With the closing of the year 2020, the Artro presents special features to re-examine the various issues that have appeared in the Korean art scene over the past ten years from 2010. As the last article of the special series, Helen Jungyeon Ku, for international readers, introduces the Korean publications written in English. In this feature, various publications on the topography of Korean contemporary art scene are mentioned—from the Korean Art Anthology that has drawn much attention since its recent publication to the books that closely investigate the artists’ works. We hope this article would draw diverse people, Korean art novices who want to know about Korean art, art collectors, and art historians, a little closer to the palpable art scene of Korea.
In April 2020, a book about Korean contemporary art was published. Entitled 『Korean Art From 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction』, the book provided an introduction to Korean art history. It was co-written and co-edited by Korean art historians, curators, and critics, along with non-Korean researchers. Prof. Yeon Shim Chung, who led the editing of the book, said “when I was teaching Korean art at the State University of New York, I realized that there were almost no books about Korean modern and contemporary art written in English; so I decided that at some point in the future, I would write that book.”1) In Korean, the book was introduced as “the first collection of English-language reviews, designed to introduce the world to Korean modern and contemporary art” while the press reported it as a book that finally brought Korean art into the phenomenon of the Korean wave (Hallyu, or the ‘Korean wave’ of culture), stating “Our art, labelled as K-Art, is now a part of the Korean wave’.2) Citing the Korean wave and the Korean contemporary art that has won new attention in the global art world since the Dansaekhwa movement, the New York Times’ art critic Jason Farago praised the book as an important new chapter of an emerging world history of 20th-century art. 3)
Left 『Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction』; Yeon Shim Chung, Sunjung Kim, Kimberly Chung, Keith B. Wagner; Phaidon. Right Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction; Yeon Shim Chung, Sunjung Kim, Kimberly Chung, Keith B. Wagner; Phaidon; Chapter 2: Historicizing the Avant-Garde Contexts in Post-War Korea: From Experimental Arts to Collective Groups in the 1960s and 1970s (pages 60-61). Image Courtesy Phaidon
Among the books about Korean Art published in 2020, the one that drew the largest amount of attention was surely 『Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction』 published by Phaidon. This book serves as an ideal answer to the request for an English-language book that provides an overview of Korean art from the 2000s to the present. If ‘English-language books’ is limited in its definition to English-language publications that take into account English readers, as opposed to bilingual books originally written in Korean but translated into English, there would be only a handful of books to recommend. This is because, for English-language books published by overseas publishers, it takes at least two or three years to create the book, from planning to distribution. Due to this, most of the books that this essay will discuss are either bilingual books in both Korean and English, or books written in/translated to English and published by local publishers or art institutions.
Solo, Collaborative, or Cross-disciplinary Research
Although the publication of 『Korean Art from 1953』 was the initiative of Korean art professionals, the planning and editing take a different approach from other Korean books. Whereas most English-language books about Korean art are translated versions of Korean texts published by local publishers or institutions, this was a cooperative initiative from both local and foreign Korean-art researchers. Above all, some of the writing pieces in the book were written for the global readership. The publisher held an overseas symposium on Korean art in order to provide a platform for joint research and discussion, prior to the publication of the book. Although it takes a while to incorporate the results of such research, this book seems to provide a much more dynamic outcome than existing research publications. Books are the end point of lengthy, accumulated research, but it has proven necessary to invigorate the results of such research in the meatspace through events or conferences around the time of publication.
Left 『Korean Art from the 19th Century to the Present』; Charlotte Horlyck; Reatkin Books. Image Courtesy Reatkin Books. Right 『Resonance of Dansaekhwa』; Yeon Shim Chung, Joan Kee, Alexandra Munroe, So Jinsu, Yun Jin Sup; Korea Arts Management Service(KAMS)
Most of the existing English books published on the topic of Korean art were the efforts of solo researchers. The books often mentioned in this field include: 『The Making of Minjung: Democracy and Politics of Representation in South Korea』 (Cornell University Press, 2007) by art historian Namhee Lee, 『Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of Method』 (University of Minnesota Press, 2013) by Joan Kee, and 『Korean Art: From the 19th Century to the Present』 (Reaktion Books, 2017) by Charlotte Horlyck.
