The Gwangju International Media Arts Festival
By Adam Hogue, Interpreter: Kim Woo-yeon
A man in a suit wears a Che Guevara mask. Marilyn Monroe eats Che Guevara, Hitler eats Marilyn Monroe and then there is nothing at all. This is my recollection of Kim Gwang-cheol’s performance art piece on display at the Gwangju Museum of Art. A video of the piece was tucked away in a corner right as you entered the exhibit. It was quiet, it was slow and it was fascinating. There was a certain anticipation that kept me rooted to the spot. I did not completely understand why, I was just fixed in a moment waiting to see what happened next. It simply was. This is what performance art does. It puts art in real time; moldable, present, and open to instantaneous change. It invites people in and holds them there.
So here’s the good news: a lot more performance art will be coming to Gwangju. From September 5th until the 10th, Gwangju will host 42 artists from over 15 countries for the first Gwangju International Media Arts Festival. The festival will be a mixture of video media and performance art andwill take place throughout the downtown area.
The title and theme of the festival is Comradeship: Amplification Network. Amplification is an explosion of potential energy, something which the festival sets out to explore. Kim Gwang-cheol is a contemporary Korean performance artist. He has performed his work in New York City, Miami and Austin and recently had an installation on display in the Jin Tong exhibition at the Gwangju Museum of Art. Kim is the director of the Gwangju International Media Arts Festival and an artist who will be showing work in the festival that will take place here in Gwangju and in Anyang (near Seoul).
Another notable artist at the festival will be a Polish performance artist named Antoni Karwowski. Karwowski appears on the flyer for the event and he will be one of the artists in residence, living and making art here in Gwangju during the festival.
Performance art is itself an explosion of potential energy and anticipation of what will happen next. It is all at once mysterious, entertaining, amusing and thought-provoking. It is a message that doesn’t always need a “why” question answered – it could easily just be or it could provoke action and response. The festival will use harmony and connection to explode the potential energy that exists and people are invited to take part in it.
Kim, along with the other designers of the festival, is working with the idea that media is a connector and performance art is in the present. Each artist has a message and will be at the festival showing it and explaining it to the public. Kim explained that the use of digital media in the festival works hand-in-hand with performance art to unite elements of both modernism and post-modernism. As he explained, if modernism is a vertical line, exploring what is here and now, and post-modernism is the horizon line, exploring the freedom that exists in discovering what lies beyond, the festival will unite the two lines.
To use Kim’s example, the festival is like cubism. It is one event and you will see one event, but as you watch it, you will see many sides. In this society of accelerated capitalism, the idea of comradeship allows contemporary artists from around the world to showcase their message of harmony. Each viewer will take a piece of that message away with him or her. The works are focused on the human body and ask intrinsic questions about our physical relationships and our physical communication in a superficial world.
Performance art celebrates the connection between human beings – between the artist and the viewer. It brings that connection to life. Kim says that “seeing and thought” are very important for both the viewer and the artist. Both are compelled to listen and depart with an idea of something greater than they had before. The festival seeks to further the discourse and perception of performance art as more than something merely strange and entertaining.
Performance art, media art and the arts in general have tremendous power in society. According to Kim, the Gwangju International Media Arts Festival sets “performance art as an esthetic body” to explore uncovered questions through the functions of art such as various expressions, identities of society and individuals, and global exhibitions.
The festival is being brought to Gwangju with the help of the Gwangju Biennale, Daein Market and the Lotte Gallery. The event will lead up to the Gwangju Biennale Round Table and it will add variety to the resurgence of artists and art festivals here in Gwangju.
This is an exciting time to be in Gwangju; art is very much alive in our city, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Come and check out the Gwangju International Media Arts Festival and become part of art in real-time.
Performances and installations will be at the following locations:
September 5th-6th at the Lotte Gallery (in the Lotte Department Store near Daein Market)
September 7th-8th at Daein Market and Art Street
September 8th at the Biennale
September 9th at the Biennale and Art Street
September 10th at either Chonnam or Chosun University (currently undecided)
Exact times and schedules of the performances and installations will be posted as the event draws nearer. Keep your eyes peeled for posters in the downtown area and online.
The festival is free and for the benefit of art for the public. For more information visit the festival Facebook page.