MMCA director Youn pursues friendly museum
Youn Bum-mo, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), believes that a museum should be like a neighborhood, friendly and open.
“Most people think art is distant from them. It’s not. Art plays an important role in everyday life. Art has been a daily necessity even from primitive times, as shown in cave paintings. However, it has become an object of appreciation now, distancing it farther from the public. I think that’s where a museum has to play to deliver the goods,” Youn told The Korea Times.
Youn, 68, took the director position at the nation’s flagship art museum back in February. His extensive knowledge of art and his diverse experience in the sector has shaped his leadership at the MMCA.
“I have covered all kinds of occupations named art. I was an art critic one day, became a curator another day and worked for an art organization the next day,” Youn said. “Since I’ve spent my entire life in the art scene, I have a thorough knowledge of Korean art and artists. It is like having many bank accounts and you can borrow from any of them whenever you need.”
Youn’s most recent job title before he was appointed to the MMCA directorial position was chair professor of art history at Dongguk University.
“Running a museum is very different from academia. In reality, there is the public and they have widely varied tastes and come from various social backgrounds. I have to meet the needs of all levels of society. That’s when my field experience kicks in,” he said.
Youn said he is lucky since the MMCA entered into an inflection point coinciding with his term.
“With the opening of MMCA Cheongju in December 2018, the MMCA now has four branches. This is enormous scale for a contemporary art museum, under one person’s responsibility. However, the MMCA still lacks the internal quality worthy of its physical scale and there are some systematic issues such as budget and staffing issues,” he said.
“Operating a museum looks elegant and cool from the outside, but as the person in charge, I have got a lot on my shoulders.”
Youn said it was important to understand that each branch has different positions in geography, space and content and the museum has to maximize such given characteristics.
“MMCA Deoksugung focuses on modern art from the first half of the 20th century, while MMCA Cheongju has the open storage area to showcase our collection. MMCA Gwacheon is the largest, but has accessibility issues, so we are approaching it as a family-friendly museum and research archive for experts. MMCA Seoul should be more general, covering all kinds of art, domestic and international,” he said.
Youn has put an emphasis on establishing the characteristics of Korean art during his term.
“We have to focus on the uniqueness of Korean art to promote it in the international art scene. However, there is no proper English book on Korean art. So I am working on a comprehensive guide to Korean modern and contemporary art, employing experts from inside and outside the museum. My goal is to hold a related exhibition and symposium around the time of publication to draw international attention,” the director said.
He also hopes to shed light on the minor genres of Korean art, which had been neglected at the museum.
“I looked into the exhibition content for the past five years and found some overlooked fields. Genres such as ink-and-wash paintings based on
Korean tradition, craft, print and realist art need more attention,” Youn said.
Youn said a good museum should be fun and not authoritative.
“A white cube art museum seems highbrow and intimidating, making people hesitant to open the door. But once you get familiar with it, visiting a museum can be full of joy,” Youn said. “For beginners, an art museum and its exhibition contents can be difficult and boring. You need a bit of patience to become familiar with art and museums.”
Youn gave examples of various programs at MMCA Seoul, located next to Gyeongbok Palace.
“MMCA Seoul has various styles of exhibitions to cater for visitors’ diversified tastes. We also have Film and Video, which screens movies, and education and hands-on programs. You have to come experience it first to enjoy a museum,” Youn said.
“Ultimately, a museum is a charging station of imagination. An artwork is a product of an artist’s imagination and visitors receive the imagination from the art. The public can develop discerning eyes and experts can produce discussions at the MMCA.”
With a good understanding on abstractness and the subjectivity of art, Youn laid an emphasis on education.
“An artwork reflects who and when it was created and background information on history, society and art is crucial to understanding it. The more information you have, the more interesting art is,” the director said.
While pursuing a lower threshold for the museum, Youn understands the importance of maintaining balance as a national museum.
“We have to host a popular exhibition that strikes the public fancy, but we should not disregard those who are noteworthy in terms of art history. Even if the number of visitors is halved, those of artistic quality should get researched and exhibited at the MMCA,” he said.