The Korea Times

Only ballpoint pen to draw Lee's world

By Kwon Mee-yoo Born in Korea but now based in Brooklyn, New York, artist Il Lee is known for using ballpoint pens to create fine art. Visitors can enter his world of scribbles that contrast light and dark in a solo exhibit titled “Il Lee and the Line of Duration” at Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul. For some three decades, hovering over deed and concept, Lee has described his artistic universe using only ballpoint pens. Lee’s abstract works derived from endless efforts to achieve uniqueness. The ballpoint pen is a daily object but it becomes so powerful when Lee uses it to depict a dark mass on the canvas. Previously he has held several exhibitions in the United States, including “Il Lee: Ballpoint Abstraction” at the San Jose Museum of Art in California and “Il Lee: Ballpoint Drawings” at the Queens Museum of Art in Queens, New York, both in 2007. His works were also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York’s “Abstraction in Korean Art” in 2010 and this March four of his pieces became part of the Met’s permanent collection. The Seoul sh

Jun 19, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Exhibition combines art and dance

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two very different yet interesting exhibitions are going on at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (NMOCA) in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The museum has come up with an exhibition reviewing the work and life of a veteran Korean artist and the other exploring performance art. Though the idea of the two exhibits seems poles apart, they have one thing in common — they display artists’ challenging spirit and reflection on society. MOVE “MOVE: Art and Dance since 1960s,” held at the Circular Gallery and Gallery 1, is beyond the ordinary museum experience, where viewers just appreciate artworks from a distance. Instead, it invites spectators to become part of the exhibit and it is completed with their participation. It was originally curated by the Hayward Gallery in London in 2010 and traveled to Haus der Kunst in Munich and Dusseldorf’s Kunstsammlung in 2011. The Korean exhibition is reinterpreted in a cultural context and several artists created new works. Stephanie Rosenthal, chief curator of the Hayward Gallery, said the exhibition is a

Jun 17, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

'Black Mary Poppins' presents dark nanny story

By Kwon Mee-yoo Mary Poppins is everyone’s ideal nanny but a new homegrown musical “Black Mary Poppins” takes a different view. Inspired by Australian novelist P. L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins” series, the new production revolves around a nanny and four children she takes care of. British banker Mr. Banks is replaced by psychologist Grantschen Schwartz in Nazi Germany and the mischievous children become wounded spirits who have lost their memory due to trauma. The musical begins with a shadow play in which a nanny manipulates the children. When the curtain goes up, a simple set is revealed with layers of frames in the background, a revolving stage and four chairs on each side of the stage. A fire breaks out in Dr. Schwartz’s house and he is killed, leaving only his ashes. His four adopted children are saved by their nanny Mary Schmit, who is severely burnt, but lose their memories. A detective investigating the fire suspects Mary of arson. She then goes missing during the investigation, deepening his suspicion. The children are sent to different foster families and the case s

Jun 13, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Korean artists go to dOCUMENTA Kassel

By Kwon Mee-yoo Korean artists Yang Hae-gue, Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho have been invited to dOCUMENTA (13), one of the largest contemporary art festivals in the world. Yang, based in Seoul and Berlin, presents two pieces at Kassel Central Station, as part of the 13th dOCUMENTA that started on Saturday in Kassel, Germany. Her “Approaching: Choreography Engineered in Never-Past Tense” is installed at the freight terminal. The station has not been in use for years and has opened for dOCUMENTA for the first time in decades. Yang has set up rows of black blinds over rails and a platform for 45 meters, which move up and down, making a train-like noise. Such movement of the blinds reminds one of a train coming into the station or military marching in a totalitarian state. The artist said in a statement that she recalled Kassel’s older history as a major transport hub in central Germany and contemplated the “collective memory” of industrialization commonly experienced in modern societies. Yang also staged “The Malady of Death,” based on Marguerite Duras’ novella

Jun 11, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Books

An architect's view on Seoul

By Kwon Mee-yoo Everyone longs to travel and appreciate foreign cities with all their senses open, but such inspiration dulls in one’s home city. Architect and travel writer O Young-wook’s “However, I Like Seoul” (Paperstory, 16,500 won) is a confession of his love for the cosmopolitan city with a population of over 10 million. O looks at the city he was born and now lives in with a tender, yet professional glance through seven themes — trace, place, combination, sign, symbol, aesthetics, memory and imagination. He graduated from the department of architecture at Yonsei University and now runs ogisadesign and d’espacio architects associates. The 36-year-old architect has published books on his life in Barcelona, and now turns his attention to Seoul. He characterizes himself as a guy wearing a big red hard hat, from his engineering days. “I hope everyone makes their own story about the town or village they live in and realize how lively and pleasant the city is,” O says in the book. It begins with a hand-drawn map of O’s favorite places in Seoul. “Cities with a

