Art is everywhere at Busan Biennale
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Busan _ Art was everywhere in this southeastern port city as the third Busan Biennale opened on Saturday (Sept. 16). The event runs through Oct. 25.
With the overall theme of “Everywhere,” the Busan Biennale 2006 made contemporary art accessible by placing art works not just in the museum but also on the city sidewalks, at the beach, at the park, on cable television, on the radio and online.
Organizers say this year's exhibition is its largest ever, with over 234 art works from 39 countries. Over 70 percent of the art works are being presented for the first time here.
The exhibition is composed of three interrelated projects, namely the Contemporary Art Exhibition, the Sea Art Festival and the Busan Sculpture Project.
Man-u Park, artistic director of the Contemporary Art Exhibition, said the main theme for this exhibition is “A Tale of Two Cities: Seoul-Busan, Busan-Seoul,” inspired by the title of Charles Dickens' novel.
“The 'tale of two cities' reflects the regional characteristics of Seoul and Busan and the imbalance between the two cities in terms of development. There is a very serious imbalance here. But what does it have to do with art? Contemporary art contributes to a better life for everyone,” he said Friday during a news conference at the Busan Museum of Modern Art.
Unlike other biennales that only have one venue, Park said he sought to create five “CAFEs.” The acronym stands for Contemporary Art For Everyone.
“We wanted to create space for the public to access contemporary art works, so we designated CAFEs, so everyone would be comfortable viewing the works,” Park said.
Visitors may need more than just a day to take in all the art from the five CAFEs.
CAFE 1, located at the Busan Museum of Modern Art, is filled with 56 works, including eight large-scale installation pieces from artists from 26 countries.
There are a large number of video art pieces being shown at the museum, prompting some art critics to complain that there was not enough time to view all the works.
Located in the two warehouses of the Busan Yachting Center, CAFE 2 features art with an edgier, more energetic feel. Nine curators worked under the concept of “culture jamming,” an effort to reinterpret urban culture.
The historic Oncheoncheon stream, the former center of Busan, is the setting for CAFE 3. By choosing Oncheoncheon, Park hopes the exhibition will spur a revival of the stream as a cultural space. “We included Oncheoncheon to engage the living neighborhood around us,” he said.
To reach a wider audience, CAFEs 4 and 5 combine art with mass media. With CAFE 4, TV viewers will be able to watch the video art works through CJ cable TV, a cable company based in Busan. CAFE 5 is more of a multimedia project, with a mini-FM radio station and special website made specially for the biennale.
Art on the beach
The idyllic Haeundae Beach is the main setting for the Sea Art Festival, whose theme is the “art of life.” Ryu Byoung-hak, artistic director for the festival, said the exhibition brings the art works directly to the people.
Ryu noted the Public Furniture exhibit is a living and practical alternative to current public art. Public Furniture placed 27 environment-friendly pieces of art on the beach, where people can look at it and play with it.
Inevitable comparisons
Since the first biennale in 2002, the Busan Biennale has grown significantly in size and in its total budget, which hit 8 billion won this year. However, organizers feel the show is relatively small and would like to have more corporate sponsors in the future.
Inevitably, the biennale faced questions about how it can distinguish itself from the rival Gwangju Biennale, which opened on Sept. 8 in the southwestern city of Gwangju.
Park pointed out that the Busan Biennale features more young artists and newly commissioned artworks. “The differentiating factor cannot be created overnight. The Busan Biennale has an inherent energy and dynamism. It has the opportunity to express city's unique aspect. Artists were impressed by the city's dynamism,” he said.The source of news : Korea.net September 19, 2006
