Episode 69: Unanimous Decision
In 2019, Kang Lim once heard about the opening of the Cheongju branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and decided to visit.
Interestingly, it was an exhibition that showcased the storage area as it was.
On an aluminum stool were sculptures by various artists. Paintings sensitive to temperature, humidity, and mold were enclosed in glass boxes.
At that time, the Cheongju branch had about 4,000 pieces of artwork.
The emotion of seeing such a massive storage-type museum…
It was indescribable.
The problem was that he felt the same way now.
It was because all his works were displayed chronologically.
The workspace felt like a factory due to its high ceiling.
Seoyeon pointed to Kang Lim’s works and spoke.
Most of them were hung on aluminum steel rails, which could be pulled out for viewing.
“How is it? Amazing, right? The hanji sensitive to temperature and humidity is enclosed in acrylic, and the paintings on canvas are organized chronologically so you can flip through them.”
“Wow, you kept writing down notes when I explained before, and you actually set everything by date?”
“Of course!”
Kang Lim walked slowly through the spacious area, appreciating the paintings he had drawn over time.
With each piece he saw, vivid memories of specific times, places, and situations flooded his mind.
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
After a while, when his overwhelmed feelings had calmed down a bit, he finally looked at Seoyeon.
A slightly trembling voice came from Kang Lim’s throat.
It was a little difficult to start speaking.
“I didn’t know I had this much when it was piled up at home. I just thought it was a stack of papers.”
“Are you okay? Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I love it. It’s the best.”
When Kang Lim smiled brightly, Seoyeon spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Well, there were too many to hang each one, so I only displayed the representative works nicely. There are many stacked on stools too. It’s similar to when they were at your home… just that it’s a bit more spacious…”
“No, what’s similar about it… I can see everything at a glance… It’s really convenient. Now I just need to pick out the ones to display at Heyum.”
“Yeah, this exhibition is a permanent one, so we need to do it well.”
At Seoyeon’s words, Kang Lim tilted his head in curiosity.
A permanent exhibition showcases the collections of famous artists and lasts a long time.
If a planned exhibition at Baekyeon Gallery lasts a month, a museum’s permanent exhibition lasts about five months.
“A permanent exhibition? Is it okay to use Heyum for that long? For just a rookie?”
“What do you mean ‘just a rookie’? You’re a super rookie!”
Kang Lim flinched at Seoyeon’s voice.
Honestly, it felt good. Like a warm warmth spreading in his chest.
As expected, receiving compliments from someone close is the best.
“Thanks, well, I feel reassured thanks to you. Since you’re also a student of Baekyeon teacher, you must be good at planning, right?”
“What are you talking about… I told you before while on the swing, I’m just assisting… If you create the exhibition concept, I’ll only design the catalog or introduction. The planning will go under your name.”
“Ha, you were serious about that?”
“Of course! We need to start planning right away, so think well. Mom is also really looking forward to it.”
“… Somehow, I feel pressured.”
“What pressure… And you know you can’t adjust the temperature here, right? If the temperature goes above 17 degrees or the humidity above 55 degrees, let me know. Each season requires different handling.”
“Oh, okay… But, where do I paint? This place feels too much like a storage room.”
“Silly, of course, there’s a separate studio. You can use rooms 201, 202, and 203 in building A, on the second floor. Right now, this is rooms 202 and 203. We opened up the rooms and did construction because there were too many paintings.”
“Hul, no wonder the residency felt too large.”
“Yeah, come here. This is your studio.”
At the far end of the spacious storage room, where Seoyeon led him by the wrist, there was a large iron door connected to room 201.
When they went inside, an empty space resembling an office appeared.
Actually, it wasn’t just an empty space.
There was a top-quality wooden easel for fixing and painting large canvases.
A high desk was also there. A desk as large as a pavilion in a neighborhood park.
‘Originally, studios usually just provide an empty space. They don’t give these kinds of options…’
Seeing Kang Lim’s puzzled look, Seoyeon spoke confidently.
“I bought it. Isn’t it pretty? Oriental paintings need to be drawn while standing, so a high desk is necessary.”
“It’s pretty, but…”
He left out the part about wondering where she got the money.
Considering her young age, she must have unimaginable financial power…
“And that’s the highlight over there!”
Seoyeon led Kang Lim into the room.
There was a separate space prepared as an ondol room in the large studio corner.
Unlike the outside, it was warm inside.