Jun 8, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Others

Professional managers to run Buddhist temples

By Kwon Mee-yoo The Jogye Order will hand over the business of running temples to independent companies instead of entrusting it to monks, and be more transparent about how revenue from Buddhist donations is spent. These and other measures were announced by the largest Buddhist sect, Thursday, following a public outcry over a scandal involving gambling monks in May. "We have grown bigger fast with the rapid development of our society,” said Ven. Jaseung, president of the Jogye Order. Observing that the nonprofessional, unsystematic management of the Buddhist order contributed to trouble and conflict, the monk said, "Recent gambling scandals are closely related to such old-fashioned operating practices.” The gambling scandal broke in early May when a former monk disclosed a video clip of monks gambling with hundreds of millions of won at a hotel room near Baekyang Temple in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province. Since then, Jaseung has increasingly been under pressure to resign. The Jogye Order is the largest Buddhist sect here with more than 2,500 temples and 13,860 m

Jun 7, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Korean art from US on exhibit

By Kwon Mee-yoo Korean celadon and Buddhist paintings, housed in museums overseas, have returned home temporarily for a special exhibition, “Korean Art from the United States,” at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. Seven museums in the U.S. have Korean rooms while there is a total of 67 in 22 countries worldwide. However, experts say that the quality of Korean collections is poor compared to those from China and Japan. This exhibit highlights the history of collecting Korean artwork in the U.S. and the importance of Korean collections abroad. “Through this exhibit, we aim to review the current situation of Korean collections overseas,” said Shin So-yeon, curator of the collection. The National Museum borrowed a total of 86 artifacts from nine museums in the U.S. — the Honolulu Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum. At the beginning,

Jun 6, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Cho Seung-woo wins 3rd best actor prize

By Kwon Mee-yoo Actor Cho Seung-woo affirmed his overwhelming presence in musical theater once again by winning the Best Actor at The Musical Awards 2012, Monday, for his role of Yuri Zhivago in “Doctor Zhivago.” It’s Cho’s third trophy as Best Actor — he was named the most prominent musical actor for portraying Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha” in 2008 and Dr. Jekyll in “Jekyll and Hyde” last year. Cho, who finished “Doctor Zhivago,” Sunday, thanked the cast and crew of the musical. He joined the production just two weeks ahead of opening, after Ju Ji-hun quit due to health problems. “Doctor Zhivago,” which premiered in Australia and then headed to Seoul for another tryout, received a lukewarm reception at first, since the show was not a proven hit. However, it was Cho who reversed the situation and expressed the subtle emotions of Zhivago, a doctor and poet who loved two women, onstage. Singer-turned-actress Oak Joo-hyun received the Best Actress award for her portrayal of Austrian empress in “Elisabeth.” “Elisabeth” was the hottest musical of the year,

Jun 5, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Bourgeois' earlier workers explore solitude

By Kwon Mee-yoo French-American sculptor Louise Bourgeois’ earlier works are on display at “Personages,” an exhibition at the third building of Kukje Gallery in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul. These sculptures portray the solitude of a stranger. The artist is mostly known for her “Maman” series of spider-shaped sculptures, which symbolize maternal instinct. In Korea, “Maman” can be seen at Leeum in Hannam-dong, Seoul. However, this exhibit does not feature a single spider sculpture, but a herd of abstract works and a cage-like structure, giving a contrast yet a continuing theme of Bourgeois’ style throughout her life. This is Bourgeois’ fifth solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery and the first in Korea after her passing in 2010 at the age of 98. Upon entering the gallery, 13 longish sculptures greet visitors. They are installed on the floor and are the height of an average person, giving visitors the sensation of being in a crowd of people. These are the “Personages” series, the first of her sculptural works exhibited from 1949. Born in Paris in 1911, Bourgeois

Jun 4, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

6th Daegu Int'l Musical Festival to start next week

By Kwon Mee-yoo The sixth Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) will heat up the southeastern city of Daegu with musical performances from five countries from June 15 to July 9. Beginning in 2006, the DIMF is one of the biggest musical theater festivals in Korea. The festival aims to bridge musical creators and market by supporting homegrown works. “We invited more musicals and increased subsidiary events to enhance the quality of the festival. We are getting closer to our aim of becoming the best musical festival in Asia,” Kang Shin Sung-il, director of the DIMF, said in a statement. “We tried to discover more homegrown works than expensive licensed ones and young aspiring talent and established theater stars.” The DIMF signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) last year and the two festivals have strengthened ties. The NYMF, usually held in September, moved up its schedule to July to highlight the connection between the two. The Daegu festival also plans to bring the winning homegrown work to the New York one as

Jun 3, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Only ballpoint pen to draw Lee's world

Exhibition combines art and dance

'Black Mary Poppins' presents dark nanny story

Korean artists go to dOCUMENTA Kassel

An architect's view on Seoul

Professional managers to run Buddhist temples

Korean art from US on exhibit

Cho Seung-woo wins 3rd best actor prize

Bourgeois' earlier workers explore solitude

6th Daegu Int'l Musical Festival to start next week

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