Busan Biennale 2004
May 22 – October 31, 2004
Contemporary Art Exhibition
Sea Art Festival
Busan Sculpture Project
Theme: Chasm
Host: Busan Metropolitan City
Busan Biennale Organizing Committee
Organiser: Busan Biennale Organizing Committee
Contact: busanbiennale@korea.com
As one of Korea’s representative international art events, The Busan Biennale traces its history back to the founding of the “Busan Young Biennale” in 1981. Over time the “Young Biennale” amalgamated with other emerging art events in Busan eventually becoming the “Pusan International Contemporary Art Festival” (PICAF) in 1998 and finally the Busan Biennale in 2002. Now, the Busan Biennale consists of three inter-related projects: the “Contemporary Art Exhibition,” which invites international artists from various contemporary genres; the “Sea Art Festival,” which presents installation works at Busan’s scenic Haeundae Beach; and the “Busan Sculpture Project,” which promotes an artistic environment through the construction of large-scale outdoor sculptures around the Eulsukdo Culture Centre.
The Busan Biennale, which has developed into a large-scale international event, has been an endeavor to achieve the contradictory aims of establishing local identity, and globalization. The theme of the Busan Biennale 2004, “Chasm” reflects this endeavor.
Contemporary Art Exhibition
Aug. 21 – Oct. 31. 2004 / Busan Metropolitan Art Museum
The Contemporary Art Exhibition, which is co-curated by Tae Man Choi (Artistic Director/Professor, Kookmin University) and Manu Park (Curator/Director of Exhibitions, Gwangju Biennale 2002) is composed of three separate yet inter-related sections: “Point of Contact,” “Hang in There, My Dear Geum-sun” and “Moving Picture Desire”.
Along with the Biennale’s main theme ‘Chasm’ this exhibition incorporates ‘N.E.T.’ (Nexus/Encounter/Traveling, Negotiation/Environment/Transit) as its sub-theme. Around 100 internationally renowned artists will participate with works from various genres of contemporary art.
“Point of Contact,” co-curated by Choi and Park will reflect various trends of international contemporary art and allow diverse interpretations of the themes “Chasm” and “N.E.T.”
“Hang in There, My Dear Geum-sun,” curated by Choi, will highlight regional, historical and cultural peculiarities of Busan while dealing with the topic of post-colonial trauma and various social and political issues relevant to post-colonial discourse.
“Moving Picture Desire,” curated by Park, purports to introduce experimental and innovative media art that deal with the impact of cinematic experience on contemporary art. It is intended that new methods of communication between different genres through film be explored.
Sea Art Festival
Oct. 9 – Oct. 31, 2004 / Haeundae Beach, etc., Busan
Sea Art Festival, which is directed by Kwang-Woo Kim (Artistic Director/ Professor, Dong-A University) and curated by Tae-Ho Lee (Curator/ Professor, Hongik University), will install 30 works, produced by international artists under the sub-theme ‘Crossing Over,’ around Haeundae Beach and other nearby public places. Taking advantage of peculiar natural surrounding of the city of Busan, especially the scenic Haeundae Beach that attracts many tourists, the Sea Art Festival seeks to provide an open place where people can encounter artwork in a natural and relaxed setting. Furthermore this event intends to be an exemplar of environment art in which artworks are placed in an accessible setting.
Busan Sculpture Project
May 22 – Aug. 29, 2004 / Eulsukdo Culture Centre, Busan
Under the same sub-theme of the Sea Art Festival, ‘Crossing Over’, the Busan Sculpture Proejct is directed by Kim and curated by Lee. Since the formation of the Olympic Sculpture Park in 1991, which is located in front of the Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, the Busan Sculpture Project has been devoted to the creation of outdoor sculpture parks in Busan including Amnam Park.
This year’s project will present large-scale outdoor sculptures to be placed around Eulsukdo Culture Centre. Eulsukdo is the place where Nakdong River meets the sea and is famous for the migratory birds that visit it. The aim of this project is to create an environment where artworks are integrated and harmonized with their natural surroundings. 20 renowned international artists are contributing to the realization of this project.
