Lee Bul's immersive maze of mirrors exhibited at Lehmann Maupin forces the viewers into direct confrontation with perspective itself. Within it, the viewer sees themselves in parts and continuously experiences the fragments of their own self.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Via Negativa II
Lee Bul's immersive maze of mirrors exhibited at Lehmann Maupin forces the viewers into direct confrontation with perspective itself. Within it, the viewer sees themselves in parts and continuously experiences the fragments of their own self.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
On Every New Shadow- Exhibition
On Every New Shadow was a sculptural installation shown at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris from 2007-08. The sculptures included in the installation were suspended in mid-air or anchored to the floor, creating an environment that engages the surrounding architecture. Lee Bul's complex installation explores the disintegration of utopian aspirations that haunt the imagination in a dark space of glittering ruins.
Sternbau No. 4, Lee Bul (2007) Sternbau No. 5, Lee Bul (2007)
Some of Bul's work in this installation was inspired and influenced by Bruno Taut, a German architect and urban planner. Taut's ideas of buildings being giant mountains of glittering glass ornamentation resonate with Bul's ideas of an ideal society or fantasy landscape. Her work also reflects the incompleteness of utopian architecture theories. Bul says these pieces "evoke the spirit of Bruno Taut". Bul's After Bruno Taut (Beware the sweetness of things) resembles Taut's The Crystal Mountain.
After Bruno Taut (Beware the sweetness of things), Lee Bul (2007)
Bul's construction of utopian urban landscape models derive from modernist architectural designs and figments of her imagination. The structures represent utopian dreams through dystopian hyper-realities, seeking the perfect society but only pointing to its demise. Bul's landscapes originated from her first series starting in 2005, Mon grand recit. The architectural elements in her work function as allegories for the state of society and humankind's desire for perfection.
Aubade, Lee Bul (2007)
"On Every New Shadow" Installation view, Fondation Cartier
The lake of black ink in Bul's Heaven and Earth (pictured above) represents Baekdu Mountian, the traditional birthplace of the Korean people on the border of China and North Korea. Baekdu Mountain has one of the world's highest crater lakes, Heaven Lake, and has been a source of territorial disputes for centuries.
Heaven and Earth (detail), Lee Bul (2007)
Overall, Bul's highly conceptual models shown in On Every New Shadow use art to approach a new understanding of the past century.
Some of Bul's work in this installation was inspired and influenced by Bruno Taut, a German architect and urban planner. Taut's ideas of buildings being giant mountains of glittering glass ornamentation resonate with Bul's ideas of an ideal society or fantasy landscape. Her work also reflects the incompleteness of utopian architecture theories. Bul says these pieces "evoke the spirit of Bruno Taut". Bul's After Bruno Taut (Beware the sweetness of things) resembles Taut's The Crystal Mountain.
Bul's construction of utopian urban landscape models derive from modernist architectural designs and figments of her imagination. The structures represent utopian dreams through dystopian hyper-realities, seeking the perfect society but only pointing to its demise. Bul's landscapes originated from her first series starting in 2005, Mon grand recit. The architectural elements in her work function as allegories for the state of society and humankind's desire for perfection.
The lake of black ink in Bul's Heaven and Earth (pictured above) represents Baekdu Mountian, the traditional birthplace of the Korean people on the border of China and North Korea. Baekdu Mountain has one of the world's highest crater lakes, Heaven Lake, and has been a source of territorial disputes for centuries.
Overall, Bul's highly conceptual models shown in On Every New Shadow use art to approach a new understanding of the past century.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
From Me, Belongs To You Only- Exhibition
From Me, Belongs To You Only was the first large-scale solo exhibition of Lee Bul's work at the Mori Art Museum in 2012. This exhibition contained 45 works, 150 drawings, 50 models, and was curated by Kataoka Mami. With the use of mixed media, Bul addresses the dualism between a highly traditional society and technological advances. Bul's pieces also explore trends in popular culture, themes of feminine identity, and science fiction fantasy.
At the end of the exhibition, a dog-shaped sculpture made of various reflective materials and modeled after Bul's pet of 17 years sits on a table overlooking Tokyo. The large amount of materials pouring out of the animal's mouth may hint at the disclosure of the time and memories it shared with Bul.
The name of the exhibition, From Me, Belongs To You Only, comes from a line in a letter written to Bul's lover several years ago. Bul wanted to share the warm and loving phrase with all the visitors and search for a personal relationship with each individual viewer. The social and political history of her home country where she grew up is also reflected in her work as it progressed from military dictatorship to democracy.
Amaryllis, Lee Bul (1999)
"Lee Bul: From Me, Belongs To You Only" Installation view, Mori Art Museun
From Me, Belongs To You Only takes the viewers through Bul's aesthetics, frustrations, and yearnings while revealing the sublime behind the monstrous.
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