Artist Lee Kang-so questions reality and existence in survey exhibition

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Artist Lee Kang-so questions reality and existence in survey exhibition

Published: 06 Nov. 2024, 16:11 Updated: 06 Nov. 2024, 17:45

SHIN MIN-HEE
shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

“Untitled - 91193” (1991) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

For “A train,” a low-resolution video by Lee Kang-so made during a vacation in the early 2000s, the artist was inside a train, filming the window while on board. The only change in scenery during the video’s 15-minute running time is what the window shows. During the daytime, it shows the outdoor landscape, and at night, the reflection of luggage.

Although Lee and his audience are looking at the same view, the result differs according to different situations. The video itself doesn’t say much, but it’s a quintessential example of what Lee has been striving for in his art for over half a century.

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Artist Lee Kang-so poses for cameras during a press conference for his survey exhibition ″Where the Wind Meets the Water″ at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Seoul branch in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 31. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The 81-year-old artist is holding a solo survey exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s (MMCA) Seoul branch in Jongno District, central Seoul.

The show’s Korean name, which is translated in English to “Where the Wind Meets the Water,” references Chinese neo-Confucianist scholar Shao Yong (1011-1077). The meaning, in line with Lee’s philosophy, is about enlightenment and the realization that the same thing can always be interpreted differently.

Lee rejected the traditional relationship between an artist and the audience. He refused to be an artist that would input a certain intention into their artwork and force it to be construed accordingly by his audience, calling it a “modernistic approach.”

“Art used to be about identifying Western art trends and trying to produce a similar output, which I never felt good about,” Lee said, referring to the Korean modern art scene before the 1970s, during a press conference at the museum last week. “I wanted to be part of the transformation to art that was contemporary, and I can say that I’ve worked extremely hard toward it along with my peers.”

Installation view of ″Where the Wind Meets the Water,″ the survey exhibition of Lee Kang-so at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Seoul branch in Jongno District, central Seoul [MMCA]

Lee was so determined to say goodbye to the old that he created an altar-like installation titled “A sacrifice for the modern art” in 1971. The piece included an empty gold frame that was meant to symbolize a mourning portrait for Korean modern art. It has been recreated and is on view at the museum.

Throughout the 1970s, Lee was involved in several Korean contemporary art movements like AG, or the Korean Avant Garde Association. He exhibited his work abroad at biennales in Paris, Sydney, Tokyo and Sao Paulo.

Lee has always been experimental in his work. For starters, he never settled for one type of art medium. Although he is best known for his paintings that tend to be both abstract and figurative, he has a wide resume of sculptures, videos and even silkscreen prints.

″Becoming - 06-C-008″ (2006) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

“Untitled-7522” (1975/2018) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

His methods were unconventional as well. Lee would leave brushstrokes unfinished midway or throw clay onto the floor, creating sculptures autonomously.

He would pick a certain subject, such as a rock, duck or deer, and reproduce it into many different forms. In “Untitled-7522” (1975/2018), he juxtaposed a fractured rock with a photograph of another stone intact. Lee never gives additional information, like whether the two rocks are the same.

The reason he does this is due to his lifelong skepticism about reality. It’s an approach fueled by nihilism, begging the question, “Is anything even real?” He doubts himself as both a living being and an artist, as well as everything else in his surroundings. The only proof of existence, according to Lee, is to leave traces, which is why he makes efforts to create multiple versions of the same subject.

A scene from “Painting 78-1” (1978) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

Lee's expression of his doubt of the self is reflected in his “Painting” series. “Painting 78-1” (1978), a 30-minute single-channel video, sees Lee facing the camera and painting onto a glass screen with a brush. Ironically, as the painting reaches completion, he gradually disappears from the screen.

A different version of the same series, “Painting (Event 77-2)” (1977), is a performance where Lee applies acrylic paint onto his own bare body and wipes it away with a large fabric in an attempt at using the human body as an art tool.

Another expression of Lee's doubt, on the subjects that he encounters, is largely examined through his paintings from the 1980s. Because of his uncertainty regarding existence, he intentionally employed repetitive brushstrokes and painted outside the lines, giving his subjects multiple layers of texture that give a nod to Cubism and quantum mechanics.

“Untitled – 91193” (1991), an oil painting of a deer with antlers, is a prime example. The animal has a rugged shape, making it seem like it is vibrating. The piece alludes to quantum mechanics and the observation that it is impossible for any particle to stop moving completely, according to the exhibition’s curator Lee Soo-yon.

″Untitled - 76200″ (1976) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

″From a River - 99215″ (1999) by Lee Kang-so [MMCA]

“The artist never believed in the existence of a perfect, singular image of a deer,” curator Lee said. “So, this painting represents the combination of all the deer that everyone each has in their mind. It’s also why Lee paints abstractly; because he knows that his viewers will all have different ideas.”

“Where the Wind Meets the Water” continues until April 13 next year. MMCA is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Hours extend to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are 2,000 won ($1.40).

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