Mina Cheon . art . text . teach . review . cv

MICA KOREA 2007

Press Release

July 30, 2007
                                                                                                                                        
STUDENTS IN MICA’S GROUNDBREAKING STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM IN SOUTH KOREA BRINGS “EXHIBITION WHITE” TO MICA
Runs Monday, August 27–Thursday, September 6 in Brown Center,
 with a Reception on Wednesday, August 29, 5–7 p.m.

W3= White Day, Wedding, Women…

Directors: Mina Cheon and Gabriel Kroiz

Participating Students: Kari Altmann, Kim Bentley, Adeetje Bouma, Yena Chang, Isak Chung, Hannah Cochran, Viviana Cordova, Candace Fong, Jiah Im, Soohyun Kang, Nara Park, Pete Razon

 

Twelve Korean and American artists collaborated on a feminist art exhibition around the theme white. Large and small artworks were installed at several galleries (Gallery SSamzie, SSamzieGil courtyard and Gallery 175) in Seoul, Korea before traveling to MICA. The exhibition was already reviewed by the Associated Press of Korea and many pieces were collected by the SSAMZIE Museum, Paju, Korea. The exhibition at MICA is sponsored by SSAMZIE. Co., Ltd.

More than half of the artists were in Korea for the first time to work on this project and contribute to the exhibition with a unique foreigner’s perspective. The student artists participating in Exhibition White are Kari Altmann, Kim Bentley, Adeetje Bouma, Hannah Cochran, Viviana Cordova, Candace Fong, Jiah Im, Soohyun Kang, Nara Park, and Pete Razon. Two native Korean students who participated in the exhibition were Isak Chung and Yena Chang from the Korean National University of Arts.

White, often seen as neutral, blank, and empty, is also laden with cultural, social, and historical associations and significations. This group of artists, designers, and architects use the color and concept white as the lens through which to view Korean culture. In particular, they examined certain cultural phenomena that are symptomatic of the fantasy-driven capital industry of Korea, including White Day, the ideal “white wedding,” and the cosmetic desire for white skin, which is marked by light skin color protected by the artifice of sun-umbrellas, sunscreen, make-up, and other plastis. Bringing this exhibition to the United States, the exhibition also raise questions related to race, class, and the capital market in America as well.

This groundbreaking summer studies program set in Seoul, South Korea, one of Asia’s most dynamic cities, challenges students to create and exhibit artwork based on their experience of place and culture. Students are provided with the opportunity to experience Korea and to work on art projects at a professional and international level. The MICA South Korea program is an interdisciplinary studio arts and architecture program directed by co-directors Mina Cheon and Gabriel Kroiz with MICA’s curator-in-residence George Ciscle as visiting curator. The program is assisted by director assistant Eugene Ahn, graduate student of NYU Tisch School of Art. This year Eve Andrée Laramée joined as visiting artist of the program.

This is the fourth MICA Korea project since 2004. The Korean National University of Arts (KNUA) hosted the program for the second consecutive year. MICA Korea offers professional development in the arts, exhibition opportunity, and artist practicum as a residency program for young artists, designers, and architects, culminating in a cross-cultural, collaborative artistic project.