Category: Visual Arts

In collaboration with the Nam Center for Korean Studies and the Friends of Korea, the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities has displayed an exhibit of selected images from over 300 photographs taken by Margaret Condon Taylor. As a Peace Corps member, Taylor resided in an area near the Ewha Women’s University, and used her camera as a lens of articulating her experiences as a “blue-eyed resident of an old Korean community undergoing rapid transformation” in 1969.

At the time, South Korea (Seoul, in particular) was on the cusp of undergoing rapid urbanization, eventually transforming into the sleek and modern jungle of the present, in its heavily electronic and fluorescent glory. Taylor’s images,  however, “pay tribute to a time when community life in Seoul was still organized around alleyways.” The subjects of Taylor’s photographs are caught in the midst of their daily activities; some look directly at the camera, but most are unaware, concentrating on dancing, taking care of children, or socializing with friends. Her subjects are young and old alike; somber and joyful; serious and lighthearted. In the selected pieces, the subjects looking into the camera appear largely amused– whether it is because of the experience of having their portraits taken, or the novelty of encountering an “accidental photographer” with an interest in their everyday lives.

The photographs are all uncaptioned, and while at first I wished for some context to the situation and locations of the subjects, I soon realized that it is not really necessary to understand the broader context of the exhibit. The images work together to form a picture of South Korea’s 1969 society as a whole. As a Korean American who has also visited Korea last summer, I recognize certain elements and situations that are strikingly familiar, such as the old man sitting outside in a white hanbok (Korean traditional garment) and the woman carrying a child on her back in a sling that my own grandmother used to carry me as a baby.

Taylor’s images display a society that is both historical and familiar, and portrays the different aspects of everyday Seoul life for a 1969 citizen. The exhibit will be on display until January 12th in the Institute for Humanities Osterman Common Room.

(Image credits: Margaret Condon Taylor)

The All Media Exhibition at the Ann Arbor Art Center has showcased local artists since 1922. The annual competition enters its 95th iteration this year, promising an eclectic mix of work juried by Allison Wong (Director of the Wasserman Projects).

On view from December 15th – January 13th at the Ann Arbor Art Center (117 W Liberty St). Opening party and reception featuring winner announcements on Friday, December 15th from 6-9PM.

In Valerie Hegarty’s American Berserk, the country is crumbling.

Hegarty unseats classic Americana through her sculptures. A tree branch emerges from a gallery wall to spear a portrait of George Washington. Next to this less-than-subtle Pinocchio imagery, a nearby pair of ceramic topiaries—cut in the shape of our nation’s first president—are comical in their quietness.

 

 

For Hegarty, the rotting of fruits is a colorful affair. Cave-like apple cores are covered by bright red skins, splayed-out bananas writhe into tongue shapes, and watermelons are twisted into disconcerting smiles.

 

 

As ceramic conch shells unfurl into picture frames, the paintings they reveal are distorted by their spirals. A window frame at the exhibition’s entrance is draped in floral-print cloth. Yet the fabric melts down the pane as the rickety wood splits into pieces. Hegarty insists that America be viewed in all its misshapen glory.

 

 

American Berserk is on view at the Institute for Humanities Common Room until December 21st.