There was even a desk and a bed in this place.
Could it be that she bought these too…? It felt like too much special treatment.
“The entire room 201 can be controlled with a heater, and the sleeping room has a separate boiler function! If you get tired while working, you can sleep here. When we did night work at school, the student lounge was too cold, and the sofas were worn out, remember?”
“…….”
Seeing Seoyeon smiling and speaking, Kang Lim couldn’t find words to say.
Honestly, it was nicer than his current room, making him want to sleep there immediately.
“Huh, why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you like it?”
Seoyeon asked nervously, seeing Kang Lim remain silent.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, looking disbelieving.
“Is the bed too narrow? Should I have bought a bigger one? Or is the desk too small?”
“No, no, that’s not it…”
At that moment, Kang Lim’s phone rang.
“What! It’s past 11! Who’s calling at this late hour. Such bad manners.”
“Who could it be… There’s no one who would contact me at this hour.”
Kang Lim checked his phone.
Seeing the caller’s name, his heart sank.
“Hul, it’s Professor Gu Haeyoung?”
“…….”
Six hours earlier.
While Kang Lim was basking in the happiness of receiving congratulations at the opening ceremony.
The Venice Biennale planning team held an emergency meeting.
Around a long round table with a presentation screen in the middle.
The chairperson and planning team members sat around, examining documents with serious expressions.
Not only Kang Lim’s portfolio but also portfolios of mid-career artists were piled up.
Hong Aram was also looking through the materials, checking people’s expressions.
Veterans who have wandered around prestigious overseas art museums for decades, planning exhibitions…
Deep wrinkles were etched on their foreheads.
Among them, Hong Aram was particularly conscious of the team leader.
In fact, his field experience far exceeded that of the chairperson, making his influence the strongest.
As expected, Team Leader Ahn Seungjae spoke first.
“Because of Artist Kim Seonbong, what is this on a weekend…”
Ahn Seungjae said while looking at Kang Lim’s portfolio.
“Artist Kang Lim’s work is excellent. However, when can he create works that fit the exhibition theme? We need to submit it right away.”
The Venice Biennale is divided into solo and group exhibitions.
A solo exhibition at the Korean Pavilion is held at the main venue and usually has no theme set by the planning team.
This is because everything is entrusted to a single artist’s imagination and creativity.
Thus, the theme is whatever the artist wants to express or their signature style.
Since a world-famous artist is entrusted with the pavilion, there’s no need to limit their imagination with a theme.
However, group exhibitions are different.
The planning team sets the theme, reviews numerous materials, and selects artists over several months.
Ahn Seungjae sighed, rubbing his temples.
“Artist Kang Lim has a short career. Can he accept his changed self after such a large exhibition? The impact of participating in the Biennale is unimaginable. He will dominate the domestic market. Being young, he’ll also attract international attention. One of his 100-ho paintings will easily surpass 50 million won.”
Five years ago, when Ahn Seungjae was in the same position as Hong Aram.
He recommended a young artist.
Thanks to that, a 28-year-old graduate student participated in the Venice Biennale as the youngest ever.
He received good reviews overseas and naturally became a superstar in the domestic art market.
Such is the effect of having the best Biennale experience.
However, after receiving too much attention, he couldn’t paint for ten years.
Ahn Seungjae still remembered the young artist’s words.
Repeating them while putting down his brush.
[The work I did back then was the pinnacle of my life. I can’t create any more work… Whenever I see the high prices for my paintings, I wonder if I deserve it…]
The words still echoed vividly in his ears.
Hong Aram glanced at Ahn Seungjae and gulped before speaking.
“I understand your concerns, Team Leader. But, Kang Lim is already a prolific artist. He won’t experience a slump. And right after his solo exhibition at Baekyeon Gallery, he will hold solo exhibitions at Heyum’s Seoul and Paris branches. He will have enough time to adapt to his changing self as he experiences major exhibitions one after another before participating in next year’s Biennale.”
“…Is that so?”
At that moment, a firm voice cut through Ahn Seungjae’s troubled reply.
“It certainly is. He is already a complete artist.”
It was the person everyone had been waiting for, the one who arranged today’s meeting.
Connecting her laptop to the presentation screen, Gu Haeyoung spoke.
“There is absolutely nothing to worry about. He has already created works that fit the theme of this exhibition. Please stop seeing him as just a student.”
“…….”