As an overview of Korean modern and contemporary art history, Horlyck’s book deals with Korean art from the late 19th century to the early 21st century, and how it was shaped in relation to the rapidly changing social, political, and economic conditions of Korea. In the final chapter (1990s–2000s), the author describes the Korean art scene in the 1990s as heavily led by artists born in the 1960s, and how this era of upheaval opened the way to the next generation of artists, resulting in a more diverse art scene in the country.
On the other hand, the books written by Namhee Lee, associate professor at Asian Languages & Cultures Department of UCLA, and Joan Kee, professor in the History of Art at the University of Michigan, focus on the trends and scenes of Korean modern art in certain periods. The former describes how the concept of Minjung art was used in the 1970s–80s and how the art movement embodied by the artists and intellectuals during this time. It was also published in Korean in 2015 with the same title but translated into Korean. The latter highlights the Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) movement that began in the mid-1960s. Presenting the most well-known Dansaekhwa artists including Kwon Young-woo, Yun Hyong-keun, Ha Chonghyun, Park Seobo and their works, this book was praised for its contribution towards promoting Dansaekhwa to the global art scene.
In 2016, encouraged by the achievements of Joan Kee, the Korean Arts Management Service published 『Resonance of Dansaekhwa』, a collection of English articles authored by Korean and non-Korean historians in order to promote the excellence of Korean art.4) The publication of this book was in response to the clear gap between the rising international interest in Dansaekhwa and the lack of available academic literature or research on the subject. In 『Resonance of Dansaekhwa』, which is a collection of articles, art critic Yoon Jin Sup, art historian Yeon Shim Chung, economist So Jinsu, and the curator of the Guggenheim Museum Alexandra Monroe analyze the significance of Dansaekhwa painting from diverse points of view. The time of publication also marked a time where there had begun to be a growing number of collaborative efforts and exchanges among art historians and researchers, both local and international, to promote Korean art in the international market and academia, along with more public support for those efforts.
Exhibition Catalogues as a Platform for Institutional Publishing and Research
In order to examine the landscapes of Korean modern and contemporary art through the various lenses of artist, theme and era, exhibition catalogues, institutional journals/magazines and biennale catalogues are highly useful. In the mid-2000s, there were some exhibitions that proactively introduced Korean art abroad: Arko Art Center and Insa Art Space, to name just a few. In particular, Insa Art Space differed from other art institutions or exhibition spaces with regard to the development of an archive and archive-based programs, and the publishing of their planning. Insa Art Space paid great attention to its publications, along with their exhibitions, as shown in their journal 『BOL』. The first issue of 『BOL』, entitled Panic, was published in 2005 and the tenth and final issue was published in 2008. Although it was an institutional journal, it had the characteristics of Donginji – a Korean term for self-published printworks usually created by a group of amateurs (indeed, the editorial team commissioned a piece of writing about this very topic).5) 『BOL』 sometimes served as a thematic research publication, and sometimes as a reviewing platform for exhibitions or events; for example, 『BOL』’s fifth issue 『Ragged Life』 was a special edition for Documenta, and their tenth edition 8008 recorded a symposium of the 2008 Gwangju Biennale. Focusing on “the examination of ‘the reality of utterance’ in Korean contemporary art”, the symposium aimed to revisit critical issues raised by the artist collective ‘Reality and Utterance (Hyeonsil-gwa Bareon in Korean)’, as opposed to simply remembering the group. The tenth issue particularly focused on how they were able to articulate reality into language.6) The publication process for BOL included pieces written in Japanese and Chinese alongside their Korean and English translations, in order to respect the integrity of the original text prior to translation. Insa Art Space also put considerable efforts into their international distribution, selling that particular issue on Amazon.
