MMCA and artist Kim Ku-lim fail to settle disputes over exhibition catalog

Artist Kim Ku-lim speaks during a press conference for his solo retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Seoul branch in central Seoul on Aug. 24, 2023. [NEWS1]

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and Kim Ku-lim failed to reach an agreement regarding the publication of the 87-year-old artist’s exhibition catalog.

A local report surfaced Wednesday stating that Kim sued MMCA’s director Kim Sung-hee on charges of copyright violations and defamation.

In response, the MMCA said through a press release that it has not yet been notified of the complaint, calling the situation “unfortunate.”

The conflict stems from a retrospective exhibition on Kim held at the MMCA Seoul branch in central Seoul from last August to February this year.

In March, Kim held a press conference claiming that he found problems in the exhibition's catalog, like how some of his artwork was edited into different colors by the museum. He also claimed that he never received a mock-up of the catalog before it went into publication.

Kim added that he was rejected by the MMCA and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism when he asked for a republication, citing budget reasons.

The MMCA refuted Kim’s claims that he wasn’t part of the production process, saying that there were at least 16 meetings held with the artist. The museum denied editing the color of the artworks and that they were printed exactly as the files Kim sent over.

Mock-ups were sent to Kim three times from December to January, the MMCA added, and Kim had confirmed them with his signature. The final copy was sent to Kim’s email on Jan. 22.

Usually a catalog includes three to four essays and is around 250 pages, but upon Kim’s request, his catalog was published with eight essays and is a total of 560 pages.

The MMCA agreed that it would publish a second print version of the exhibition catalog with some changes, like the paper type and some details, but as of Wednesday, the process has been halted.

“The artist has requested a replacement of editors, major editorial changes and a mass addition of artworks that have not been published in the first version,” the MMCA said. “This is not only a matter of budget, but a demand for unprecedented special privilege that goes beyond the museum’s policy for producing solo exhibition catalogs.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]