April 28–August 4, 2017
Opening: April 28, 4–8pm
Asia Culture Center
ACC Creation, Space 2
38 Munhwajeondang-ro, Dong-gu
Gwangju
Republic of Korea
Hours: Tuesday, Thursday–Sunday 10am–6pm,
Wednesday & Saturday 10am–7pm
www.acc.go.kr
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Lotus Land is an exhibition that puts together over 36 teams and 43 artists in their 20s and 30s who are active in a variety of areas across the nation including fine arts, craftsmanship, fashion, architecture, dance, and publication, highlighting the latest new trend of visual culture. The exhibition is predicated upon the composition of a young generation, coverage of wide regional bases, and diverse genres.
All participants in the exhibition are in their 20s and 30s, at the beginning stage of their artistic career. Some of them are fresh out of school, are still taking graduate courses, or includes various creators whose works have not been introduced formally within the format of “exhibition” although they are active in their “non-fine-art” fields. This exhibition is mainly driven by the motive of refreshing the realm of art through new forms and subjects and the motive of laying the groundwork for systematic support for undiscovered artists through their exposure. The setting of the exhibition not only provides a functional platform for young artists but also an opportunity to shed light on the ecosystem of their lifestyle. Such newly-coined trendy words as “solo meal,” “solo drink,” and “solo family” denote the economic conditions and way of life that the young generations in their 20s and 30s face. Although they are isolated, they have obtained information and function as an expert in minutely detailed areas. They express themselves individually via SNS, but they are flexible enough to form an alliance in an open plaza. While they act based on individual views and senses, they are also capable of blending in with others. Many artworks in the exhibition highlight their minute interest and territory as well as unique individual expression of their generational creation, while demonstrating their signature working method of provisional collaboration with other creators.
In order to deviate from past concentrations on Seoul and its metropolitan areas, the exhibition looked for artists in various regions of the country. Instead of identifying distinct differences region by region, however, the organizer ended up recognizing similar interests and subjects. People rarely live in one place alone anymore. They find a place and environment that suits them for various reasons of schooling and job assignment, and the nation is reachable within a traffic system of two to three hours. They access common information on the Internet. A close look at artists in their 20s and 30s find that so-called “regional artist” or “regional nature” has evolved to a different meaning than in prior generations. They move to and gather anywhere as long as they can do their work. They are willing to flock to dilapidated building, aged city, etc. in search of cheap work studios. Common urban features across the nation are daily lives of lease tenants and work studios in the landscape of slum created by urbanization. This generation artists are more comparable to a traveller—who keeps a distance from the place they stay while empirically engaging in the place—than to a nomad.
Exposure to constant, innumerable images including movie, advertisement, and music video such various media environment as TV and smart phone is changing the definition of contemporary authors, or artists, and their roles. Artistic activities are no longer limited to such places as art museum or gallery isolated from society. Instead, they encompass a full gamut of lifestyle we experience everyday around our life. If “interdisciplinary art” often experimented in the circle of art in the past tried art perspectives originating from different roots, latest ones appear to be putting a variety of formats of outputs in parallel. DJing party of the youth these days, in particular, manifests new nature of art. According to Timothy Morton, rhythms have other rhythms fall under, overlap and fade away toward each other. Selecting discs of other musicians in spontaneous reaction to the mood of audience with a mixing skill of his/her own syntax, a DJ basically makes a “meta-” approach. Young artists’ SNS shows the process of their work, not the result of their work itself, and often boast of their taste in daily lives. Even though they are stuck in a small studio room, they capture a corner of their bookshelf and make it look as if their room is full of rare librarian books. Even if they eat alone, they brag about their gourmet lifestyle by displaying an exotic foreign name on a pretty tableware.
We find in them, not the kind of traditional artists who take the path of career in fine arts, but the power of fine arts or the joy of fine arts, more powerful and joyful than their predecessors’. They are the new artists of today’s generation who interact closely and actively with the community they belong to. Even if their works are not defined under the name of “fine art,” their creations connected in parallel—from pragmatic fields of architecture and fashion to intangible forms of video, text, and sound—unleash new possibilities of art and surging potential.
Asia Culture Center (ACC)
A newly established innovative center of cultural prosperity, the Asia Culture Center serves as the foundation where Asian cultural exchange and collaboration takes place. This groundbreaking venue promotes the creation, exhibition, performance, and distribution of cultural production as Asia’s greatest culture complex. Discover and experience the captivating and innovative culture that Asia has to offer at this complex center, where cultural enrichment and diversity is fostered.
Press contact:
Moonjung, Chae, ACC Curatorial Team
moonjung [at] iacd.kr [at] iacd.kr / T +82 62 601 4534
