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| Yang Hae-gue's 'Sonic Coupe Copper ― Enclosed Unity' will be displayed at the Marron Atrium in the Museum of Modern Art's expanded campus opening on Oct. 21. Courtesy of the artist |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean artist Yang Hae-gue, also stylized as Haegue Yang, will present a series of new installations at the newly opening building of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City starting October.
The world's leading contemporary art museum has been closed down for major renovations since June 15 and will reopen on Oct. 21 with Yang's multimedia installation that combines historical references and sensory experiences, commissioned by MoMA for its Marron Atrium.
Glenn Lowry, David Rockefeller Director of Museum of Modern Art, who visited Korea earlier in April to promote the museum's new expansion, mentioned Yang as one of the artists worthy of notice upon the opening. "We want someone who comes to MoMA to see The Starry Night to be amazed by Haegue Yang's work when they walk out of the museum," Lowry said during his visit to Korea.
Titled "Haegue Yang: Handles," the exhibition will feature six moving sculptures with light and sound, activated by performers daily. The designs of the sculptures are inspired by early 20th-century figures including artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp and mystic philosopher G. I. Gurdjieff as well as open-source designs for door handles. The sculptures are covered with bells and create a rattling sound when moved, reminding of shamanistic rites.
The multisensory experience of the exhibit is enhanced by the ambient sound of birds, which was in fact recorded during the historic North-South summit at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in April 2018. Reporters tried to capture private conversation between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the blue footbridge, but all their recorders picked up were birdsong and camera sounds.
Stuart Comer, MoMA's Chief Curator of Media and Performance who organized the exhibit, wrote in a statement, "Haegue Yang has built a distinguished career on her singular ability to synthesize a rich array of cultural references across time periods and geographies into sculptural and sensorial installations. Her ambitious commission for MoMA presents an immersive, prismatic environment through which a diverse set of histories and forms is transformed into an exciting new vocabulary of mobile sonic sculptures that animate the space as much as they do a more open notion of history."
This exhibition is presented as part of the Hyundai Card Performance Series, sponsored by the museum's longtime partner Hyundai Card. Hyundai Card has been supporting MoMA since 2006 and provided key support for over 35 exhibitions.
Amid her international presentations, Yang will also hold an exhibition titled "When the Year 2000 Comes" at Kukje Gallery in Seoul from Sept. 3. This is her first solo exhibit in Korea in four years after the "Shooting the Elephant, Thinking the Elephant" exhibit at Leeum in 2015.
