KJCKorea
Journal Central

The principal issue of Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2009 is to inquire what craft or craft value is. Adopting craft as its main subject, the event sets out by throwing the following questions. What are the issues in global craft today? What are the similarities and differences between them? How have those issues been changing or maintained throughout history and where are they heading towards? How will this ‘craft scenes’ be identified as a cultural form called a biennale? Having had its sixth show this year, Cheongju International Craft Biennale has so far been examining the reality of craft of the time being and taking it as its basis, has been searching for new craft visions. Each year's themes have been reviewing traditional characteristics of craft such as handicraft, naturality, practicality, aesthetical quality and traditionality. There is a rupture and isolation between subordinate genres within and outside craft and also between the past and present. In fact ‘craft’ no more exists as a system. Discussion on ‘craft’, whether conceptually or phenomenally, is an inevitable request in order to overcome the problems today’s world of craft is confronting. The theme <outside the box> takes its inspiration from artist U-Fan Lee’s book title ‘looking for the meeting’(1973). Lee is critical about modernist fine art and is taking the idea of the cross between nature and artifact as his task for his art practice. As this year’s biennale is taking Lee’s philosophy as its starting point, it is not just focusing on pure craft as an independent genre. One of its objectives is to explore what the act of making in our lives means and what it is aiming for. In other words, it is looking for ways craft could sail towards the vast outside to serve our lives and the world. Thus, the biennale consisted of three main exhibitions <Pressing matter>, <Dissolving Views> and <The river within us, the sea all around us> that focused on the values of objects, how those values deeply penetrate and spread through our lives and raising issues on creating a better city. It was aiming to replace modern figurative art genres such as fine art, design and craft under the value of craft and to regard craft not as a minor genre but from a new perspective in the horizon of artifact as a creative and visionary field of art.

artifact, Cheongju Inernational Craft Biennale, craft, design, fine art, outside the box