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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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 Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:07 pm Post subject: Chagall exhibit opens today at Seoul Museum of Art |
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http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929148
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A sea of color for Chagall retrospective
Exhibition features 160 works on loan from 30 museums around the world.
December 03, 2010
�The Snow Falling on Chagall�s Village� by Kim Chun-su (1922-2004) is a popular poem in Korea that became more popular because of a now-defunct cafe named after it. The cafe, near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul, was one of the most popular places for dates among college students in the late 1990s. Kim was said to have gained inspiration for the poem from the 1920 oil painting �Over Vitebsk� by Marc Chagall (1887-1985).
Now, those who love the poem or have fond memories of the cafe can see the painting in person at a large-scale retrospective of the Russian-French artist, entitled �Chagall: Magician of Color,� which starts today at the Seoul Museum of Art in central Seoul.
�Over Vitebsk� depicts a visionary scene in which a Jewish man in a black suit, carrying a cane in one hand and a sack slung over his shoulder in the other, floats in the air over a snow-covered village. The painting seems to reflect both Chagall�s affection for Vitebsk, the village where he was born, as well as his awareness of his Jewish origins and the migratory nature of his existence.
Seo Soun-jou, the director of the exhibition, told reporters at a recent press conference that it wasn�t easy to bring the work to Korea.
�It was not easy to persuade the Museum of Modern Art in New York into loaning the painting but we finally made it,� Seo said.
The exhibition, which runs until March 27, features 160 works by Chagall on loan from 30 museums and private collections, including Musee National Marc Chagall in Nice, the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Seo, who also directed the 2004 Chagall retrospective at the same museum, said, �This show surpasses the 2004 exhibition both in quality and content. It includes Chagall works from the early to the late years culled from museums around the world.�
The 2004 show, which focused on Chagall�s works since the 1950s, attracted 650,000 viewers, a record at the time.
Whereas the public is more familiar with his later works, which are softer in form and tone, art critics tend to think more highly of his early works, which build on Cubism�s new idea of space and use of mystical color arrangements.
Among the important works in the Chagall show are the oil paintings �Promenade� and �Over the Town,� which were both finished in 1918. Both paintings depict a couple - Chagall himself and his beloved wife, Bella, whom he married in 1915. Bella, he said, was the �great central image of my art.�
In �Promenade,� Bella, who is wearing a hot pink dress, floats freely while holding the hand of the smiling artist, who is still on the ground. And in �Over the Town,� even the artist has been freed from gravity and the couple fly over the town, showing the innocent joy of being in love.
�Unlike many other artists of his time, including Pablo Picasso, who was notorious for having many affairs with women, Chagall was faithful to his wife and their love lasted until Bella died in 1944,� Seo explained. �His paintings reflect that.�
But the highlight of the exhibit are the seven huge paintings, including �Introduction to the Jewish Theater,� �Music� and �Literature,� that once decorated the Jewish Theater in Moscow, Seo said.
�This is the first time all seven works are being shown in Asia,� he said.
In addition, the paintings are related to the turbulent history of the Jewish people in Russia in the early 20th century. The establishment of the Jewish Theater in 1919 reflected the changes in rights of Jews after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Prior to that, Jews faced systematic discrimination. After the revolution, they were finally given rights equivalent to the rest of the Russian population. It comes as no surprise, then, that Chagall supported the revolution.
Chagall must have made the paintings with pleasure. But he finally left Russia in 1922 because of growing conflict with artists in the government who argued that art should include revolutionary messages, which they found lacking in Chagall�s work.
Later, in 1948, the Jewish Theater was shut down by Stalin�s regime, which also discriminated against minorities in the Soviet Union. Fortunately, an artist secretly moved Chagall�s paintings from the theater and kept them well. Chagall was surprised and happy to see the paintings, which he thought would have been destroyed, when he visited Russia in the 1970s.
The exhibition will also show Chagall�s paintings of biblical stories and circuses and acrobats, which were repeated themes in his works. Also on display are illustrated prints based on the classics, such as �Four Tales from the Arabian Nights,� �Daphnis and Chloe� and �Les Fables de La Fontaine,� which show Chagall�s unique sense of color.
*The show runs until March 27, 2011. Admission is 12,000 won ($10.42) for adults. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. It is closed Mondays. Go to City Hall Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1. For more information, call (02) 2124-8981 or visit www.chagallseoul.com.
By Moon So-young [[email protected]]
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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I really appreciate every time you post things like this.
How many exhibits are going on right now?
Da Vinci, Picasso, and Chagall? |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| Triban wrote: |
I really appreciate every time you post things like this.
