KOREAN COMMUNITY NEWS - OCT. 2024

Photo Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art “Lineages: Korean Art at the MET”

By Amalia Tempel

Through October 20th, 2024, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted the exhibition “Lineages: Korean Art at the MET.” Despite being a smaller exhibition compared to others that the museum displays, Lineages featured a diverse display of Korean art, ranging from traditional ceramic pieces from the early 12th century to statement pieces commenting on South Korea’s political landscape of the late 1980s.

One of the pieces that struck me the most from this exhibition was the work entitled “Earth at Oziri” by Lee Jong-gu. He uses a holistic approach to depict the realities of Korean farmers and laborers during post-war industrialization of the 1960s-80s. Using materials such as torn propaganda articles placed on grain bags and the worried faces of these farmers peering back at the viewer, “Earth at Oziri” provides the spectator with unique insight into the feeling of uncertainty - a direct consequence caused by the instability of the Korean political landscape following the Korean war. 

Link to the exhibition: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/lineages-korean-art/exhibition-objects 

Link to Earth at Oziri: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/895362?pkgids=860