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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Soft Power Contemporary Art Exhibition

An exhibition featuring the works of artists of various genres was presented at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center on August 2-15.
With a title of 'Soft Power' which to many might sound self-contradictory, the exhibition was intended to bring attention to the World Women's Forum, which was held in Seoul (September 12-14).


The exhibition title, 'Soft Power', is related to the term (soft power) that had been developed by John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Univerisity. In contrast to conventional military or economic strength, soft power involves efforts to attain one? goals through alternative approaches, such as dialogue and indirect methods. For this exhibition, soft power highlights the ability of cultural influences to sway people? sentiments, through the thought-provoking works of 11 artists.


Exhibition with a Feminine Sensibility
On display were the diverse works of selected artists from Korea (7), Norway, Germany, France, and Sweden. Visitors to the exhibition were greeted at the entrance by a Gimhongsok installation, representing a reinterpretation of the popular 'Love' work of Robert Indiana. In contrast to Indiana's original work, in which the lettering is conventionally aligned, this work featured crooked and worn-out letters, creating its own effect.
Within the display area, viewers were attracted by a huge mound of green baskets in a front corner. This installation work of Choi Jeonghwa, entitled 'Green' featured a jumbled pile of green plastic baskets, which had been rendered useless due to their ubiquitous nature, bringing attention to the need for the public to reduce waste disposal through recycling efforts.

Adjacent to this was a work by Shin Meekyoung that included elaborate soap carvings of Bodhisattva figures. The use of such an unusual medium as soap, with a less durable nature and mild fragrance, served to stimulate the visual and olfactory senses. In addition, 'Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries,' an artistic duo, presented a text of feminist-related themes and manifesto on soft power, in Korean, English and Chinese, which were projected onto a wall of the display area throughout the exhibition period.
The exhibition also included works by Cho Duck-hyun, in which a skirt was slipping down from a canvas with a rendering of the U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth; Vidya Gastaldon, who sought to express the incredible strength found in nature with thread-like strands; AK Dolven's contemplative "Pieta" installations of a business woman and a businessman; Nathalie Djuberg, who highlighted the violence suffered by women and children through clay animation; Chun Kyungwoo- presentation of photographs of performers who positioned themselves to form the Chinese character 'ㅅ' (human being); Lee Yong-baek, who depicted the careful advance of combat troops through a field filled with flowers; and Veronica Wiman's examination of incidents of sexual discrimination in Korea and South Africa.
The messages of the works at the 'Soft Power' exhibition were not directed to women alone, since art works represent a universal means of for conveying and reinterpreting reality, raising questions, and examining the concept of soft power in today? globalization era, in an effort to assess the status of women in political, cultural, social, and aesthetical terms.
The exhibition offered a valuable opportunity to appreciate contemporary art works that focused on 'women and leadership,' the theme of upcoming World Women's Forum, which was held in Seoul (September 12-14). During this forum, the exhibition was presented at the Vista Hall and lobby area of the W Hotel.

Interview : The following are excerpts of an interview of Lee Jiyoon, Director of SUUM,
who served as curator of the exhibition.
Q: What is the goal of this exhibition in regard to 'women and leadership,' the theme of the World Women's Forum?
A: As an exhibition associated with the World Women's Forum, people are inclined to think about heavily feminist-related themes because it is difficult to separate women's rights issues from various principles advocated by feminists. However, I first thought about what was involved with the leadership demanded by the 21st century, prior to the planning of the exhibition. 'Leaders' of the future will be those who can make an impact, beyond the scope of conventional political, military, and economic influences. So, I attempted to approach leadership from a more comprehensive and universal perspective, rather than being limited to only women's leadership, through the interpretative s of contemporary artists. Work content and fresh interpretations of soft power, regardless of nationality and gender, were taken into consideration for realization of the theme.

Q: The works of artists from various countries, such as Korea, Sweden and Norway, were selected for the exhibition. What factors were considered during the selection process?
A: The exhibition will be viewed by not only Koreans but also the forum participants and visitors from abroad. So, during the exhibition planning a priority was placed on artists from Korea, but there are also Korean artists who reside abroad, whose works are little known here. Although there was no conscious effort to consider particular countries, the works of artists from the Nordic region ended up being selected, since this area was at the forefront of the feminist movement in Europe since the 1970s.

Q: What role did the Korea Foundation play in regard to the staging of this exhibition?
A: The exhibition was originally planned to be presented at a hotel during the period of the World Women's Forum. The Korea Foundation Cultural Center, however, offered to make available its gallery venue, thus providing an opportunity to present the exhibition to the Korean public, prior to the forum. In addition, they accommodated various requests from the artists during the setup of various installation art works, which assured that the preparations went smoothly. For this, I appreciate the Korea Foundation's cooperation and assistance.

Interviewed by Jeon Mi-jeong, Free-lance Writer

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