Artist creates art work with everyday objects
Song Joong-ki’s old skates make way into museum
In the past, art was strictly limited to painting or sculpture.
However, revolutionary artists shook up that idea in the 20th century by bringing in existing objects to the world of art.
Marcel Duchamp submitted a urinal under the title of “Fountain” for the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917. Pablo Picasso made a sculpture “Bull’s Head” with the seat and handlebars of a bicycle in 1942.
However, these readymade objects also made modern art more complicated and abstruse as conceptual art, in which concept precedes the visual elements.
“Art of Everyday: Object,” an exhibition at the Museum San in Wonju, Gangwon Province makes an attempt to close the distance between art and life through ordinary objects.
“We wanted to engage more with visitors and thus came up with the theme of objects. Through objects, we wanted to convey the message that art is not distant from life but we can find art in everyday life, even in our rooms,” curator Oh Soo-kyung said.
The museum held a contest and received objects from the public, blurring the boundary between art and daily objects.
Among the 40 participants, 15 of them are established artists, while 25 are just ordinary people who imbued meaning into their objects.
The exhibition begins with “Found Object,” in which small everyday objects take on new meanings.
The museum’s director Oh Kwang-soo, who collects stones from the beach or riverside, presented a few items from his collection on a blue celadon tray, displaying the stones as if it were a breakfast tray of bread, egg and fruit.
Tadao Ando, Japanese architect who designed the museum, breathed new life into a watch box with windows by putting in a sketch of his favorite design “Church of the Light” instead of a watch.
Yu Hong-jun, former director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, submitted a pair of metal objects — saws. It was originally used to cut down large trees, but the shape has certain qualities similar to contemporary sculpture.
In “Appropriation of Object,” artists transform usage and reinterpret objects to create artworks.
Kim Chong-ryol used stone to make shapes of ants, while Cha Ki-youl created an assemblage of various metal and wood objects to create "Memory Box."
“Object in Relationship” shows how an object can reflect different meanings in different contexts.
Artist Park Hye-soo found a locked safe box on the street and started collecting keys to find the right one for the safe. Her accidental collection of keys and key rings resulted in “Lost Dream &Lost Key.” Actor Song Joong-ki gave new life to a pair of old skates he wore when he competed in the Korean National Sports Festival as a short track speed skater. Though he had to give up being an athlete due to injuries, his dream is kept alive with the worn-out ice skates.