How many exhibits are going on right now?
Da Vinci, Picasso, and Chagall? |
Yes, those are the big exhibits. It'll be great to see those exhibits after Christmas, for me. Too busy to really enjoy them until then. BTW, there are always smaller exhibits at galleries around Seoul. |
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Ferguson
Joined: 17 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Chagall suits Korean sensibilities. He is to high art what Hello Kitty is to commercial art. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| Ferguson wrote: |
| Chagall suits Korean sensibilities. He is to high art what Hello Kitty is to commercial art. |
Let us know when you go to see the exhibit. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:26 am Post subject: |
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Has anyone else seen this exhibit? I saw it last week and forgot to post about it. I do have to warn everyone that it's drawing some very large crowds. Yes, I know other exhibits have drawn large crowds but, for some reason, Chagall seems to bring out the biggest crowds in Seoul. The actual exhibit is stunning. You'll enjoy the works of art by Chagall. The odd thing about the exhibit is the souvenirs on sale at the end of the exhibit. There are some VERY expensive souvenirs along with the usual bookmarkers, magnets, and mugs. The posters are 5,000 each and I did buy two very nice tote bags for 15,000 each. In fact, the tote bags are beautiful. I would recommend this exhibit but be prepared to fight some big crowds.
Just one more thing I'd like add about the expensive souvenirs. It's an odd mix when a museum is literally filled with hundreds of children, brought in large groups by schools, while that same museum sells some souvenirs for the exhibit that are priced over 500,000 won. It's like they're trying to appeal to everyone and, frankly, the large numbers annoying and noisy children make it unlikely that the "jet set" would be walking through the museum at the same time. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:39 am Post subject: Re: Chagall exhibit opens today at Seoul Museum of Art |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929148
| Quote: |
A sea of color for Chagall retrospective
Exhibition features 160 works on loan from 30 museums around the world.
December 03, 2010
...
*The show runs until March 27, 2011. Admission is 12,000 won ($10.42) for adults. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. It is closed Mondays. Go to City Hall Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1. For more information, call (02) 2124-8981 or visit www.chagallseoul.com.
By Moon So-young [[email protected]]
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potblackettle
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for posting this! I'm going to be in Seoul to get new passport pages and I am definitely going to check this out! |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:49 am Post subject: |
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| potblackettle wrote: |
| Thanks for posting this! I'm going to be in Seoul to get new passport pages and I am definitely going to check this out! |
Just keep in mind that it gets very crowded. |
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jen_hill
Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for posting this. And what's with the Chagall hatred from some people? |
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Some of the Mothers Said
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:14 am Post subject: |
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| jen_hill wrote: |
| Thanks for posting this. And what's with the Chagall hatred from some people? |
I don't think anyone is hating on Chagall? However, I do think Ferguson makes a valid point. Chagall's work is often sentimental and repetitive. His "stock" figures relied on a logo like recognition, and his metaphors are too personal and oblique.
Like Van Gogh, he's a the Korean lay persons artist. Enigmatic enough to feel you're intelligent in naming him, commercial enough to be on your coffee cup.
However Chagall's windows I saw in Germany and France were outstanding. |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:41 am Post subject: |
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Like Van Gogh, he's a the Korean lay persons artist. Enigmatic enough to feel you're intelligent in naming him, commercial enough to be on your coffee cup.
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Pop art before that's what was called? It has become an "art industry" and some fit more easily into it. But that doesn't make them bad artists. If you object to anything object to the industry. |
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Some of the Mothers Said
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
| Quote: |
Like Van Gogh, he's a the Korean lay persons artist. Enigmatic enough to feel you're intelligent in naming him, commercial enough to be on your coffee cup.
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Pop art before that's what was called? It has become an "art industry" and some fit more easily into it. But that doesn't make them bad artists. If you object to anything object to the industry. |
Not "bad artists" but not all art made by "great artists" is great. If you've walked around the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam you'll know what I mean. Most of the work is average at best, but it's a Van Gogh, so it "must" be wonderful. Same with Chagall, same with Picasso. I mean how many bulls can you look at in one day?
"Pop art before that's what was called?" Politely disagree. Every artist has a "stock" image or technique. Whether it's Da Vinci's "sfumato"
Caravaggio's "chiaroscuro" or Turner's enigmatic landscapes, they are calling cards, not "Pop art." "Pop art" used mass produced materials out of context, and combined them with unrelated objects to produce pieces that in my humble opinion were a throw back to "Dada." Anyhow, Chagall, and Gogh did not do this. |
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