Seoul Olympic Museum of Art nestled in an exuberant forest presents 'Power, Where Does The Beauty Lie?', an international sculpture exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul 25 years ago was a special event not only for all Korean people but also for Korea’s culture and art. The Seoul Olympiad was a moment when all humans’ creative power and spiritual strength was integrated into artistic imagination as well as a forum where human’s physical faculties were tested.
On display at the exhibition are works of contemporary East Asian artists from Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan who have raised their imaginative power and the theme of sports to the level of art. This will be a good opportunity to review the cultural and art historic legacy of the Seoul Olympics.
- Jungtaek Chung (President of Korea Sports Promotion Foundation)
This exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul addresses two keywords with contrasting meanings, strength and beauty. In this exhibition questioning how sports based on fair play can meet art based on creativity, we intend to grasp strength as a harmonious state between kalos(beauty) and agathos(good). Together these are the quality of kalokagathia(the traits and character of nobility or goodness) that ancient Olympiads pursued, rather than seeing ‘strength’ simply as a physical phenomenon. That is, a thematic word, strength reflects our expectation that humanity’s diverse faculties can ultimately contribute to enriching life through works visually embodying the vitality of sports and the human imagination. Accordingly, strength is the concept encompassing not only humanity’s physical abilities but also its mental, creative, and imaginative power.
The notion of strength also includes human activities for a better society. In addition, this exhibition poses defiant questions: what is one earth beauty? And, where is the beauty? Kalokagathia can be one of the numerous answers to these questions. As plastic surgery becomes common and genetic engineering evolves, the body is no longer the measure of one’s identity. In the post-human age to emerge soon, deformation and replacement of the body will be pervasive alongside cloned humans and cyborgs. This exhibition dealing with the themes of strength and beauty in this ever-changing era reflects our expectation that the meaning and value of humans can be enhanced when human faculties are raised to a state of beauty.
- Tae Man Choi (Professor, Kookmin University, Seoul)
Artists: Wu Weishan, Wang Zhong, Shinji Ohmaki, Antenna, team★Lab, Kang Airan,
Koh Myungkeun, Paik NamJune, Suh Doho, Sung Donghun, Chung Hyun, Choi Taehoon
*image (left)
Ekekeiria, 2013
mixed media, 390 x 1030 x 1150cm
© Antenna
Courtesy of SOMA Museum of Art
