#5 Photography, Documentation to Arts
If we were to describe Homo Erectus as the Man of Tools
And Homo Ludens as the Man of Entertainment,
Could the modern-day be described as the era of Homo Cameracus?
‘Photography’ and ‘Camera’ is so close to our daily lives nowadays.
From when and how did ‘photography’ become an art form and what are we expressing with the camera?
SBS Special Documentary, known for introducing the world’s most heated art scenes every year, focused on ‘photography’ this time. SBS Special Documentary Photography, from documentation to arts conveys the stories of photographers and history on how ‘photography,’ previously used as a medium of recording, became an art form. Actor and photographer, Jo Min Gi, takes part as the narrator.
Roam around Paris, the city of photography, by photography, for photography
We went to Paris in November 2014, where the world’s biggest photography art fair, ‘Paris Photo’, was held. While looking around ‘Paris Photo’ at the Grand Palais, situated in Champs-Elysées, we followed the footprints of Henri Cartier Bresson, the great master of photography in the 20th century. While roaming around the city, we also learned about the development of photography while tracing the history of Niépce, who introduced photography to mankind, along with Louis Daguerre, known as the father of photography.
At the Paris Photo Fair we met a familiar figure, Koo Bohnchang, also known as the pioneer and living witness of Korean photography. As an artist represented by “Camera Obscura”, one of the major photography galleries in France, we delved into the secrets on how Koo’s work has become one of the top sellers in the world.
Manifesta in Russia and the Venice Architecture Biennale
Manifesta is a traveling European Contemporary art Biennial, was held in St Petersburg, Russia this year. We focused on the works of Joseph Beuys, the great master of modern art. Beuys shares his anecdote about Nam June Paik who is his artistic companion. We also introduce an art piece that won the Golden Lion at Venice Architecture Biennale: Crow’s eye view: The Korean peninsula. This work displays the past 100 year’s architectural history of North and South Korea at a glance.
2014 Korea Artist Prize winner, Noh Suntag
Noh Suntag depicts the malfunctioning society and the division of the Korean peninsula in his own sarcastic and metaphoric way. As he won the 2014 Korea Artist Prize, the contemporary art world was not only surprised, but also responded that it was an expected outcome. This reaction was based on the fact that Noh’s work provided clarity on how photography, which documents reality, can become a form of art. We meet No Suntag’s today along with his camera.
