Circus in All Its Glory and Pathos
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter
The circus is all about fun and marvel for children. However, for adults, the display of clowns and performers can bring about feelings of pity or sadness. They see the hard work, danger, and fatigue beyond the glamour, smothering the whiff of nostalgia from their childhood memories.
In Korea, the western-style circus was introduced in the early 20th century. Its popularity died down soon after the swell of success it generated during the 1960s, giving way to other forms of entertainment. In Europe, however, the circus has a deep-rooted tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, and there are still scores of troupes touring the continent.
``Le Cirque en Majeste,'' a photography exhibition that opens Thursday at the Daelim Contemporary Art Museum in Seoul, covers certain aspects of the circus in varying degrees, throughout the course of its history. Roughly 90 pieces, taken by 17 art photographers from around the world, provide glimpses into its evolution, invoking nostalgia, glory and decline surrounding the majestic trade. They also reveal an archetype in Western philosophy and culture, according to Agnes de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, inspector general for the photography at the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, curator of the exhibition.
``The circus is a very well known theme among popular artists in Europe. Many works from master painters such as Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso and Chagall drew inspiration from it,'' she said in an interview with The Korea Times.
The underlying idea behind its surrounding artistic fascination is that the circus tent symbolizes society as a whole. People inside the tent represent the people of the world, and performers showing their skills inside the traditionally red-circled zone symbolize those protected by God against evil.
``They (the performers) gamble with life, performing stunts right up to the possible moment of death,'' the French curator said. ``It's very symbolic of the human condition. What can be done? Where do we stand? How can we go further beyond our human condition?"
Circus stage settings are also full of such symbols and metaphors. For example, the frequent use of ladders, represents one's wish at climbing from the earth to the sky.
The circus also poses a challenge for photographers who want to capture decisive moments because of its complex lighting and confined spaces. But each of the featured photographers in the exhibition has come up with his or her unique method to reveal the philosophical, or aesthetical issues behind circus.
Algerian-born Carole Fekete, for example, took portraits of circus performers in various aristocratic poses. Her work also features a photograph of an elephant cast against blue-color backgrounds. They were taken on an assignment given by the French ministry as a means of supporting the circus industry, which suffered a blow from severe winter storms around the Christmas season in 2000. The elephant, which sits with its two feet propped up, went crazy during the storm, but recovered after being treated by an animal psychiatrist, according to de Gouvion Saint-Cyr.
Peter Lindbergh, a famous German fashion photographer, took stylish black-and-white photographs of a model posing as circus performer, while French Alain Fleisher presents nude photographs of the last contortionist in France. Due to the extreme burden on human body and its possible distortion, contortion is on its way out in France, de Gouvion Saint-Cyr said.
In Japanese Ryuta Amae's clever composite photographs, that present the circus as a disappearing trade, caught in the rising skyscrapers and shrinking world, the French curator poses questions like, ``Where is the past? Do we need a past?"
The exhibition will likely satisfy those interested in its worldly presentation of philosophy as well as those who feel a sense of nostalgia for the circus.
Previously held in Arles in France and Moscow, Russia, Korea will continue to host the exhibition until Oct. 31. It will later travel to England and Spain. For more information, visit www.daelimmuseum.org.