PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than a thousand people flocked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Thursday night for the opening of a new exhibit exploring South Korean art. The pieces on display were modern and global, but also demonstrated the tremendous transformation of the country since 1989.
Portraits of anxiety and those lost to a not-so-distant dictatorship paired with vibrant showcases of technology and pop culture, are just some of the things visitors can see at the exhibit, titled “The Shape of Time: Korean Art After 1989.” It’s a showcase of the rapid evolution of South Korea in all facets of society, through many modern forms and media.
“It’s a love letter,” said curator Elisabeth Agro, “to our community and our public to understand how important this nation is. Their histories and experiences are to be known.”
The exhibit, which runs through Feb. 11, features 28 Korean and Korean-American artists. Agro said all of them lived through the changes in their nation depicted in their art, as democracy began to take root.
“On January 1, 1989, the international travel ban was lifted and anyone could leave Korea without the government’s permission. These artists benefited from that,” explained Agro. “The artwork reflects those freedoms and then looking upon their nation critically, but with hope for a future that they want to build themselves.”
Sunny Ra, the museum’s manager of school programs, was there as a fan on opening night. She said that, as a Korean American, the exhibit was big for representation.
“Growing up and seeing Korean art exhibitions, it’s usually, like, ceramics only,” she said. “I think it’s really important to show how different countries outside the U.S. have really modernized and how it’s really become a global community.”
Ra also hopes the exhibit can expand even the modern perspective of art in South Korea, which today is sometimes based solely around a certain type of music that is now a global phenomenon.
“Everyone knows K-pop, BTS, and Blackpink,” she said, “and I think those are really amazing ways people are learning and being introduced to Korean culture, but there’s so much more.”