<p>In the second interview in a new series dedicated to artists’ work beyond art, she discusses her acclaimed collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor, hairdos, and the power of ignorance</p>
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Coline Milliard

Tacita Dean on turning her hand to costume and set design for The Dante Project

<p>‘Why is a gallerist coming to see me? I am not a sellable artist,’ said <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/23961/Seung-taek-Lee" target="_blank">Lee Seung-taek</a> – a pioneer of experimental art in 1970s Korea – when HyungTeh Do – current owner and CEO of <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2203/Gallery-Hyundai" target="_blank">Gallery Hyundai</a> – visited his studio to discuss representation. In 2009, on the occasion of Lee’s reception of the Nam June Paik Art Center Prize, Do helped interpret curator Hans Ulrich Obrist’s interview with the artist. Between English and Korean, Do became ‘enamored’ with Lee’s unprecedented oeuvre, which included ‘non-sculptures’ made from unconventional materials, including earthenware, flimsy plastic, lumber, and rice paper. Lee’s sculptures also incorporated natural environmental elements, such as water, fire, wind, and fog, which was barely defined within modern Western sculpture. The ephemerality of his works, as shown in <em>Burning Canvases Floating on the River</em> (1964), separates his pieces from the traditional genealogy of Western art history, limiting their collectability. Nonetheless, when Do recognized the value of Lee’s work, he decided to represent him.</p>

<p>Over the past decade, Korean avant-garde art from the 1960s and 1970s, including Lee’s works, has garnered increasing global attention. This year, Lee’s <em>Wind-Folk Amusement </em>(1971) was reenacted in Hudson River Park by Canal Projects in New York, and <em>Godret Stone </em>(1958) is part of the Tate Modern collection in the UK. This interest in artists from Korea extends beyond Lee Seung-taek to artists who shared his interests during that era. The group exhibition ‘Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s’ will be showcased at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in the fall and later travel to the Hammer Museum in LA. The exhibition is based on years of collaborative research with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, and it illuminates the era’s young artists who used experimental materials and processes to create avant-garde aesthetics while facing rapid socio-economic and political change after the Korean War. </p>

<p>Why are we seeing Korean modern and contemporary art now? The influx of international galleries and art fairs since the mid-2010s has grown Seoul into a contemporary art hub. For instance, since <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1134/Perrotin" target="_blank">Perrotin</a> opened its doors in Jong-ro, a historical gallery district of Seoul, in 2016, several prominent galleries, including <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1185/Lehmann-Maupin" target="_blank">Lehmann Maupin</a>, <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1242/Pace-Gallery" target="_blank">Pace</a>, <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1135/Thaddaeus-Ropac" target="_blank">Thaddaeus Ropac</a>, and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1141/Gladstone-Gallery" target="_blank">Gladstone</a>, have opened branches across Seoul to bridge the Korean and global art scenes. The draw for the galleries lies in the country’s solid socio-economic infrastructure and impressive cultural offerings, including the global success of the K-pop and K-movie industries. This content has captured worldwide audiences and significantly contributed to Korea’s growth. The visual arts are no exception; they are poised to thrive in this vibrant cultural environment.</p>


<p><strong>In the first act, <em>Inferno</em>, the set is an enormous chalk drawing. Then, in the second act, <em>Purgatorio</em>, there is a photograph of a tree. The final act, <em>Paradiso</em>, features an abstract film. The three pillars of your visual art practice unfold alongside the choreography itself.</strong></p>
<p>I decided to use different media because I wanted each of the parts to be very different visually. The three acts have distinct identities in terms of design, music, and choreography.</p>
<p><strong>How much of a brief did you have?</strong></p>
<p>The brief was, simply, ‘Dante.’ Originally, Tom was commissioned to write <em>Inferno</em> as the first act and <em>Purgatorio</em> and <em>Paradiso</em> as the second act. But I really thought it was important to have <em>Purgatorio</em> as its own act. Originally, I proposed to Wayne having silence for <em>Purgatorio</em> – just a moment of silence. Then, we discussed it with Tom, who suggested recorded sound. In the end, Tom used recorded sound as well as composed music for <em>Purgatorio</em>, which is a very important act.</p>
<p>In that way, it connected with the experience of the pandemic. For some people, it really was hell, but for most of us, it was a sort of purgatory. When the show eventually opened on October 14, 2021, we finally came to the release of paradise. It was an incredible feeling of freedom after the previous two years we’d all had.</p>


