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100 years of Korean art
100 years of Korean art Part 1, In Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Korea, Poster, 2005, MMCA Art Research Center Collection

100 years of Korean art

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100 Years of Korean Art was a special exhibition held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (now MMCA) to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Korea's independence. It offered an overview of Korean art from 1905 to 2005 in two parts. Art historian Kim Hyunsook orchestrated the entire project. Part 1, which covered art from 1905 to 1959, was held from August 13 to October 23 in 2005, and Part 2, which oversaw art from 1960 to 2005, was held from June 2 to September 10, 2006. Part I of the exhibition was segmented into six periods as follows: “Prehistory—Towards Modernity: 1876-1905,” “Between Enlightenment and the Anti-Japanese Movement: 1905–1919,” which oversaw visual art during the anti-Japanese and patriotic movements as well as contemporaneous Korean art as seen by foreigners; “The Bright and Dark Sides of the New Culture: 1919–1937” focusing on the art that evolved by accepting new cultural trends and was directed toward autonomous modernity; “From Modernism to Imperial Citizens: 1937–1945” covering avant-garde art to pro-Japanese art; “Liberation and Division: 1945–1953” focusing on art created after liberation from Japan under the US military government, and during the Korean War; and “The Shadow of the Cold War: 1953–1960.” Part 2 of the exhibition was divided into four themes and periods: “1957–1966: Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Artists” showing the proliferation of the new post-war art form, Art Informel, under the subtitle “Tradition, Humanity, Art, Reality”; “1967–1979: Young Artists' Union Exhibition," focusing on experimental art; “1980–1987: 5.18 Gwangju Democratization Movement,” displaying socially engaged art and folk art; and “1988–Present: Seoul Olympics,” overseeing the post-modernist and globalization trends in the late 1980s. As 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of the relocation of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea from Deoksugung Palace to Gwacheon, the academic events that were part of the first and second exhibitions of 100 Years of Korean Art were posted online and named the "20th Anniversary of the Relocation to Gwacheon Online Exhibition." 100 Years of Korean Art was a new kind of exhibition that attempted to include not only fine art, but also visual culture in general, including painting, sculpture, calligraphy, crafts, design, advertising, photography, film, and architecture, as well as archives, in Gallery 1, 2, and 7 and the central hall of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea Gwacheon. It was also an attempt to show 100 years of Korean art as an integrated product formed in political, social, and cultural contexts. The exhibition catalogue for Part I was published in 2006 as a 707-page book by Hansgilsa Publishing Co. with the participation of Kim Yoon-Soo and fifty-seven other contributors. The exhibition catalogue for Part 2 was published in 2006 as a 45-page book by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.
* Source: MMCA

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