akive

A work of art is like us, in that it cannot avoid being a product of its times. This remains true for Korean art from the 1970s and ‘80s, when the nation underwent dramatic social and political changes. As years go by, the artworks of this era became a poignant reflection of the historical realities of when and where they were made.

An exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) makes an ambitious attempt at organizing art from this tumultuous political period. Titled 'Mapping the Realities,' the exhibition covers two floors of the museum and juxtaposes two very different art movements: Korean Modernist art of the 1970s and the social realist Minjung Art a decade later. 'Minjung' refers to people.

Aesthetically, no two art movements could contrast more starkly from each other. Taking a cue from its Western counterpart, Korean Modernism of the '70s was cool, distanced and inscrutable. For the '80s Minjung artists, on the other hand, the political message was always front and center, often to the point of being didactic.

But in their different ways, both art movements were reacting to the larger social realities of their times. The monochrome paintings that start off this SeMA exhibition may seem purely formal on their surface, and there is a meditative quality to them. However, for many critics, this absence of figurative meaning is inherently connected to the repressive military rule of President Park Chung-hee.

One can also see this layer of meaning in conceptual artworks like Sung Neung-kyung’s 1974 performance art pieces, in which the artist carefully cuts out articles from a domestic newspaper. The resulting artwork is a fragile lattice, a newspaper literally drained of its content.

From Modernist cool, the exhibition then moves into the social activism of the Minjung Art period. At first, visitors may find these rooms a shock to the senses. The Minjung artworks are steeped in anger and frustration felt by Koreans through years of dictatorial rule, and their artistic and political efforts helped to bring about profound democratic change.

However, there is little subtlety in these figurative paintings, woodcuts and sculptures. The content was often brutal — rape and torture endured by activists, suffering of the working class, greed and corruption of the ruling class — and the artists were intent on getting their message across, no matter the cost.

Nevertheless, there is a graphic sophistication to many of the Minjung artworks. From simple woodcuts for activist pamphlets to fully realized paintings for galleries, the artists found creative and effective ways to express their rage against the injustice around them.

Due to their aggressive message, the aesthetic quality of the Minjung artworks could be easy to miss. This is in stark contrast to the Modernist works of the previous decade, in which a clear message is hard to decipher.

Pairing them together, the SeMA exhibition gives viewers an intriguing view of the transformation undergone by art and society in South Korea during the late 20th century.

'Mapping the Realities' will run through Aug 19 at Seoul Museum of Art.
Admission is free. For more information, go to www.seoulmoa.org or call (02)2124-8800.

joonsoh@gmail.com
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