Kang Kukjin, Display-Amusement of Visual Sense, 1967(partly remade 2001), 151 penicillin bottles, table, mirror, artist photo, aramis scent bottle, belongings, 165×155cm. MMCA collection
Experimental art
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service
Related
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Intangible Art
Intangible art (muche yesul) is an art concept espoused by The Fourth Group, the avant-garde cultural organization in South Korea, formed in June 1970. The members of The Fourth Group, whose activities encompassed arts, press, popular culture, and religion, sought to create a total art that synthesized theater, art, dance, and literature. They hoped to revive a pure Korean culture and become a global cultural force. According to their creed, intangible art is derived from the core of Laozi’s philosophy, “the political idea of abandoning the will to dominate and being ruled by unconditioned nature.” In other words, the term “being intangible” means abandoning the Western way of thinking that separates the mind from the body, the unification of politics, economy, society, culture, and science into art, and returning all existing independent fields to a state of “nothingness” and making the boundaries of each field disappear. To materialize such a concept of being “intangible,” the members of The Fourth Group introduced the Western avant-garde art of the happening and internalized it into their intangible art, which, as its name implies, is art without form and art that leaves no results. The first solo exhibition of Jung Kangja, a member of The Fourth Group, which consisted exclusively of her happening, was also entitled Intangible (National Public Information Center, 1970). -
Performance
Performance is a genre within which artists use their voice, body, and objects to express their artistic vision through live action. It became popularized after World War II as an experimental genre through the work of John Cage and Merce Cunningham. Performance can be related to other movements of the period such as action painting, body art, happening, process art, Fluxus, and conceptual art. It is characterized by audience participation, improvisation, spontaneity, and provocativeness. The first work of performance in Korea is widely considered to be The Happening with Plastic Umbrellas and Candle Lights performed by Kang Kukjin, Chung Chanseung, Kim Youngja, Jung Kangja, Shim Sunhee, and Kim Inwhan during the Union Exhibition of Korean Young Artists held at the Korean Information Service Gallery in December 1967.
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Intangible Art
Intangible art (muche yesul) is an art concept espoused by The Fourth Group, the avant-garde cultural organization in South Korea, formed in June 1970. The members of The Fourth Group, whose activities encompassed arts, press, popular culture, and religion, sought to create a total art that synthesized theater, art, dance, and literature. They hoped to revive a pure Korean culture and become a global cultural force. According to their creed, intangible art is derived from the core of Laozi’s philosophy, “the political idea of abandoning the will to dominate and being ruled by unconditioned nature.” In other words, the term “being intangible” means abandoning the Western way of thinking that separates the mind from the body, the unification of politics, economy, society, culture, and science into art, and returning all existing independent fields to a state of “nothingness” and making the boundaries of each field disappear. To materialize such a concept of being “intangible,” the members of The Fourth Group introduced the Western avant-garde art of the happening and internalized it into their intangible art, which, as its name implies, is art without form and art that leaves no results. The first solo exhibition of Jung Kangja, a member of The Fourth Group, which consisted exclusively of her happening, was also entitled Intangible (National Public Information Center, 1970).
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