Graduation Arts Exhibition, Seoul National University, Korea

Serious research universities like SNU sometimes tend to forget they also have experimenters of the modes of expression. In fact SNU has been shaping the aesthetic tradition in Korea over the years.
The 2009 Artist of the Year awarded by the National Museum of Contemporary Arts Korea SUH Yongsun, modern minimalist painter OH Junggeun, and the awardee of Paris' Knight of Arts and Letters KIM Tschang Yeul are some examples of famous Korean artists turned out by SNU.
In order for students of the College of Fine Arts to graduate, they need to display their graduation projects in the SNU Graduation Arts Exhibition. This year's Graduation Arts Exhibition was held from December 2 to 11, at the College of Fine Arts (Bldgs.#49- 52), the Research Building (Bldg.#220), and the Museum of Art (MoA, Bldg.#151).

Let's take a look at each department’s most recommended works.

Department of Oriental Painting: Modern Techniques on Traditional Materials

"This year's portfolios saw diversity in materials and visual presentation. Although there were still ink and wash paintings and watercolor pieces true to the conventional arts tradition, students this year experimented with unconventional techniques like wall paintings and photos," Professor CHA Dongha of the Department of Oriental Painting said, while explaining the predominant trends among this year's art works.

The exhibition of the oriental painting department demonstrated a struggle to balance contemporary and traditional art each in their own way with traditional Korean materials such as Chinese ink and hanji (traditional Korean paper handmade from mulberry trees).

In this painting called "Immersion 1", artist KIM Hyun-Jung (Oriental Painting, entrance year '08) painted a girl wearing traditional Korean costume hanbok, but holding a white smartphone - the newest model - with her manicured little fingers. Kim juxtaposes the old tradition and the new tradition that has seldom been harmonized in Korean society. Interesting point: the collage technique used with scraps of hanji to articulate achromatic colors on the upper hanbok, delicately illuminating her skin.

Department of Sculpture: Diverse Frames for In-Depth Themes

Beginning with the Venice Biennale and other international events, Korean art circles this year were criticized for concentrating on commercial art. This exhibition offered an arena for the students to freely make daring experiments. Professor MOON Joo of the Department of Sculpture emphasized that the students had spent a lot of time on choosing their themes instead of following recent trends.

Moon Seo-Jin (Sculpture, entrance year '08) created a complete human mannequin out of everyday objects chucked in rubbish bins. The artist intentionally employed materials from the excess of culture and turned them into something constructive. The hair is made of a bathroom mop and the feet recycled from the leftovers of her previous artwork. Interesting point: the philosophy behind the coming together of excess materials and excess labor to recreate art.

Department of Crafts and Design - Ceramic Craft: A Strong Foundation of Crafting Skill Leads to High Quality Crafts 
The students of the Department of Ceramic Craft are endeavoring to craft ceramics through traditional ceramic techniques, with a touch of contemporary design. Professor HWANG Kap-Sun of the Department of Ceramic Craft explained that "this year’s art exhibition contains works by students with strong basic crafting skills." Their ceramics were auctioned from December 2 to 4 at the College of Arts (Building #52). 

"Cylinders" by KIM Bo-Kyung (Ceramic Craft, Master's Course) includes seven white porcelain cylinders. Unlike usual ceramics that are enameled, her art work began and ended all on the spinning wheel. The lines going through the cylinders each have different intervals for each, as if making a rhythm of their own. Though all of the same size, they look bigger or smaller, taller or shorter depending on the eye-level of the audience. KIM explained that she "tried to find calm change through minor alterations." 

Department of Crafts and Design - Design: Dismantling Boundaries and Designing for the People 

This year's art exhibition in the design department vigorously applied advanced technology and attempted to dismantle the boundaries of space and time. Secondly, whereas in the past design was focused on commerciality, now design for the convenience of the people is forming a new current of its own. KIM SooJeong, professor of design, positively judged the students work to be "integrated", explaining that "diverse materials were used and practicality was considered in many ways. All of our works are in some way helpful to humans." 

SONG Ie-Sup (Design, entrance year ’04)’s "Papyrus" is media art that harmonizes practicality and aesthetics. This miniature machine, named "Papyrus" after scrolls used to record the pharaohs' lives in ancient Egypt, stores the user’s information as long as it is plugged in and is connected to the Internet. When hooked up to a computer it provides even better visual media. SONG said, "Already in China there is a Papyrus application that automatically backs up information from social networking sites. I want later in life to be able to see my thoughts and comments on the net like a childhood album." 

Department of Western Painting: Expression of the Inner Voice through Watercolors 

Professor KIM Jung-Hee of the Department of Western Painting remarked that this year saw more diverse themes and expressions. Due to the new Image Production Course jointly established by the Department of Western Painting and the Department of Sculpture, their attempt to diversify artists' studies seems to have shone through in this year's art exhibition. A Pre-Opening Party was held on the fourth of December at which representatives of art galleries and collectors were invited to give students an opportunity to make a debut. 

YANG Hee-Ae (Western Painting, entrance year '07) drew the following giant painting that took up the whole wall of the exhibition hall. The artist confessed she used the painting as an outlet of her personal feelings. It is titled "My Giant 1". The green giant represents her own guardian angel, the yellow spikes shards of her memories. The blood symbolizes the inner conflict she feels in wanting to remain under the umbrella of the giant and in the hate she feels of her weak self. The peculiar combination of a very big giant covering the whole wall symbolizing its strength, and yet bleeding, depicting vulnerability, illustrates the irony of human existence. The Graduation Arts Exhibition is a future trajectory for artists graduating from SNU, and an event for which students prepare immensely. SNU hopes this experience will be the first of many stepping stones towards their recognition in the national and international arena.

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