace, where once, courtiers of the Korean royal court lived in elegant traditional houses (some of which have been preserved), has gained new cache. On weekends, it teems with packs of Seoulites weaving in and out of the various galleries that line Samcheongdong-gil (street). But come any day, and most likely, there will be some interesting exhibit that will just have opened.

Popping in at Gallery Hyundai a few months ago, we lucked in on the launch of leading abstractionist Kim Bongtae’s show Dancing Box. One of the founders of Korea’s seminal Art Association of 1960, Mr Kim, who is known to traverse a range of mediums, was unveiling his variations on the motif of this ordinary item. Using either a two- or three-dimensional space in different colours and forms, he succeeded in creating captivating visual vibes.

Like many local artists, Kim, a former US resident, has works that belong in chaebol collections. He believes Koreans, while possessing a growing passion for art, still need to be exposed to more art forms. “A lot of them are still used to flowers and landscapes.”

Kim says they should move on to learning and understanding abstract art, “which is universal”. A teacher himself, Kim was optimistic they would eventually reach that stage, pointing to the trend of many Korean universities to cultivate large art departments, which was resulting in higher numbers of art graduates.

While the master, who is now in his 70s, admires the younger generation’s skill with computers, he prefers to rely on his hands, saying: “For me, I think they are able to communicate a person’s feelings better.”

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is also a prime venue to view transitions in the Korean art movement as well as the Western millieu. The complex at the foot of Mount Cheonggyesan, about an hour from downtown, consists of the museum building, an outdoor sculpture park and amphitheatre for diverse cultural presentations.

Art appreciation in Seoul, however, isn’t limited to the simply enter-and-view setting. For sometime now, a passle of café-restaurants have been serving meals along with a cultural environment.

The streets surrounding Hongik University, famous for its faculty of Fine Arts, are dotted with this kind of establishment.

For example, the year-old Aa Design Museum is a wonderfully eclectic combination of a chill-out place-design showroom-gallery. The high ceilings and brick walls exude a Manhattan loft feel. The owner, a certain Mr Kim, shows a propensity to collect anything and everything, from an English butcher’s table to French lampposts and everything else in between. He also sells the Eames chairs you may be sitting on. And the coffee and cheesecake here, too, aren’t bad at all. So after browsing, do have some.

In Sinsa-dong, another of Seoul's colourful precincts, is Jazzy’s MAS (a blend of the owner’s English name and the acronym for multi-art space). Providing exhibition space at KRW50,000 (US$47.69) a day – a steal in this expensive city – as well as café, bar and terrace seating, static works or performance art are both welcome.

Of course, the visual arts are not all that Seoul has to offer the culturally minded. There’s much more, just ask your concierge.

ART SPACES

Gallery Hyundai

122 Sagan-dong, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-190,
tel 82 2 734 6111, www.galleryhyundai.com
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 1000 to 1800

Leeum Samsung Museum of Art

747-18 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu,
Seoul 140-893, tel 82 2 2014 6900,
http://leeum.samsungfoundation.org/eng
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 1000 to 1800

National Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Korea

427-701, San 58-4 ?(Gwangmyeong-gil 209),
Makgye-dong, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do,
tel 82 2 2188 6000, www.moca.go.kr
Open March to October from 1000 to 1800 (until 2100 on Saturday and Sunday), November to February from 1000 to 1700 (until 2000 on Saturday and Sunday). Closed on Monday and New Year’s Day.

The Shilla Hotel’s Sculpture Park

202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-856,
tel 82 2 2233 3131, www.shilla.net

ART CAFÉS

aA Café

408-11 Seo-kyo Dong, Mapo Gu, Seoul,
tel 82 2 3143 7312

Café Jazzy’s MAS

Second Basement, Mass Bldg, 532-4 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, tel 82 2 3445 8067,
www.jazzyspot.com

Loading comments...

Search Flight

See a whole year of Reward Seat Availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls