Im Geun-jun (Lee Jung-woo), a Seoul-born critic who has long observed Korean contemporary art, suffers from Borderline Asperger's Syndrome, and is an openly bisexual, surveys the past and present of art in Daegu and Gyeongbuk from a perspective beyond boundaries. Premised on a special affection for the art of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, he does so objectively yet with bias.

From Post-War Abstract Art to 'Experimental Art from Daegu'

1957 is considered the inaugural year of post-war abstract art in Korea. Daegu, in particular, has shown a proactive attitude toward adopting foreign culture, and this was no exception in avant-garde movements such as abstract art.

In 1956, the Korean modern art world was in turmoil due to the boycott of the Grand Art Exhibition of Korea (Gukjeon). Given the limitations of the Gukjeon, which had virtually replicated the Joseon Art Exhibition operated by the Japanese Government-General of Korea, it harbored room for various controversies and disruptions, both in terms of judging criteria and judging authority.

Those who had collaborated with rulers and lived in luxury during the colonial period occupied higher positions and commanded the world after liberation; consequently, the self-taught youths of the Syngman Rhee regime called them "liberation aristocrats." It was a derogatory term. In 1956, when anger toward such established forces was surging, an interesting exhibition was held.

On May 16, 1956, when the 'Four-Person Exhibition: Kim Chung-sun, Kim Young-hwan, Park Seo-bo, and Moon Woo-sik' opened at the Dongbang Cultural Center in Myeongdong, the artists issued the 'Declaration Against the National Art Exhibition,' challenging the 'anachronistic authoritarianism and outdated values of the National Art Exhibition.' Ten days earlier, the young Lee O-young had already shaken the world by publishing 'The Destruction of Idols' in the May 6th issue of the *Hankook Ilbo*. Although he broadly criticized the established literary circle mired in authoritarianism, it was received with a significance that went beyond that.

It was no coincidence that five groups leading the post-war Korean abstract art movement emerged in 1957, when a craze for modernism was sweeping through Korea. Among the groups that appeared in succession—the Modern Art Association, the Contemporary Artists Association, the Creative Artists Association, the New Figurative Group, and the Baekyanghoe—the most important was the Contemporary Artists Association, or the '60 Artists Association.' This trend of reform continued to grow through the Chosun Ilbo's annual exhibition, the <Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Artists>, and through the April 19 Revolution of 1960 and the May 16 Military Coup of 1961, 'abstract art pursuing national identity in the era of industrialization' rose to the position of the new mainstream.

Using the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival, which opened in April 1974, as a catalyst

Large-scale contemporary art exhibitions have been set up in various locations across the country.

An interesting point is that the younger generation, seeking to take the critical awareness of Park Seo-bo's generation a step further, unhesitatingly pursued new endeavors such as experimental art, object art, and performance art following the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan in 1965. Within this trend, which intensified after the 1967 Young Artists' Joint Exhibition, Kim Ku-rim (born 1936), a native of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, and Lee Kang-so (born 1943), a native of Daegu, were by far the unrivaled figures. The script for "Happening with Vinyl Umbrellas and Candles" (1967), considered Korea's first happening, was written by the Busan-born modernist critic Oh Kwang-soo (born 1938).

However, the historical trend I wish to emphasize is the modern art movement that unfolded with Daegu as its central axis. In April 1974, the first <Daegu Contemporary Art Festival> opened at the Keimyung University Art Museum in Daegu, serving as the starting point for a regionalist experimental art movement. Using this as a catalyst, large-scale contemporary art exhibitions began to be held throughout the country, and by 1981, the nature art movement organization 'Yatu,' which is unparalleled globally, was formed; thus, Daegu was effectively the mecca of the Korean-style regionalist art movement of the 1970s.

The Daegu Contemporary Art Festival that sparked contemporary experimental art in Korea

The Daegu Contemporary Art Festival, which was held five times until 1979, was managed by art activist Hwang Hyeon-uk (1948–2001), a native of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Unfortunately, however, the discovery of materials related to the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival remains sluggish today. There is an urgent need for a museum exhibition that reorganizes based on investigation and research.

However, one thing is certain: the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival served as a decisive gateway to expand the narrow league of modernism and advance into contemporary art. By the third edition in 1977, the scale had grown rapidly with 196 artists gathering from all over the country, and a group of artists who performed performance art along the Nakdong River in Gangjeong pioneered a Korean-style nature art that adapted to the region's unique spatiotemporal context. Lee Kang-so, having cast off his clothes, staged a performance in which he sat on a sand mound and drank soju, while Park Hyun-ki (1942–2000) attempted a performative work that responded to existence with existence by creating the shadow of a poplar tree using lime powder.

*Note: The facts have been corrected to be clearer based on the observation of participating artist Mr. Kim Jin-hyuk: The 1st Daegu Contemporary Art Festival was led by Kim Ki-dong and Lee Kang-so, and from the 2nd festival onwards, Lee Kang-so led the event almost entirely. Lee Kang-so provided all the expenses. It is said that while Lee Kang-so led the planning for the 1977-79 period, Park Hyun-ki assisted him, and Hwang Hyun-wook took on the role of overall practical manager to oversee exhibition direction and other tasks. It is reported that artist Lee Kang-so remarked, "Park Hyun-ki, Lee Myo-chun, Choi Byung-so, and Hwang Hyun-wook worked hard, and I particularly remember the loyalty of Lee Myo-chun."