Indeed, was there ever a student Gu Haeyoung spoke of like this?
Ahn Seungjae’s eyebrows twitched.
He looked up at the brightened presentation screen.
Gu Haeyoung’s white hair was illuminated by the bright light of the screen.
Ahn Seungjae thought Gu Haeyoung was similar to himself.
She had left the Korean art scene to grow from scratch overseas.
Having grown strong, she never protected anyone before.
This wasn’t just about recommending her student.
On the presentation screen appeared a photo of Marina Abramović with a large hooked nose and gray eyes.
An artist known for her provocative performances involving self-harm.
As everyone focused on Gu Haeyoung, she began to speak.
“This is Marina Abramović, whom you all know. She is famous for her provocative performances involving self-harm.”
Gu Haeyoung moved to the next slide, explaining Marina Abramović’s work <Rhythm 0>.
In this work, she laid out various menacing tools like whips, thorns, razors, cutter blades, and rubber bands, inviting the audience to do whatever they wanted to her body.
She promised no legal responsibility and protection of her identity.
For the first hour or two, the audience did nothing, but once some people started cutting her clothes with scissors, others joined in as if it was just a fun game.
Eventually, she ended up naked, covered in graffiti and wounds, forcing the exhibition to halt.
“Through this work, Marina Abramović claimed to show how terrifying the unconscious minds of anonymous people can be. She said she created a participatory art piece.”
So what does this artist have to do with Kang Lim?
As everyone looked at Gu Haeyoung, she spoke.
“But can this really change the audience? Participating in violence does not teach how to overcome it but rather governs the unconscious through another experience. Gathering materials that can obviously harm someone and telling them to use them… She couldn’t avoid criticism for reproducing a sad society.”
Gu Haeyoung showed Marina Abramović’s next work.
It was a performance art piece where she silently stared at the audience.
“This is the work
If you knew her life story—born in Yugoslavia, her grandfather was a martyred Greek Orthodox archbishop, and her parents were partisans during World War II—you would read death and fear of suffering in her eyes. A life full of regret.
But what would those who didn’t know her feel?”
No one could answer Gu Haeyoung’s question.
“The weakness of contemporary art is this. If you don’t study the artist’s narrative, it becomes difficult for many to approach.”
As everyone nodded in agreement, Gu Haeyoung displayed Kang Lim’s work and spoke.
“As you all know, Kang Lim has also led a unique life. But the important thing is that even without hearing his life story, everyone can feel what he wants to express. Please listen to the story he has created from now.”
A white heart opened, revealing pictures that unfolded one by one.
Gu Haeyoung slowly moved through the slides, allowing people to read the story.
After the story ended, just as the students were shocked by the question Kang Lim left behind, the planning team members started asking questions.
Hong Aram wondered if such thoughts were possible for a twenty-year-old… She felt goosebumps, sensing the depth of his mind.
A unique work at the ambiguous intersection of literature and art.
Even Ahn Seungjae had to acknowledge Kang Lim. This was a novel form of work.
Imagining people from all over the world participating in his work and sharing their life stories gave him chills.
As the room buzzed with excitement, Gu Haeyoung spoke, remembering her promise to Kang Lim.
“Even if you keep asking about the answer to the question, I don’t know the one the artist has set.”
“Ahh…”
“The important thing is that it fits well with the exhibition theme of ‘Love.’ It makes the audience reflect on a world where love has disappeared and share stories of those raised in different environments.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
By now, they were all convinced.
But Gu Haeyoung wanted to speak more about the value of this work.
Kang Lim had provided a new key to one trend of contemporary art, participatory art.
“Language is a material with a clear meaning, which is why artists extremely dislike using it. Thus, contemporary artists did not use language as a material unless it was for critical intent.
But Kang Lim used language in a way that didn’t block people’s imagination but expanded their deep thoughts. By creating a very symbolic story.
This is a novel form of art. Is he a storyteller, a sculptor, or a painter?”
A print work containing a story, a white heart fragment left as evidence of that story.
Using classical materials but achieving a contemporary result.
Ahn Seungjae quietly nodded, listening to Gu Haeyoung.
“The Venice Biennale leads the latest trends in contemporary art. Thus, Kang Lim, who used people’s thoughts as material, must participate. He will be praised as the most classical yet contemporary artist.”
With Gu Haeyoung’s final words.
Kang Lim was unanimously selected as the Biennale artist.
