Visiology
Kim, Noam l Director of Gallery Sangsangmadang
Marshall Mcluhan and Nicholas Negroponte awaken us with their famous phrases, “The medium is the message,” and “The medium is not the message in a digital world.” In another context, Nam June Paik and Bill Viola in the same period adopted the meaning of the world, where the advancement of information techniques in the 20th century and democracy of civil society become general principles in matters of art. The understanding of the media was the central agenda of contemporary art for them and the relationship between techniques and art came to be at the core of it. Contemporary media was too aesthetic to be appropriate techniques for them. The brilliant intuition of Paik let him find aesthetic meanings in a portable, Black and White open reel VTR that came from the Sony Company in 1965 and small cassette set.
<Kim Se-jin, Their Sheraton, Single Channel Video, 3:08, 2006>
For most, video art reflects the relationship between technique, arts, and philosophy. This genre has become history since the death of one of its founders, Nam June Paik. Video art for the next generation will be something that develops at the base of a critical interpretation and homage to the older generation’s braveness and insanity. So, how can we see something that is not new anymore? The senior generation regarded video art as spiritually uplifting through its awakening and kind of criticism toward the contemporary world, men, and the arts. What does video art mean to Korean young artists today, after a half century has passed since its birth?
Visiology: The Single-channel Video Art of 5 Artists includes artists who will show the new trends of Korean media art as well as its past traces. The group of artists was chosen to represent the unique signs of the age of visual culture as the exhibition title suggests. The title indicates the consciousness and sensibility of a generation who are living in a culture that is mainly focused on the visual senses.
Visiology: The Single-channel Video Art of 5 Artists includes artists who will show the new trends of Korean media art as well as its past traces. The group of artists was chosen to represent the unique signs of the age of visual culture as the exhibition title suggests. The title indicates the consciousness and sensibility of a generation who are living in a culture that is mainly focused on the visual senses.
<Shin Kiwoun, Disillusion_Coin, HD Video with songs, 7:00, 2007>
When we look at the background for the planning of the exhibition, it is clear the exhibition was made with an awareness of the fact that people have been saying that there is a crisis in Media Art. As one can see the signs in other art genres such as Koreanization, industrial arts, or printmaking, such vague symptoms indicate that this critical situation has seemed to mobilize Media artists, curators, and critics in the art field. They continuously affect the art scheme and shake things up even if on an unconscious level.
The advancement of Media Art in Korea has been encouraged by young artists and foundations that have provided diverse visions since the millennium. Therefore, Media Art became a profound motivation in the advancement in contemporary Korean art. However, the briskness of the art market today seems to have only caused a depression in Media Art. The core of aspiring Media Art supporters and curators has even moved to other fields. The biggest worry is the small number of artists who are actually doing constructive and active work. The number of curators is also very small. It is clear that we need to do some self-examination at this point rather than merely looking for the causes and solutions to overcome this difficulty.
The advancement of Media Art in Korea has been encouraged by young artists and foundations that have provided diverse visions since the millennium. Therefore, Media Art became a profound motivation in the advancement in contemporary Korean art. However, the briskness of the art market today seems to have only caused a depression in Media Art. The core of aspiring Media Art supporters and curators has even moved to other fields. The biggest worry is the small number of artists who are actually doing constructive and active work. The number of curators is also very small. It is clear that we need to do some self-examination at this point rather than merely looking for the causes and solutions to overcome this difficulty.
<Lee Hakseung, In the water, 2008>
In another context, people are also expecting to see what is next after Nam June Paik (Post-Nam June Paik). To answer these expectations, there are number of Media art exhibitions, held in between 20 to 30 museums or galleries in Seoul this year. They all try to propose what the future of Media Art in 21th century might be. Visiology: The Single-channel Video Art of 5 Artists is also relevant to these efforts.
The group of artists including KIM SEJIN, SHIN KIWOUN, LEE HAKSEUNG, CHO YOUNGAAH, HA JOONSOO suggest various ways and modes of development through which single-channel video can go further. The exhibition does not have any intention to pinpoint a certain characteristic of the group through these five artists. In addition, the exhibition does not try to say that these five artists appear as a representative group among today’s Korean media artists. It merely hopes for fruitful encounters with these several examples.
The group of artists including KIM SEJIN, SHIN KIWOUN, LEE HAKSEUNG, CHO YOUNGAAH, HA JOONSOO suggest various ways and modes of development through which single-channel video can go further. The exhibition does not have any intention to pinpoint a certain characteristic of the group through these five artists. In addition, the exhibition does not try to say that these five artists appear as a representative group among today’s Korean media artists. It merely hopes for fruitful encounters with these several examples.
<Cho Youngaah_DoGmatism 0.5(Ver) Structured, 2004>
When we consider that each moment in life comes to be a pure actual existence for the artists, the created images and their experiences are more than just general expressions. In addition, it is not going to be easy to select assorted images that include individuality and uniqueness among the spectacular forms of aesthetics in today’s contemporary art, especially taking the visual aesthetics of the senior generation to be the basis.
Gallery Sangsangmadang expects to remove the blinds from over our eyes and provide a basis for creating continuous and productive media aesthetics among artists and curators through this exhibition. Hopefully, there will be more creative cooperation for the development and expansion of Korean media art. Thus, we can think of the future of media art in Korea with those artists who are currently struggling to solve their real agonies within their ordinary lives.
Gallery Sangsangmadang expects to remove the blinds from over our eyes and provide a basis for creating continuous and productive media aesthetics among artists and curators through this exhibition. Hopefully, there will be more creative cooperation for the development and expansion of Korean media art. Thus, we can think of the future of media art in Korea with those artists who are currently struggling to solve their real agonies within their ordinary lives.
<Ha Joonsoo, Just, 6min_DVCAM, 2002>