Left 『Battel of Visions』(2005) Right 『Activating Korea: Tides of Collectives』 (2008). Image Courtesy ARKO Archive
There were a few exhibitions themed around the history of Minjung art in the 1980s and its later development. One of these was 『The Battle of Visions』. It was one of the cultural events held at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair, when South Korea was the Guest of Honor country. Co-hosted by Kunsthalle Darmstadt and Insa Art Space, the exhibition was co-curated by Beck Jee-sook and Peter Joch. The publications associated with the exhibition included five essays interpreting critical art in Korea, along with the writings of each curator. Beck Jee-sook, then project director of Insa Art Space, began her essay with the question: "How destitute, boring, and lifeless Korean modern art would have been today without Minjung art?"7) At the end of the article, she requested that the audience "view the exhibition just as a dynamic 'collage of the maps' that have been created by political art of divided Korea which has been changing since 1980s Minjung art, competing with reality or representation of reality.” The timeline of Minjung art from 1979 to 2000 also provided an overview of the major events of Korean modern art.
Two years later, in 2007, 『Activating Korea: Tides of Collectives』 was published. Associated with the exhibition held in New Zealand with the same title, this publication also explored the influence exerted by Minjung art on the subsequent generation of artists. It was co-curated by Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, New Zealand, and Insa Art Space and Park Chan-kyong, Bae Young Whan, Choi Jeong-hwa, Lim Minouk, and Oh Hein-kuhn were participating artists, to name but a few. "Recalling the struggles of the 1980s from the anti-US military candlelight vigils and demonstrations in 2007 and Korean national football team's official jersey color red and the supporting groups in red t-shirts at 2002 World Cup," Beck Jee-sook, co-curator of the exhibition, aiming to recontextualize the contemporary impact of Minjung Art and particularly to uncover any indicators in the past that link to our present world.
These books, which serve as exhibition catalogues as well as research publications, were published as bilingual editions – in Korean and English – or the English edition was published separately. Published by Forum A and Hyunsil Books in 2012, 『Being Political Popular: South Korean Art at the Intersection of Popular Culture and Democracy, 1980-2010』 is a catalogue for the exhibition with the same title curated by critic and curator Lee Sohl at University of California, Irvine, as well as a publication as part of the exhibition itself. There are Korean and English editions; the English edition was published separately, with the same title as the exhibition, unlike the Korean edition. Exploring the relationships between Minjung art and popular culture, and visual arts and popular culture in the creative practice of artists since the mid-1990s, the book includes essays by Sung Wan-kyung, Namhee Lee, and Kim Chang-nam, along with essays and manifestos by the artists Lim Minouk, Oh Hein-kuhn, and Kim Sang-don.
If a museum envisions books based on research, most of them are produced as a collection of texts. Books associated with solo or group shows often have five to six texts or, occasionally even eight to ten. The publications perform the role of extending the context of the exhibition, linking it to adjacent studies, and revealing the context and key indicators in relation to the theme of the exhibition. Among the institutional publications, many of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA)'s catalogues are produced as a collection of essays. The representative examples are as follows. The exhibition catalogue of 《Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia, 1960s–1990s》 (2018) interprets and unravels the artistic practices of Asian realism within the regional contexts of Japan, Singapore, and Korea, while simultaneously explaining how they intersect temporally. The exhibition itself was co-organized by art museums in Japan, Singapore and Korea, so the contents of the catalogues also reveal the diverse perspectives and rich interpretations of the three institutions regarding the same art movement. 『The Square: Art and Society in Korea 1900-2019』 is the catalogue of an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of MMCA. Containing a collection of 15 essays, along with the information pertaining to the tripartite exhibition which took place across three different locations(Seoul, Gwacheon, Deoksugung), it is a rather thick catalogue that gives a comprehensive overview of modern and contemporary art history of Korea.
