Gustav Klimt's artwork presented as media art

The "Klimt Inside" exhibition is held at the S-Factory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. / Courtesy of Hash Company

By Yun Suh-young

Famous Viennese artist Gustav Klimt's works are being presented in modern media art in Seoul.

The "Klimt Inside" exhibition at S-Factory in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, takes a new approach to introducing Klimt's artwork, mixing it with electronic music and lighting.

The exhibition is divided into six sections: End of Century, Ver Sacrum, Women, Stoclet Frieze, Later Colors and Kiss. Klimt is best known for his fantastical pieces painted in gold, which include "The Kiss" and the "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I."

When entering the exhibition hall, the first exhibit that greets visitors is a black hall with lighting on the carpet showing the philosophers and artists who influenced Klimt in small picture frames moving in sync with the lighting.

The next exhibition shows three paintings ― "Philosophy," "Medicine" and "Jurisprudence" ― that Klimt was commissioned to create in 1894 to decorate the ceiling of the Great Hall at the University of Vienna. These caused a huge shock in the art world of the early 20th century, with Klimt's radical expression of nude women criticized for being pornographic. These paintings are reflected on the walls of the exhibition hall in fractured pieces, moving in sync with the electronic music playing in the background.

The next section is a hall surrounded by three long LED panels covering the walls like a movie theater. They play a video-like media art piece titled "Beethoven Frieze," which was created by Klimt in 1902 to commemorate the composer. The heavenly piece is recreated as visual art, with "Ode to Joy" playing in the background. Watching the piece is like watching a short silent film but with awe at the beautiful golden angels now moving, as if resurrected from the original artwork.

Toward the end is a hall exhibiting paintings of peaceful scenery, which is quite unlike Klimt's style of painting shown previously. This section, called "Later Colors," is dedicated to awe-inspiring landscape paintings that were done during Klimt's annual vacations to the shores of Attersee in Austria.

The final section is "Kiss," showing the world-famous "The Kiss," which is most representative of Klimt's work. The artwork is placed in the middle of a continuing LED light tube. A small LED ball inside the tube moves in continuous circles to represent the eternity of love.

Outside the exhibition, visitors can enter a virtual reality Stoclet Palace to see the dining room decorated with artwork Klimt painted for a wealthy Belgian industrialist.

Exhibition tickets are 12,000 won for adults, 10,000 for students and 8,000 won for children. The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last admission 7 p.m.) and will run until March 3, 2017, at S-Factory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Visit klimtinside.com for more information.

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