#12 Art Game

How do four artists play art games in four different ways?
Contemporary art: A game that looks convoluted but is fun once you know the rules!

# “Convoluted.”; “Is this really art?”; “Even I could do this…”

These are some of the things that come to mind for many when looking at contemporary art. Indeed, contemporary art is rarely seen as aesthetically beautiful, and it sometimes uses ready-made products that remain untouched by the artist. As such, it may lack the elements we usually expect when we look at more traditional art. Perhaps that is why the viewer and contemporary art were expected at some point to eventually form an endless distance between them.

The Korea Artist Prize has been held annually to bridge the gap between the public and contemporary art. However, even award-winning works can be as challenging to interpret and appreciate as other contemporary artworks. Bang Jeong-A’s exhibition room features a giant nine-meter painting and a series of chairs that confuses the viewer as to whether they are artworks or something prepared for the viewer’s convenience. Chan Sook Choi’s 30-plus-minute video work tells the stories of mummies excavated from a Chilean mine and the various forms of terrain in different regions.

Kim Sangjin has installed mismatched objects, including four smartwatches facing each other, around an empty classroom scene. Min Oh has displayed videos on five large screens, the title of the work being Heterophony, a musical term. The videos show different angles capturing the same moment, as well as a black screen with flashing numbers, so it is hard to understand what this has to do with the title. Interestingly, the artists all say that the reason why contemporary art is boring and difficult to understand is because we do not know the rules of the game. Contemporary art may seem unfamiliar if you are not acquainted with the language of art, but once you understand how to look at it, it can become a rather enjoyable game.

# Contemporary Art Needs a New Approach

After the invention of photography, artists who had been focused on reproducing objects faced a crisis. Instead of creating works that move people with their beauty, it became important to use imagination to present a creative world that had never existed before. Naturally, the development of contemporary art requires a different approach to viewing traditional artworks.

What does it take to make contemporary art not just an exclusive members-only club but an all-inclusive group embracing both artists and viewers?