Lee Kang So: Dwelling in Mist and Glow Interview with the Korean artist in Paris

By Olivia Sand

Looking at a career that spans close to 60 years, Lee Kang So (b 1943, Korea) is a Gesamtkunswerk all by himself. Determined to create an art movement true to Korea's traditions yet as avant-garde as the Western initiatives, Lee Kang So has relentlessly experimented with performance, installation, video, painting, and sculpture. It is unquestionable that since the 1960s he has been a pioneer and a leading figure among his peers in a period when Korean society was undergoing considerable changes. Looking back, he has paved the way for the next generations of artists who have captivated the public's attention and earned global recognition in the past decades. In the following interview, Lee Kang So talks about the milestones in his career, explaining his mindset that has led him to push the boundaries of his own practice and continuously reinvent himself.

 ‘As a young boy in elementary school, I particularly loved drawing’

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Asian Art Newspaper: Participating at the Paris Biennale in 1975 was a milestone in your career. Was it an eye-opener as to what was happening in the art world in the West?

Lee Kang So: The works shown at the Paris Biennale were incredibly diverse. For instance, even though video art was in its initial stages back then, it featured works by several excellent artists. Beyond video installations, there were various kinds of events, and I remember one of them using fireworks exploding all the way up to the roof of the building. Another happening featured an artist playing the saxophone and there were many other remarkable pieces. Of course, we knew about such events and video works through American magazines, but attending the Biennale and experiencing the diversity of the works showed me that installation, video, and performance were new mediums that could all become part of the canon of contemporary art. I introduced video and performance back to Korea, influencing colleagues and encouraging students to develop these media further.

AAN: At the Paris Biennale, you presented a piece where a live chicken became the artist (the borrowed chicken was tethered to a wooden feeder surrounded by powdered chalk). What reception did it get?

LKS: People were amazed, showing tremendous interest, and took many photos. I had an excellent location within the Biennale, literally in the middle of the exhibition space. The performance received news coverage, and I was invited on French national television on a programme hosted by Philippe Bouvard, a famous anchor in France at the time. My piece unquestionably shocked the audience, and I was certainly viewed as one of the most avant-garde artists taking part in the exhibition. Compared to my piece, some of the other art works on view seemed rather conservative.

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AAN: You are an extremely diverse artist, exploring performance, conceptual art, video, painting, and sculpture. Moving forward, is there a new challenge you are planning to take?

LKS: In East-Asian calligraphy and traditional painting, it has always been essential to live with nature and to reflect and regulate its qi within both life and art. Nature is understood not as separate from human beings, but as something that exists with us, inseparably. In my opinion, Western modern materialism has been destabilised over the past century by the discoveries of quantum mechanics, pointing towards new ways of thinking beyond the framework of modernity. This is why I have adopted changes in my practice, even within traditional forms like painting and sculpture, moving from 'making sculpture' to 'sculpture that makes itself, and from painting' to painting that paints itself. When, for example, clay is thrown forming masses based on its own qi, and then dried and fired in a traditional kiln, the outcome is entirely unpredictable. I feel great joy engaging with such a world of unforeseeable transformation.

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AAN: Looking back at a career spanning more than 60 years, what remains your mantra or driving force?

LKS: My practice is not about pursuing the ultimate masterpiece. Instead, it is rooted in process: experimentation, transformation, and showing the act itself. With that, I feel content.