Season 3 – 2015 Dream Society Originability
Capabilities that enable cultural originality
5th September – 11th October, 2015, Seoul Museum
Dream Society: Originability, about the power that realizes originality and creativity
The Dream Society series is a part of the Brilliant Art Project, which is Hyundai Motor’s initiative that aims to share human emotions within the society and help people interact through culture, not only through the cars we make. From the last two seasons to this new season, ‘Dream Society Season 3: Originability, the Brilliant Art Project’, the project has worked with a wide range of experimental art genres in a rather progressive manner. With the participation of artists from a diverse range of fields, which is not restricted to fine arts but stretches to technology, architecture, design, fashion, music and Korean traditional calligraphy, the project has marked impressive points where different art forms come together and intersect.
In 2013, through the first Dream Society exhibition, Hyundai Motor and artists had tapped into the digital revolution and information communications revolution through which they narrated stories about the diverse categories constituting culture of the 21st century. In the second season, ‘Dream Society: Xbrid’, Hyundai addressed the definition of art by converging creativity and progressiveness, in a similar way to combining “Hybrid” and the alphabet “X”.
‘Dream Society: Originability, the third season of the Brilliant Art Project’ is directed towards creative cultural independence and individuality, since it is held on the 70th year of independence restoration of Korea. Hyundai Motor, through this season, wants to shed spotlight on the present Korean culture and art. The concept of “Originability”, which is coined from the cultural originality and the ability that drives the originality, is about the originality and creativity in Korean arts, as well as the power and ability that convey such features.
The first story of creative public art, <2013 Dream Society>
GO >Season 2 of The brilliant art project: 2014 Dream Society Xbrid
GO >Korean art’s independent cultural identity viewed through our own independent perspective
‘Dream Society Season 3: Originability’ introduces diverse art pieces and artists of different generations - senior artists, mid-aged artists and contemporary young artists- who will be re-evaluated from our own independent perspective, not from the western aesthetic perspective. In addition, the new season will be a platform that converges a broad range of areas from technology, video, media, architecture, music, fashion and modern calligraphy in Korean traditional aesthetic manner.
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LEE Seung-taek <Earth Performance> Photograph 60x50cm, 1989
Lee Seung-taek is an artist who has spent his entire life guarding the forefront of contemporary Korean art. A rare, bold artist who has broken the pre-existing orders and fixed ideas, Lee has been somewhat isolated, yet dignified. His experimental artistic spirit and solid artistic abilities, along with unceasing passion, have made it possible for Korean contemporary art to have independent aesthetics of its own values. The anti-conceptual spirit, anti-art and anti-aesthetics and the aesthetics of violation that this artist has adhered to as his lifelong values are the genuine feature and virtue that mark contemporary art.
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Cho Byung-soo <Namhae southscape hotel> 2014
One of the representative architects in Korea, Cho Byung-soo exhibits a sophisticated aesthetic sense and practicality in his architecture, along with a high-fidelity reflection of nature. This may be because the architect believes that harmony with the nature should come first before the artificial building establishment and that the architecture itself is a part of nature. The concept of the architecture starting from the very ground and harmonizing with the surrounding nature is perhaps the value that conveys the artist’s architectural philosophy and aesthetics. Likewise, the architect has attempted at making his architecture resonate with the sky, soil and the surrounding landscape, while minimizing artificial structural elements that come in contact with the nature.
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Lee Jung-hyung <Power of installation> Mixed media, 2014
The fine works concept, which characterizes Lee Jung-hyung’s work, somehow gives a sense of echoes. Reflecting his previous job as an exhibition installation worker, his works somehow reflect the labor in reality. But, at the same time, his pieces showcase the artistic attempts he puts in to find his way to an artist in his ordinary life. Combining his art with his work, the artist draws from his inner world the vivid and accidental experiences he came across during the easily neglected labor process in contemporary art, ultimately visualizing the gap between art and labor, which had not been paid attention to before, through his sensible pieces.
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Choi Jung-hwa <Breathing Flower> Mixed media, size variable, 2012
Choi Jung-hwa covers diverse genres from arts to non-arts and from the sacred to the profane. There, she collects the essence of each and takes into the account the beauty deeply rooted in the life. She is a representative artist who transforms even invisible elements into art as she performs the role of an artist, planner, producer, art director, graphic designer, interior designer, industrial artist, installation artist, collection artist and gardener. Through these multidimensional artistic activities and practices, Choi brings about splendid and popularized visual joy, as well as a sense of interaction that provokes introspection and insight. Like her name suggests (Jung hwa means to purify), she is the type of an artist that purifies the world.
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Baek Hyun-jin <Water Lillies People> Oil and mixed media on canvas 200x1000cm, 2010-2011
It is quite a tough job to define Baek Hyun-jin, a member of the Uhuhboo Project, which represents the underground and Indi culture of Hong-dae in 1990s. This is because he has remarkably moved from field to field, from being an Indie musician to callings that include poet, composer, designer, illustrator, producer, performer, actor, installation artist and fine artist. “Avant-Pop”, a special label, is also somewhat insufficient for him. Unbounded to existing frames and rules, he is an atypical artist that goes over exceptional practices and experiments in his own peculiar way without rules. His name “Baek Hyun-jin” should be a proper noun to define him – an artist who lives a life like an art piece by experimenting with himself or the world in various areas or in between the areas.
