By Ines Min
2010 Media City Seoul ― previously known as the Seoul International Media Art Biennale ― is taking a new turn this year, shedding tradition to revitalize the annual show, organizers announced at a press conference earlier this week in the capital.
Besides a change in name, a revamped logo and a change of pace will mark this year’s Media City Seoul, which was established in 2000 and is one of the few international art affairs here that focus solely on media art. Kicking off next month, the showcase will include works by 46 artists from 21 countries.
``We did not want to give off an image as a one-time event by using the name biennale,’’ said artistic director Kim Sun-jung, former chief curator at the Art Sonje Center.
Additionally, a return to basics will re-focus this year’s exhibition, which will run under the theme of ``Trust.’’
``Instead of simply stepping up to the speed of technology, the curatorial team of Media City Seoul 2010 proceeds from a desire to pause, reflect, and critique the transitions and transformations of our social contexts,’’ according to a statement from organizers.
``Trust is by default an ambiguous notion, it is one grounded in good faith as much as in doubt ... With proliferating forms of media, information comes to us in many guises, and the message is more and more opaque: marketing poses as friendship, solitude as community, populism as democracy.’’
Complementing the approach of reflection, many of the featured artists work in diverse forms, avoiding the cliche of boasting only the latest technological products.
This year’s curators include three overseas names, comprising of Clara Kim, director and curator of Gallery at REDCAT in Los Angeles; Nicolaus Schafhausen, director of Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam; and Fumihiko Sumitomo, curator at Arts Initiative Tokyo.
Featured artists cover both recognized and new names, including Korean artists Noh Sun-tag, Yangachi, Willem de Rooij and even Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival.
Media City Seoul, hosted by Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), will run from Sept. 7 to Nov. 17. The event will be held in four locations: SeMA, the Simpson Memorial Hall, Gyeonghuigung Annex and the Seoul Museum of History.
For more information, visit www.mediacityseoul.org, available in both Korean and English.