Review of the year in arts and culture

8,765 hours of singing.
365 days of dancing.
12 months of things we’ve seen, and some things we’ve never seen before
1 year of life, a year colored by the arts and culture of our world.

You learn from your past,.. but also from the past of others.
This year saw the production of performances based on major historical events,
The musical “Hero” immortalized Korea’s historical nationalist Ahn Jung-geun, and sang his dramatic story, of patriotism and self sacrifice, all for the sake of peace.

INTERVIEW
“Ahn wanted to create peace in the East between Japan, China, and Korea.
For this musical, I wanted to show deep meaning through this performance.”

And through the arts and culture, historical moments and figures live on, the memories of Ahn Jung-geun a true hero to never be forgotten.
But there’s just so much to learn from history, and it’s not always from text books.
A precious collection of maps were gathered for an exhibition, the first of its kind.
Maps that all point to an “East Sea” or “Sea of Korea” that serve a source of truth for both Korea and the world’s history. (You can see the video in original news.)

But the arts also goes beyond the performance.
It’s weaved into every day of our lives, jumping over any and all barriers.
Architecture is just one of those aspects where art has blurred the lines.
The group Moon Ji-bang show they have both the talent and creativity to build a bridge between reality and fantasy with their piece “Shinseon Play.”
And fashion is of course another source of daily encounter with the arts,
We’re not always dressed for the catwalk, but for some, the body is a blank canvas.
Yet some artists even evolved past any canvas at all.
The once still masterpiece works of Vincent van Gogh stepped on to new terrain, when they burst to life, through technology and tens and tens of projectors, in what is being dubbed new media art.

The arts and culture of our lives,. it’s a flurry of people, things, and ideas.
A unique collaboration between two different countries, two entirely different cultures collided in one of the most beautiful performances we saw this year, a whirlwind that left behind the hybrid performance called Vortex.

INTERVIEW
“On many levels we have this vortex of yin and yang, of Finland and Korea, meeting at this vortex.”

The reputable Finnish choreographer is well versed in Western style dance, but also follows an organic movement, inspired by nature, low to the ground, very similar to Korean traditional style dance.
And to round out the year of successful collaborations, true masters from various fields of photography, dance, even fashion, came together for the “Skywalk Project” where all that once was is no longer applicable.

INTERVIEW
“It’s not about answering the previous artist’s questions or following in their footsteps.
The future of art is about asking questions about their questions, and experimenting, so that there’s always the unknown.”

2014 held many ups and downs, but it’s each one of these performances that allow for another, artworks and creations that pave a path for progress into the future.
Yim Yoon-hee, Arirang News.
Reporter :

[www.arirang.co.kr/News] | Original News @ HERE

Date : 2014/12/31