The Chronicle of Lost Time

2021. 04. 29
2021. 04. 15 - 2021. 06. 20
Gallery1-4, Core Gallery

The Chronicle of Lost Time: Until the Quantity of Interpretation Is Sufficient

It is always exciting to summon history into the present. Prior to waiting for a new chapter to open, history first awaits an interpreter who is ready to read it—history—as a bridgehead. And at the very moment the quantity of interpretation is sufficient, history perceives that it has reached the critical point of change. When that time arrives, history changes not only the set but also the stage with all its will.

A biennale held in Korea a few years back presented “Asian Express” as its theme. The curator who commissioned the exhibition compared East Asia to an “express train running at a fierce speed.” The analogy was appropriate. Historian Howard Zinn also used this metaphor, commenting that history is no different from a speeding train. The passengers, however, know very little about their destination, and in the rapidly moving train, they often face burdensome tests. Art is among those passengers. Like the others, art also must perceive, determine and choose, amidst its ignorance of the destination. We are well aware of how avant-garde in the early part of the last century urged art to jump off the speeding train.

The exhibition The Chronicle of Lost Time was organized as an introspective reading of Korean contemporary art, which has dashed through the radiant, turbulent times of modern and contemporary history, and continues to speed on. In its early stage, when “Western art” had mythological influence, Korean contemporary art saw Western art sometimes as a mirror and sometimes as a milestone, which also caused difficulties in representing or expressing “life here and now,” and in the prospects of interpretation and criticism. Today those times have moved a step back, and are being poured into a smelting furnace of intense interpretation and discourse. Now we place that time upon the interpreter’s desk.

Though we cannot see ahead into the future, we can have the interpreter’s cold perceptions and the prophet’s fervent heart. We can become strong enough to refuse compliance with the directions and orders given by the central world, and to seek freedom from the values that are recommended or enforced by the center. I am uncertain whether the discussions presented by The Chronicle of Lost Time will be able to advance to such a level. However, perhaps we can provide the flaneurs of time with a moment to contemplate. I feel deep solidarity with the participating artists sharing this moment. I also express gratitude toward everyone who has worked together to realize this exhibition.

Sim Sang Yong

Director of Seoul National University Museum of Art

 

Media: Around 70 works including paintings, sculptures, photographs and video

Participating Artists: Kho Nak Beom, Gwon Osang, Kim Kira, Gimhongsok, Debbie Han, Bahc Yiso, Bae Chan-Hyo, Shin Meekyoung, Wee Young-Il, Lee Dongi, Lee ByungHo, Lee Wan, Lee Yongbaek, Joo Jae Hwan, Hong Kyoung Tack