Christian Dior apologizes for controversial artwork
Korean artist Lee Wan’s composite photograph piece “Korean Female,” showing a woman standing in an adult entertainment district, was created for the Christian Dior’s “Lady Dior as Seen By” exhibition and was taken down after much criticism from the public. [CHRISTIAN DIOR]
Titled “Korean Female,” Lee’s composite photograph piece features a young Asian woman in an off-shoulder black dress and high heels, carrying a red Lady Dior bag and standing in the middle of an adult entertainment district filled with signboards for hostess bars.
Lee’s artwork was being exhibited at the brand’s House of Dior boutique in Cheongdam-dong as part of the worldwide “Lady Dior as Seen By” exhibition that arrived in Seoul on Feb. 22. Lee’s work was added to the exhibition on March 19.
Korean netizens began criticizing the work for demeaning Korean women by suggesting that Korean women purchase luxury handbags by selling sex. They condemned not only Lee for creating the work and titling it “Korean Female” but also Christian Dior for exhibiting such a piece.
Christian Dior apologized in the press statement on Tuesday “for having caused so much anxiety” and said that it has already taken down the work, adding that it will not be exhibited elsewhere.
“Christian Dior has been making efforts to emphasize women’s progressive spirit, encouraging their self-esteem and to help develop the philosophy of having respect toward women and extension of their authority,” the company said. “Enjoying art and culture and supporting women’s beauty and their happiness are the highest values that Christian Dior pursues.”
Lee said in an interview with the brand before the exhibition that he “decided to use the composite photographic technique to show the symbolic meaning of photography” through his work, adding that “the products of Christian Dior are efficiency-centered, which is quite different from the capitalist mode of production, so I thought about what kind of significance these products carry and how they are consumed in Korea.”
BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [sharon@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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