The Form That Is Anthology
『Climatization: Field Notes from the Short 10 Years (2000-2010) of Art and Making Things Public in Korea』, Binna Choi, Charles Esche, Beck Jee-sook, Youngchul Lee, Bo-Seon Shim, Sung Won Kim, Haegue Yang, Eungie Joo. Seoul: Korea Arts Management Service(KAMS)
No project can be more gratifying than requesting new writers for fresh content to draft research papers and theoretical theses. A minimum of one and a half years is dedicated to these publications, which are separated by—not combined into—the two languages of Korean and English. As such, it is crucial to also review and categorize previously published content according to subject. The 『Documents of Contemporary Art』 series co-published by MIT Press and Whitechapel gallery relates one such example of this cruciality, suggesting how reading and comprehension of a topic is contingent on the theme and context of past texts.
A local example is 『Access to Contemporary Korean Art 1980–2010』8) , which was published in April 2018 and contains commentaries on some of the most noteworthy art criticisms on contemporary Korean art. The book delves into the thoughts and reasoning underlying 13 critiques (by Kim Jiha, Kim Yun-su, Shim Kwang-hyun, Park Chan-kyong, Mo Bahc (Yiso Bahc), Park Shin-Eui, Lee Youngwook, Young Chul Lee, Jang Un Kim, Seo Dong-jin, and Shin Hakchul) and their relevance. The book’s editors thus present a multifaceted perspective based on the critical analyses of an archive of contemporary content that broadens our understanding of Korean art.
Two years earlier, following 『Resonance of Dansaekhwa』, the Korea Arts Management Service published in English 『Climatization: Field Notes from the Short 10 Years (2000–2010) of Art and Making Things Public in Korea』, which, sourced through a keyword search for material to republish, paints a picture of the contemporary Korean art scene in the 2000s.9) Contemporary art events relevant to audiences and public and official efforts from the decade were traced, including through events such as public art projects, biennales, and alternative spaces. Edited by Binna Choi, director of Casco Art Institute in Utrecht, Netherlands, the collection included exhibition catalogues for Charles Esche’s 2002 Gwangju Biennale and Beck Jee-sook’s 『The Battle of Visions』 (2005), Young Chul Lee’s 2005 write-up on the Anyang Public Art Project (APAP), Bo-Seon Shim’s review of alternative spaces, and Sung Won Kim’s 10th Anniversary Publication of the Hermes Foundation Korea Prize for Contemporary Art, as well as an interview with Eungie Joo on Haegue Yang’s exhibition at the Korean Pavilion, at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Left 『Im Heung-soon: Toward a Poetics of Opacity and Hauntology』 Right 『Park: Red Asia Complex』. Image Courtesy MMCA
While the earlier citations are reprinted works, the research publication series MMCA Artist Studies features new content with the intention of inspiring research and critical appraisal of contemporary Korean artists at the MMCA. In the preface of 『100 Years of Our Art』, art critics Oh Kwangsu and Seo Seongrok write, “It is often said that art history isn’t about the art but about the artist; in other words, the artist is the center of art history.”10) According to this, if art history is a collection of artists’ activities, then collaborative or interdisciplinary research on artists becomes a branch within the study of Korean art. With this in mind, English-language publications are providing research opportunities for international art historians and critics to submit and publish work under our Artist Studies series. The series’ debut project wasIm Heung-soon’s (2018) 『Toward a Poetics of Opacity and Hauntology』, with Park Chan-kyong’s 『Red Asia Complex』 following in 2019. Both books are anthologies that contain submissions from both domestic and international contributors, but the editing presented each book in a slightly varied fashion. The former included a section that faithfully chronologized the featured artist’s key works while the latter did not include any images apart from copies of manuscripts, instead presenting Park Chan-kyong’s drafts as a form of artistic practice.
Outro
The English-language publishing scene for works on Korean art has never been more vibrant. Recently, MMCA released the English-language version of 『MMCA Collection 300』, and, as part of the Korean Art Research Project, will soon release an introduction to the history of modern and contemporary Korean art in both Korean and English. More importantly, the construction of supporting infrastructure is in full swing. A multilingual online dictionary of relevant art terminology by the Korea Arts Management Service has become an essential reference for Korean-English translation, offering the possibility of more overseas publications on Korean art in English being produced, even including visual art exhibition catalogues and content translation. Distribution is just as crucial as publication itself in the publishing process, and this has to be addressed on an individual as well as institutional level. A book’s real journey begins as soon as it leaves the printer’s, and for it not to fizzle out or be forgotten the moment it is released, its contents and the history it holds have to be spread through additional words and dialogue.
