[KS] Korea received 14th Venice Architecture Biennale Golden Lion Award!!!

[Jongmin Paek]

DearAll:
 
WhileI am not in any way involved, I think it might be appropriate to send a shortnote from Venice about the KOREAN pavilion at the 14th ArchitectureBiennale that officially opened here today (June 7).
 
Korea received the Golden Lion Award!!!
 
Theexhibition's name is “Crow’s Eye View: TheKorean Peninsula.”  This award is thefirst Golden Lion award the Korean Pavilion has been receiving since the beginningof Venice Architecture Biennale in 1980. For those who have not been here: theKorean Pavilion is an actual physical structure, the national pavilion forKorea, the same building that also, and mainly, serves as a showcase to presentKorean art during the Venice Art Biennale.  In 1993, Korea-born Nam June Paik, togetherwith Hans Haake, received the Golden Lion for his artwork “Marco Polo” at the VeniceArt Biennale, then for the Germans in the German Pavilion.  
 
Probablythe most important point, and likely one that was decisive for the award, isthat South Korea’s pavilion tries to “represent” and discuss issues related tomodernity and architecture in the entire Korean nation, North and South. Thathas been the first time that such an approach has been seen. 
 
Theshow includes the works of Sekwon Ahn, AlessandroBelgiojoso, Nick Bonner (featuring Mansudae Art Studio works by anonymousartists and architects of North Korea), Marc Brossa, Onejoon Che, CharlieCrane, Maxime Delvaux, Min Cho Jun, Ik-Joong Kang, Karolis Kazlauskas & PLTPlanning and Architecture Ltd., Dongsei Kim, Hanyong Kim, Kichan Kim, Seok ChulKim & Franco Mancuso, Kim Swoo Geun, Young June Lee, Chris Marker, PhilippMeuser, Hoon Moon, MOTOElastico, Osamu Murai, Peter Noever (featuring the NorthKorean architects exhibited in Flowers for Kim Il Sung, MAK/Vienna,2010), Kyong Park (featuring Nam June Paik and the artists of the ProjectDMZ, Storefront for Art and Architecture, 1988), James Powderly, KyungsubShin, Hyun-Suk Seo (featuring Kim Jong Hui et al.), Yehre Suh, Yi Sang, and DongwooYim. Every inches of interior and exterior of the Korean Pavilion isfilled with a convincing air of issues that concern in one way or another Koreanmodernity, that make viewers forget about other not so desirable aspect of inherentcondition of the pavilion (relatively small size, secluded location, etc.).
 
Despite of Venice Biennale exhibitions seemingly beinglabeled as another form of Olympic competition for its national pavilions, CommissionerMinsuk Cho and his co-curators (Professor Hyungmin Pai, Professor Changmo Ahnand Jihoi Lee. “Crow’s Eye View: The Korean Peninsula” exhibition seems ARKO(Arts Council of Korea)’s good decision making an investment for its conceptand presentation that will evoke plenty of open dialogues, discussions andwritings on South and North Korean architecture domestically andinternationally.
 
The jury members for the 14th Venice ArchitectureBiennale awards were Francesco Bandarin (President, Italy), Kunlé Adeyemi(Nigeria), Bregtje van der Haak (Netherlands), Hou Hanru (China), and MitraKhoubrou (United Arab Emirates).
 
Here is an online magazine article that includes imagesfrom the award ceremony and the exhibition:
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/06/07/awarded-best-pavilion-at-venice-architecture-biennale/

And a video of the award ceremony from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRuXM-gPxfM#t=3383
 
 

Jongmin Paek

Korean Studies 
Department of Africa and the Mediterranean Studies
Ca FoscariUniversity
Dorsoduro 3462-30123 
Venice, Italy

 

_____________________________________
Jongmin Paek 
Co-Owner/Moderator
Korean Studies Online Discussion List

 
 

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