Born in Daegu, Park Hyun-ki is an artist who sought to acquire and perceive a new worldview through human actions in the high-tech era that respond to the existence of nature. On March 22, 1981, at 3:00 PM, the artist loaded a large artificial rock adorned with mirrors onto a 16-meter-long trailer and paraded it through downtown Daegu for about 40 minutes, capturing the citizens' reactions on video and in photographs. The journey started at Daegu MBC, passed in front of the Jung-gu Office, and arrived at 72 Gongpyeong-dong. Upon arriving at Maekhyang Gallery, which hosted the solo exhibition *Park Hyun-ki*, he boldly smashed through the wall and moved the artificial rock, which was over 3 meters tall, into the gallery space. It was a monumental moment in which the urban space of Daegu became a medium for art.

At 3:00 PM on March 22, 1981, Park Hyun-ki

A large artificial rock with mirrors attached was loaded onto a 16-meter-long trailer and passed through downtown Daegu for about 40 minutes.

It was a monumental moment when urban space became a medium for art.

In 1982, Park Hyun-ki performed a total of six performances over two days and one night, including installing a TV set displaying the situation alongside trash such as Coca-Cola cans along the Nakdong River, building a stone tower of TVs on the riverbank, and drawing a large circle on the sand and setting it on fire late at night. The exhibition *Media as the Communicator: Park Hyun-ki*, realized in such a specific time and space-specific manner, is still talked about as a legend to this day.

Art activist Hwang Hyun-wook is an abstract artist who held a solo exhibition at Myeongdong Gallery in 1973, but he underwent a change in identity as a curator while leading the Daegu Contemporary Art Festival. He became known as an avant-garde art dealer starting in 1981 when he took on the role of art director at Su Gallery in Daegu at the suggestion of Park Hyun-ki. In 1985, Hwang opened the gallery 'That' in Samdeok-dong, Daegu, but in 1986, he moved to a space provided by Park Hyun-ki (on the first floor of Park Hyun-ki Architects) and changed the name to 'In-gong Gallery'.

The space with a ceiling height of 8 meters

What can be seen in Chelsea, New York today

It was a warehouse-style gallery optimized for contemporary art.

Hwang Hyun-wook's 'Artificial Gallery' Embracing Donald Judd and Yun Hyong-geun

In-Gong Gallery was the central axis of contemporary art in Daegu, supporting mid-career artists. It had already secured a special status in the landscape of Korean contemporary art by hosting solo exhibitions of the monochrome painter Yun Hyong-keun in 1986 and 1987. To meet the expectations of artists, Hwang Hyun-wook opened In-Gong Gallery in Daehak-ro, Seoul, in 1988. With a ceiling height reaching 8 meters, the space was a warehouse-style gallery optimized for contemporary art seeking to remain faithful to materiality. It was a space reminiscent of those found in Chelsea, New York today, and served as an homage to the minimalist artist Donald Judd, whom Hwang admired (following the spatial grammar of the Chinatti Foundation, which Judd opened in 1986). Through In-Gong Gallery, Korean monochrome painters and the first generation of contemporary artists presented their major works, and Donald Judd held a solo exhibition in 1991, followed by land artist Richard Long in 1993.

In-Gong Gallery in Dongsung-dong, Seoul, closed in 1996 due to financial difficulties and operated for a time as a café named 'Marpa.' Marpa is the name of a small town in Texas where Donald Judd's Chinatti Foundation is based. Meanwhile, Park Hyun-ki passed away early from stomach cancer in 2000, and Hwang Hyun-wook from liver cancer in 2001. Their lives were short but intense, like a flame. For a while, it seemed as though they might be forgotten, but now more people are paying attention to the legacy of Park Hyun-ki and Hwang Hyun-wook.

I cannot forget Mr. Hwang Hyun-wook.

If he hadn't existed,

"Would it have been possible to travel back and forth to Korea and work like that in the 1980s and 1990s?"

In 2016, artist Lee Ufan (born 1936), a native of Haman, Gyeongnam, recalled the deceased as follows: “I cannot forget Mr. Hwang Hyun-wook. If he had not existed, would I have been able to travel back and forth to Korea to work like that during the 1980s and 1990s?”

Whenever I visit Daegu, I look forward to the emergence of a youth generation that carries on the experimental spirit. This is because I believe the day will come when the great spirit of inclusivity, which once embraced artists from all over the country, manifests more deeply on an international level. However, for such a future to unfold, we need "crazy" people who propose, share, and invest in seemingly impossible dreams. It seems that people these days are always so sane that they fail to realize even their own potential. We all need to be crazy, sometimes.

Illustration | Park Hyun-ki standing on the soil of Daegu while holding a TV. Inside the screen are art activist and curator Hwang Hyun-wook, rocks—which Park Hyun-ki used as his primary material throughout his life—and Daegu.

Photos by Hwang Hyun-wook, provided by Lee Jun-hee, Adjunct Professor at Konkuk University / Photos by Park Hyun-ki, provided by MMCA

** External contributions to the Editorial Department are intended to provide a multifaceted perspective on local culture and industry and may differ from the views of the Editorial Department.

Im Geun-jun

In today's world, where contemporary art is collapsing and deconstructing, he writes the art history of Korea and Asia based on persistent historical research. He studied design and art at Seoul National University and worked as a curator, editor-in-chief, and LGBTQ activist. Meanwhile, his Instagram account, @crazyseoul, serves as a chalet of the diverse human figures he observes daily. Posts dated October 28, 2022, when this profile was written, include images of the Christ the Redeemer statue, hypertrophic idols, a meme of Xi Jinping resembling Winnie the Pooh, and the obituary of Pierre Soulages.