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| ▲ Halo around the Moon, Oil on canvas, 130x194cm, 1979 ⓒ Lee Joon, MMCA Collection |
In South Korea, Geometric Abstraction first appeared in the 1920s and 30s and rapidly spread from the late 1960s to the mid-70s. The art style was also poorly evaluated in Korean art history due to its evaluation as art far from Korean sentiment.
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| ▲ (L) The illustration of 'Modern Boy and Girl' 1927 ⓒ Chosun Ilbo, (R) Cover of Dansung Weekly, no. 300, Dansungsa, Feb, 1929 ⓒ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History |
'Modern Boy' and 'Modern Girl', referring to the young people who accepted the new culture of the time, encountered the geometric cover design through the film pamphlets in theaters in the 1920s and 30s. and also the magazines of the time actively utilized Geometric Abstract Art.
One of Korea's leading poets, Sang Lee, even published a poem describing the geometric architectural design inside and outside the Mitsukoshi department store with verses like 'A square of the interior of a square of the interior of a square of the interior of a square of the interior of the square.'
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| ▲ Jorney 2, Mixed media, 81x90.5cm, 1938 (Reproduced by Yoo Lizzy 2002) ⓒ Yoo Youngkuk Art Foundation |
In the 1920s and 1930s Gyeongseong; the old name referring to the capital city, was an era when Western geometric abstractions were directly or indirectly introduced and expanded to the fields of art, design, and culture.
For contemporary creators, this trend was regarded as an innovative sense that gave newness. At the same time, it first began to be recognized as the boundary that distinguishes the hierarchy between Fine art and design, and several issues about evaluation of the geometric abstraction were triggered.
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| ▲ (L) Fromt of the leaflet for the 1st Exhibition of Sinjohyeongpa, Design by Yeongwon (R) Spirit of Avant-garde, Oil on canvas, 115x89cm, 1959 ⓒ Yeong-won Byon, MMCA Collection |
The Sinjohyeongpa, a coalition of painters, architects, and designers, was formed in 1957. Based on architecture, the group was modeled after Bauhaus, a German architecture and art school that sought to integrate fine and applied art and technology.
The Sinjohyeongpa tried to find a new role in art, architecture, and design during the period of national reconstruction after the Korean War. For the group of artists, the art suitable for modern society, where science and technology have developed, was geometric abstract art produced based on reasonable standards and order. They aimed to create economic benefits and develop the country by applying it to industrial products beyond displaying them as art.
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| ▲ (L) Untitled, Oil on canvas, 43x58cm, 1959, ⓒ Chong-sun Kim, Private collection (R) Unknown, Oil on canvas, 89x70.5cm, 1969 ⓒ Hee-cheon Byun, Busan Museum of Art Collection |
From the late 1960s to the mid-70s, Geometric Abstraction spread to artists regardless of generation in Korea. It was recognized as suitable for the situation of the times after the 1960s when the country wanted to develop through the development of industry, construction, and science.
Since 1965, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban development project has provided an opportunity to experience geometrically designed cities and buildings in three dimensions. The modern appearance of Seoul has also aroused interest in geometric images among artists and contributed to the collaboration between architecture and art.
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| ▲ (L) Mountain, Oil on canvas, 136.5x136.5cm, 1970 ⓒ Young-kuk Yoo, Yoo Youngkuk Art Foundation (R) Colorful Mandala, Acrylic on canvas, 168x136.3cm, 1968 ⓒ Sung-woo Chun, The Estate of Artist's Family |
On July 21, 1969, astronauts aboard the U.S. manned spacecraft Apllo11 landed on the moon for the first time in mankind and The Korean society also watched that event via a huge TV set up at Namsan Outdoor Concert Hall in Korea. The moon landing incident caused a huge stir in Korea at the time, and the opening of the space era emerged as an object of interest and inspiration to artists.
Artist Jong-hyun Ha stated, "The fervent desire of artists to be liberated from the gravitational pull of the earth and all the interest in the future of space development in the 1970s will manifest as a new interest in the aesthetics of space.", this represents the thoughts of contemporary artists of the time.
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| ▲ (L) Simultaneity 67-2, Oil on canvas, 162.3x130.7cm, 1967 ⓒ Seung-won Suh, MMCA Collection (R) Staorie 68-C, Oil on canvas, 165x142.5cm, 1968 ⓒ Myoung-young Choi, Collection of the Artist |
In this time, Interest in science and technology, which became the basis for the advent of the space era, has also increased, and attempts to link science and technology development with modern art or express reactions to the space age through art have been found in Korean artists working at home and abroad.
In this way, Geometric Abstraction which has developed according to the background of the times and has fused with modern culture makes us think about how the style has continued and changed to the present in the 2000s.
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| ▲ Nucleus G-999, Oil on canvas, 192x111cm, 1970 ⓒ Seung-jio Lee, MMCA Collection |
MMCA Gwacheon will hold the exhibition, 'Geometric Abstraction In Korean Art' until May 19 next year. About 200 artworks by about 40 artists, including representative artists such as Whan-ki Kim and Seo-bo Park, will be displayed in the exhibition.
The exhibition is designed to shed light on the history of Geometric Abstraction that was developed in Korea from the 1920s to the 1970s. In particular, the exhibition shows the history that geometric abstract art has been linked with changes in Korean society by forming a point of contact beyond the scope of general art such as architecture and design.
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| ▲ The poster of the exhibition ⓒ MMCA Collection |
Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com