It is also necessary to consider how to promote Korean art during the current pandemic. Books like 『Resonance of Dansaekhwa』 and 『Climatization』, published in 2016 by the Korea Arts Management Service, were designed for online PDF release rather than in print on paper. At the time, sharing PDF files or distributing content on USB memory cards was conceived as a promotional strategy for sharing content with key institutes abroad. While content in this format does not constitute officially published material and remains largely free via online downloads, given the current pandemic, it is more urgent than ever to devise means and methods to distribute Korean art widely.
1)「The First English Review」, in 『Art in Culture』, August 18, 2020.
2)「The Work of Just One Book . . . Art is Also Hallyu」, in 『Seoul Economic Daily』, July 9, 2020. https://www.sedaily.com/NewsVIew/1Z58HNPOYR
3)「A Full View, at Last, of Modern Art in South Korea」, 『The New York Times』 (June 25, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/arts/design/korean-modern-art-book.html
4)This book is not for sale and is downloadable for free via the Korea Arts Management Service website.
5)Event: “Between Documentation and Discourse: Publications and Their Memories” at Arko’s 2019 special exhibition 《Media Punk: Belief, Hope & Love》, October 12, 2019 at the Arko Art Center, Seoul, with panelists Kil Yekyung, Helen Jungyeon Ku, Jaeyong Park, and Jihong Baek.
6)The academic event, officially named “8008: ‘The Reality’ and ‘Utterance’ of Contemporary Korean Art,” was a series of plenary sessions held in Seoul as part of the 7th Gwangju Biennale in 2008 (October 25–26, 2008, Arko Art Center, Arts Council Korea). Journal 『BOL』 010 8008 (2008, Seoul: Arts Council Korea), 3
7)Beck Jee-sook’s 「2005’s Minjung Art and Minjung Art in 2005」, in 『The Battle of Visions』 (edited by Beck Jee-sook and Kim Heejin), with main contributors Allen Dessja, Choi Min, Seo Dong-jin, and Beck Jee-sook
8)This book’s editorial board included Sohyun Ahn, Binna Choi, Seewon Hyun, Gim Jonggil, Heejin Kim, and Hyunjin Kim.
9)This book is not for sale and is downloadable for free from the Korea Arts Management Service at https://www.theartro.kr:440/eng/archive/publication_view.asp?idx=779&b_code=52
10)Oh Kwang-su, & Seo Seong-rok (2001). 「The Path of 100 Years of Our Art」 In 『100 Years of Our Art』, p. 9. Seoul: Hyeonamsa.
Helen Jungyeon Ku
Helen Jungyeon Ku is currently a Curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. She received her MA in art theory from the Korea National University of Arts. She co-founded mediabus and The Book Society after working as a design curator at the Zeroone Design Center. She co-curated the exhibition Artists' 『Documents: Art, Typography and Collaboration』 (MMCA, Seoul, 2016) and co-translated 『Radical Museology: Or What's Contemporary in Museums of Contemporary Art?』 by Claire Bishop (Seoul: Hyunsil Publishing, 2016). She has edited several publications including MMCA Artist Studies Series 『Im Heung-soon: Toward a Poetics of Opacity and Hauntology』, 『Park Chan-kyong: Red Asia Complex』, and 『MMCA Studies 2019: The Transnational Museum』. In 2019, She curated an archive research forum entitled Re-inventing Archive: Design, Architecture, Visual Culture (2019).
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Focus / Features - 26 Dec 2017Reviewing Overseas Visual Arts Support in Korea (2) : International Residency Programs in Korea, Current Status and Suggestions