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Kim Jong-won <文紋字> 160x225cm, 2014
Kim Jong-won’s contemporary calligraphy not only redefines the depth of traditional calligraphy but also stretches the definition of modern calligraphy. He not only breaks the barriers between calligraphic works and art, but also the frame that separates the past and modern times. Freely leveraging diverse calligraphic methods, he is oriented towards idealistic calligraphy where the art piece’s contents go along with the model. Kim Jong-won’s pieces do not separate the text and image, going towards an artistic communication far surpassing the text. His pieces investigate the primitive image behind the definition and sound conveyed in the text in aesthetics manner. That is why his pieces can be evaluated as an initiative into searching for the roots of Korean contemporary art where the text and drawing were to be separated.
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Kim Young-jin <Vogue 2010> Sengcho silk, embroided oganja silk, sangju sengcho silk, 2010, Photograph copyright by Uh Sang sun Styled by Suh Young hee
Kim Young-jin, through his pieces, brings the traditional Korean costume “Hanbok” to the contemporary times. Like how he said himself, Kim is transforming Hanbok into the present progressive rather than leaving it as a noun. Although his perspective starts from the traditional beauty concepts, Kim does not see tradition as a conventional tool. With such perspective in place, he adds functionality, a sophisticated style and the practicality of contemporary times to Hanbok’s traditional style and beauty, ultimately making Hanbok into a live everyday culture and art piece. This means that Kim is connecting various uses and aesthetic senses to the traditional costume. Further, the artist’s interest does not stay focused only on Korean tradition. He leverages diverse patterns, decorations and elements of the East and West to create out of the box products that transform Hanbok into a contemporary beauty style statement as much as an everyday costume.
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Kwon Oh-sang <New Structure 4 Prism and Macallan> Inkjet print, aluminum 275(h)x197x316cm, 2014
Kwon Oh-sang’s work, famous for photography pieces, explores the transformation of the relations between the flat image and dimensional formations. Through such initiative, his pieces not only have stretched out the barrier of sculpture but also highlighted the flexible mutations and expansion of media including photography. As much as he had predicted the contemporary art, which enables formation of 3-dimnsional formation out of 2-dimensional images and draws no definite boundaries between 2D and 3D, Kwon has created dramatic reproductions of the photography image and its complex relation with the formation, as well as representations of the adjustable image and dynamic life of the contemporary times. It needs to be added that Kwon not only deeply understands the sculpture of all ages and countries, but also enhances and stretches the potential of contemporary sculpture through variation and convergence of images.
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Kim Sang-jin <Sound Sculpture_phantom sign> Mixed media, 2014
Kim’s works start from his suspicion towards firmly developed convictions of our perception and a rather irreverent attitude towards the relevant system. He throws questions about the system such as epistemology, order, organization, standards and reality that dominate the human society and its limits through unique sounds, movement-accompanied technology, mechanical devices and one-of-a-kind conceptual installation works. Kwon reminds one of a philosopher, scientist and engineer all at once in that his works, based on his ongoing research on IT and peculiar suspicions and ideas an artist could have, stir the consciousness. In addition, various technical equipment and operation of the machines also paradoxically convey the contradiction and incompetence that characterize almighty science and imperfection of humans, adding more interest and amusement to the work.
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Bae Jung-wan <HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE?> mixed media, size variable, 2008
This artist’s creative space is formed with lights, sounds, movements, waves and flexible images. It is not something that is static or definite; it enables rather flexible, unsettled sense and space experiences. With a series of free trimming and connecting of static spaces that resonate with the audience’s experiences, the artist creates a visionary space. Especially, despite the fact that it is a space full of technology and devices, the space, surpassing its role of a mere “space”, leads ontological experience about the human life due to the flexible flow. This artist’s work is based upon engineering technology and free space formation, but it makes various genres’ convergence possible, opening up further potentials.
ORIGINABILITY Special Program
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An art gallery within the classroom
In partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, a cultural contribution program targeted towards elementary, middle school and high school students and teachers will be conducted. This will be operated in pre-reservation style, and it will offer free tickets and docent services. Three people will be permitted to enter per public service ID card.
(Contact: +82-2-522-8709) -
Talk with the artist
Saturday, September 12, 15:00-16:00 Lee Seung-taek “World of Anti-Conceptual Work”
Wednesday, September 30, 15:00-16:00 Lee Jung-hyung “Art and labor of an artist”
Visit information
Seoul Museum
Seoul Museum, operated by Seokpa Cultural Center was established in the area of Buam-dong, Jongno in Seoul, a place where Korea’s vivid culture and history lies underneath.
The museum was opened to deliver the true beauty and inspiration of art to our audience. Based on our vision; ‘every little thing’ is an art, we aim to spot and deliver diverse artistic values that are embedded in our daily lives. The museum space is filled with classical modern and dynamic contemporary artworks from both Korea and around the globe. Seoul Museum sets its goal to contribute in enriching Korean art scene by not only organizing exhibitions but also providing various cultural services such as research and education.
[Exhibition Dates] 5th September – 11th October, 2015
[Opening Hours] 11:00 ~ 19:00 (Off on Mondays / Chuseok)
[Tickets] Available at Seoul Museum Ticket Office
[Museum Address] Seoul Museum T:02-395-0100
201 Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
