Period: 2020-05-15~2020-09-08

Work Type: Internal

Place: BMA 2F

Contact: 051-740-4246

Art in Busan in the 1960s and '70s: A Beginning without an End

Content

Art in Busan in the 1960s and ‘70s: A Beginning without an End is organized as part of a series of exhibitions by Busan Museum of Art to establish the local art history of the city and the identity of its art scene, which has been continued since the inauguration of the museum. In 2018, the museum held a survey exhibition to observe the art in Busan between the years 1928 and 1953, a period when Busan was designated as the temporary capital of the war-torn peninsula. In 2020, the museum focuses on the art in Busan between the 1960s and ‘70s. In particular, the exhibition investigates the peculiar period in which the first generation artists in Busan were active while the second and third generations were bridging modern and contemporary art as well as figurative and abstract art. Such an investigation is expected to establish the foundation of studying art in Busan. The period between the 1960s and ‘70s in Busan was a time when contemporary art was gaining its ground in the city. Artists were moving away from naturalistic depictions and representative styles, challenging new figurative ideals. Such challenges enabled artists to move across different genres and employ various media. It was also a period when a generation of artists who had received formal education in Korean art schools led the trend of art in Busan. The current exhibition focuses on a total of thirty-four Busan artists, namely Kang Sunbo, Kang Hongyun, Kwon Dalsul, Kim Dongkyu, Kim Susuk, Kim Won, Kim Wonkap, Kim InHwan, Kim Jungmyoung, Kim Jonggun, Kim Jongsik, Kim Chungjung, Kim Haesung, Kim Hongkyu, Kim Hongseuk, Noh Woongkoo, Ryu Moosoo, Park Chunjai, Suh Sanghwan, Seo Jaeman, Sung Paikjoo, Song Hyesoo, Yang Chullmo, Oh Youngjae, Woo Heungchan, Lee Sungjae, Lee Soo (Lee Jungsoo), Lee Yongkil, Jun Joonja, Jo Chelsou, Choi Aja, Choo Yenkeun, Hur Hwang, and Hwang Kyeyong. The exhibition is not organized to highlight individual artists. Rather, it shines light on artworks produced in the particular period between the 1960s and ‘70s. Thus, the exhibition focuses on artworks that corresponded to the artistic trend of Korean art during the period, such as the transition from the figurative to abstract or other artistic experiments. The artists constructed new figurative ideologies, contributing to the establishment of art in Busan. During the selection of the participating artists, those that moved to other regions after their initial activities in Busan and artists whose works could not be identified and located were excluded from the list of participating artists. On the one hand, the contextualization of the art history of Busan shall be preceded by a research of archival materials. The current exhibition is clearly exposed to the danger of providing fragmentary narratives of art in the city. However, it is expected that the current exhibition will provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the lack of historical records and witnesses, the need to research artists the have been omitted in the existing investigations of the local art history, and the necessity of continuous and systematic studies on art in Busan. As a result, it is anticipated that the current exhibition would become a foundation for more productive and expansive research of art in Busan.1. Departure from Figurative ArtThe artworks in this section emphasize the individuality of objects by moving away from representation while simplifying, distorting, and transforming their shapes. The artists in this section refuted to follow established styles and themes. Instead, they strived to employ traditional aesthetics to materialize the Korean subjectivity. They also responded to the social phenomena of the time while aiming to create art as the social symbol. As a result, the artworks present various attempts to take on figurative experiments, ranging from transformation, emphasis, and symbolism.2. Expressive AbstractionForms are deconstructed while the exploration of the implicit essence of the world continues. The artworks in this section investigate objects in a structural manner or express lyricism that reflects personal emotions. Such attempts lead to the transformation of emotions into visual languages. Irregularities, suggestive colors, thick textures are often observed in the artworks that focus on reflecting the essence of things. Rough brush strokes are combined with colors to emphasize the autonomy of lines, shapes, and colors.3. Geometric AbstractionWith interest in the composition of images, artists emphasized vivid colors and color fields or staged visual illusions in space. In the artworks presented in this section, repetitive shapes and structures reconstruct non-objective things, attempting to expand space by excluding emotions and giving an order to compositions while creating motions that contract and expand at the same time.4. Materiality and ActionIn this section, artworks employ new artistic materials as expressive media, delicately revealing materiality, reactions to certain actions, and temporality. In the artworks, relations are established and structures are generated through certain material properties and expressive actions. While materials and their base materials react to each other through repetitive actions, emerging on the surface are the traces of transformation between generation and extinction, opening and closing, and revelation and concealment.5. Subversion of ConceptsIn this section, artworks deconstruct the border between different genres, using a variety of media. The artworks use selectively chosen everyday objects and found objects. They restage real-life situations and bring everyday life into art. Objects function not as a direct body of meanings but as an intermediary to deliver expressive intentions, often exposing the innate properties of materials to induce the expansion of meanings through the relations between heterogeneous objects (and situations).6. Illusions of ActualityThe final section of the exhibition presents artworks that strive to realize ‘visual reality’ based on ‘the canvas in a singular color.’ Through delicate depictions, the artworks express the actuality of objects while presenting the depth of space at the same time. As a result, they stage an illusory visual deception on the flat surface.