In 2005 I organized an exhibition "Incongruent: Contemporary Art

from South Korea," which originated from St. Lawrence University

and subsequently traveled to the Liebling Center of Film,

Photography & Video at Hampshire College and Hartnett Gallery at

University of Rochester.

Artists: JOO Jae Hwan, JO Seub, KIM Sang-gil,  KIM Yong-tae, KOH

Seung Wook, Yong Soon MIN, PARK Chan-kyong, ROH Jae Oon,

YOON Joo-kyung

Incongruent introduces some of the sociopolitical forms of South

Korean art made since the 1980s. Centered on a small contingent of

artists who have been sensitive to the collective memories and

social upheavals in recent decades, the exhibition probes the Post

Cold-War politics that still grip the peninsula. Specifically, two key

figures, Kim Yong Tae and Joo Jae Hwan, from the Min Joong

(People’s Art) movement of the ‘80s, are juxtaposed with seven

younger artists.

The exhibition is thus based upon the historical events that are

fraught with violence, tension, and uncertainty, such as the disasters

of the Korean War, the Gwanjgu Uprising in 1980, the aftermath of

military dictatorship, and the relationship between two Koreas and

the U.S. The artists’ comments on hegemony and ideology are

grounded in everyday life in South Korea, and despite the

generational gap, they share a critical understanding of modernism,

Western culture, and the intervention of the US in Korean politics.

The artists are committed to the task of recuperating both collective

trauma and individual and collective memories. Their works refuse

to turn the ruptures of modernity and history of oppression into

oblivion. Rather than seeking consolation, empathy, or closure, they

are instead inscribing a new history through questioning,

investigation, and analysis. In light of the current US foreign policies

toward Iraq and North Korea, the exhibition provides a context for

discussion and understanding of the critical issues from their local

perspective.

The exhibition was made possible by the grants from The Freeman

Foundation and Arts Council Korea; the exhibition catalogue was

funded by Arts Council Korea and published by Hyunsil Cultural

Studies Press, Seoul, 2006.

© Text Young Min Moon 2008

© Images the artists  2008