Craft & Design - Artifact of living spirit

In the section ‘Craft & Design’ was curated by artdirector ‘Rheem Mi-Sun’ on the subject of ‘Affection’ is introduced a wider art craft world of Korean craftsmen creating a ‘tradition’ of today.

This section is structured around three main curatorial choices;

1) Homage – works of intangible cultural heritage to preserve and inherit the Korea craft techniques; 2) Resonance – contemporary craftsmen working in various medium work like Ottchil (lacquer), Najeon Chilgi (mother-of-pearl inlay), Hangi (paper); 3) Hybrid – collaborative work between young designers and skilled artisans.

Co-curator Karine Lacquemant said “The power of Korea crafts is that we can feel with a modern yet traditional”, and remarked on the Korea crafts “It is not flashy but classy and precision”. Curators wanted to keep a sense of calm, be nature and as pure in this exhibition, like image with respect to Korea in France. Karine mentioned that young designers are very intrepid at creating necklaces any modern sort of fabric, this is about young artist revisiting their culture and traditions with new material.

‘Modernized creation that keeps tradition’ is a key point. For example, the lines elastic banded closet by artist Soh Eun-Myung, he took the gridded latticework of traditional Korean doors as a reference. Broad elastic bands in all rainbow colors replace doors and function as geometrically.

And traditional little tea table, called ‘Soban’, show the traditional Korean art of living. Western cultures are sat in chairs, Korea is culture of small table ‘Soban’. Traditionally, we have been sat on the floor and used small table ‘Soban’. The belief that the general daily goods is the work of art, the ‘use’ give birth to design and design give birth to a living aesthetic through the use. (‘Soban’ has different legs, it made within imitate legs of the beast, like tiger, horse and dog. But rather than simply imitating a military attach meant a tiger, a civil servant is a horse and the dog meant the populace.) Nowadays, we are not use anymore after people become used to western-style, but recently, ‘Soban’ is under the spotlight again as interior accessories clad in modern design.