<p>Gallery Hyundai – which opened as ‘Hyundai Hwarang’ in April 1970 as the first gallery in Korea to incorporate both sales and artist support within its contemporary art programming – has led the Korean art community for the past half-century. Under the visionary leadership of its founder, Park Myung-ja, the gallery began incorporating contemporary abstract painters into its program in the 1970s and 1980s to cater to global audiences. In 1987, Gallery Hyundai introduced Chung Sang-Hwa’s monochrome canvases with grid structures at the Chicago International Art Exposition over a decade before the term <em>Dansaekhwa</em> was coined. The gallery continued highlighting the works of pre- and post-war abstract painters, presenting Yun Hyong-Keun at FIAC in 1995 and Suh Se Ok at Art Basel in 1996, which drew international attention to the artists. The gallery’s commitment to promoting contemporary Korean art on the global stage has been consistently upheld, as articulated by Do, current CEO and second son of the founder: ‘Our dedication to introducing Korean artists through art fairs goes beyond the pursuit of short-term gains, more towards educating future audiences.’</p>

<p>Reflecting on its role as a commercial gallery in the art scene, Gallery Hyundai’s approach to supporting Korean artists has continually evolved. Particularly noteworthy is their effort over the past decade to seek out movements beyond <em>Dansaekhwa</em> in Korea. Since Do’s encounter with Lee, the gallery has expanded its relationship with Lee’s like-minded contemporaries who aimed to subvert the notion of art by forming loose groups, such as ‘The Korean Avant-Garde Association’ (1969–1975). Through its vigorous program, the gallery introduced lesser-known artists, such as Park Hyunki, Lee Kun-Yong, and Lee Kang-So. </p>
<p>In addition to exhibitions, Gallery Hyundai continues the legacy of its founder, Park, who chose publishing to generate discourse surrounding then-contemporary arts. Just as she emphasized the importance of text by publishing the <em>Hwarang</em> magazine in 1973, which featured artistic movements occurring beyond national borders, the gallery is currently working to deepen intercontinental understanding by supporting researchers who produce studies and English texts on Korean contemporary art through the Korean Research Institute of Contemporary Art.</p>

<p><strong>What was the biggest challenge, looking back?</strong></p>
<p>The first challenge was solving how to even begin to think about it. And I just avoided it for very long time. Wayne sent his design associate, Catherine Smith, to help me in LA. She was really helpful because she knows about elevations – how this works, how that works – I hadn’t got a clue. The ignorance side of it – just being so much of a duck out of water – was tough initially. But Catherine really helped me figure out how what I wanted to do would work on stage.</p>
<p>The second challenge was designing the costumes, and I got a lot of help from Fay Fullerton, Head of Costume at London’s Royal Opera House. She’d say: ‘I know you don’t know what you want, but you <em>do </em>know what you don’t want.’ I loved it. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again, though.</p>
<p><strong>What can a visual artist bring to a theatrical project that a professional stage designer or costume designer can’t?</strong></p>
<p>Maybe the answer is ignorance. You do things without being limited by your training. That’s freedom, isn’t it?</p>

<p>Tacita Dean is represented by <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1521/Frith-Street-Gallery" target="_blank">Frith Street Gallery</a> (London), and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1198/Marian-Goodman-Gallery" target="_blank">Marian Goodman</a> (New York, Paris, Los Angeles).</p>
<p>Tacita Dean<br>‘Geography Biography’<br>Until September 18, 2023<br>Bourse de Commerce -&nbsp;Pinault Collection, Paris<br></p>
<p>Coline Milliard is Art Basel’s Executive Editor.</p>
<p>Published on June 9, 2023.</p>
<p>Caption for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1.&nbsp;Edward Watson and Sarah Lamb in <em>The Dante Project</em> © 2021 ROH.&nbsp;Photograph by Andrej Uspenski. 2.&nbsp;Artists of the Royal Ballet in <em>The Dante Project</em>, The Royal Ballet © 2021 ROH. Photograph by Andrej Uspenski 3.&nbsp;<em>The Dante Project</em>, The Royal Ballet. 4.&nbsp;Tacita Dean drawing <em>The Montafon Letter</em>, 2017.</p>

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<p>In the first interview in a new series dedicated to artists’ work beyond art, we speak to Yto Barrada about her vision for The Mothership, a community-led research center grounded in the Moroccan landscape</p>





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Stories

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From Dieter Roth to Tacita Dean: seven artists not to miss at Schaulager

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Conversations Series

The Artist As

In the second interview in a new series dedicated to artists’ work beyond art, she discusses her acclaimed collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor, hairdos, and the power of ignorance

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