Day 51

Jeff Schmuki  -- Residency Statement                         Seoul Art Space - Geumcheon

Seoul Art Space Geumcheon first attracted my attention in its aim to breathe new life into forgotten spaces--spaces that have been left behind in the wake of city development programs and urban decay. By turning the spoils of urban development into venues for artistic expression, empty factories and old buildings are revitalized, providing artists with much needed studio space.  This regeneration also facilitates interaction between artists and local residents in an under-served area.  Resident artists and area residents can work together to make a work of art, and in the process build a greater understanding of one another and their community.

This idea of revitalization or regeneration is central to my work as an artist.  In researching and exploring the Geumcheon area, I am struck by the hard working character of the people coming and going to the numerous factories within this mixed-use urban area.   From the streets, I easily find discarded commercial products such as silk thread, air filters, and nylon tubing that I refashion into a new purpose.

The projects carried out during my residency here at SASG explore themes of landscape and environmentalism, as well as sustainable living and working practices.  Combining Korean food plants and recycled materials with video and performance, I address how fixed beliefs about our environment and long-term sustainability must give way to imaginative alternatives.  In doing so, the art studio becomes a research laboratory where silk thread sand air filters serve as hydroponic structures for plant growth, allowing food to be grown in places where ordinary agriculture or gardening is impossible.

As a citizen of the world, I share the profound need for the alternative, collaborative and positive means of addressing the pressing social and environmental issues that plague both our planet and our collective conscience.  I hope to create projects that foster discussion, generate ecological awareness, and promote civic action through projects that are informed by and directly linked to the world and the communities I collaborate with.

Other projects I have implemented in the community include mobile garden units and green tagging where I wheel about a bright yellow garden or place small magnetic green spaces to engage the public and promote urban sustainability while reclaiming areas made unsuitable for cultivation. In the end I hope to extend with humor and levity, the ecological “knowledge of the moment;” by offering simple, positive changes that can be enacted to increase sustainability—an activity that can be replicated long after the artist and the art have moved on.  Individual choices and action matter…they all add up.

Day 49

Here are a few more studio shots....

Day 48

The opening last evening went very well.  The center had record attendees and there was non-stop performances as well.  My work, Colony Collapse, originally included video however the lighting from the window a few feet away with the low powered LCD washed out the video so I decided against it.  I was unhappy with how quiet the work became so I pulled together unannounced a performance that made use of a pico projector placed into a hand held device constructed from cast off materials.  The video was simple footage of bees pollinating from flower to flower in a short depth of field.

Day 46

Tomorrow are the openings and I  have just completed the install in Space 333. There is a bit of editing left to do for my performance but all in all, I am ready. Soon I will flip the switch.

Day 43

Open Studio and Exhibition at
Seoul Art Space GEUMCHEON

풍부한 무질서 
Rich Disorganization











* Opening and Performances Thursday,Aug,26,18:00  이세옥+최수환 Rhee Sei+Che Swann , 루이지 코폴라 Luigi Coppla , 제프 슈무키 Jeff Schmuki , 수퍼피쉬스! SUPERFISHES!

* 1st Term Artists in Residence Open Studio
Thursday, Aug, 26~Sunday, Aug,29
10:00~18:00

* Exhibition - Thursday, Aug, 26~Sunday, Sept,5, for 11days, 10:00~18:00
“풍부한 무질서 Rich Disorganization"
* Participating Artists:
김명남 Kim Myoung-Nam, 김지수 Gisoo Kim, 노재운 Rho Jae-oon, 루이지 코폴라 Luigi Coppola (Italy),
극 연구소 마찰 The Pure Theatre Laboratory Machal, 무빙밀머리(박찬국) Moving Milmeory, 박능생 Park Nung-Saeng, 수퍼피쉬스! SUPERFISHES! (Korea+Israel), 스튜디오 우하하 Studio Woohaha, 윤주희 Youn Ju-hee, 이기일 Lee Kiil, 이수영+리금홍 Lee Soo-young + Lee Geum-hong, 이세옥+최수환 Rhee Sei+Che Swann, 이호진 Lee Ho-jin, 인진미 In Jin-mi, 장석준 Jang Suk-joon, 정정주 Jeong Eeong-ju, 조습 JoSeub, 제프 슈무키 Jeff Schmuki (USA), 천영미 Chun Young-mi.

Day 40

Studio Shots:

Day 36

My bedroom is now serving as a nursery for a component of the upcoming Project Space 333 Exhibition.  Many of the reconfigured filters previously shown now have chia sprouts.  The cooler enviroment of my air conditioned quarters has successfully slowed down the growth to more normal rates that will leave something for the exhibition.

It has turned out, up to 90% of the materials in both the open studio and upcoming exhibition were originally discarded or thrown away by various neighborhood businesses and factories. 

Day 34

Sprouts have been very quick due to the warm and humid weather.  It has just taken 3 days for the studio to grow green.  I can now focus on the project space exhibition salted for the 26th,...10 days!

When not in the studio I like to walk about.  It is the best way to feel the city of Seoul.  Skip the fast food though.

Day 30

So I have been here a month and what one thing impresses me to no end?  The Toilet!  Yes, Korea has amazing toilets.  At first glance, this standard Korean toilet seems much like any other toilet with exception to the Star Trek console to the left.
You can probably get a decent idea what each button does....there is even a heated seat. With these options, Koreans do not use much toilet paper...there is no need to.  From a sustainability standpoint, think how many trees go to supplying the U.S. with toilet paper, certainly we can come up with something similar and jut as ecological sound!

Day 27

Studio shots showing plastic tents containing silk thread that will provide the structure for various Korean sprouts.

Day 23

Another pic of the mobile garden which is looking a bit limp from the extreme heat.

Day 21

There is a new mobile garden here in Korea, a wheat-grass model which is airline friendly.  Here is a short clip:

I have gone out a few times and have some decent footage from sticking a magnetic gorilla-pod on walls and the like.  I really need a better video camera as some wonderful public interactions were blurry.

Day 18

I had found all these filters discarded by an automotive shop in the neighborhood.  Each unit is composed of four quarter round filters glued together to form a cylinder.  This is what each individual filter look like.

Day 16

Been having fun with my new portable near-infrared spectrometer and tomographic system designed to detect, classify, and isolate genetically modified (GM) foods in the field.  I am certain there must be some GM around here somewhere.....

Most ignored me.....however a few spoke English and we discussed the food production and GM use in the US.  Korea has banned this untested and dangerous technology.

The Subway

http://www.smrt.co.kr/Train/Subwaymap/Eng/Subwaymap.jsp

I found my way home tonight thanks to a few very generous foreigners.  The first, a Korean-American who is just beginning his pre-med studies at Boston U and second, a pair of English speaking Indians.  Thank you all!

Day 13

On one of my walks, I discovered a pile of discarded thread and brought it back to the studio.  I have no idea what I might do but I respond to the colors, texture and how limp, gravity bound, and bodily the material is.  When I cut a roll lengthwise, it pulls apart like muscle tissue. 

Geumcheon is a center for clothing manufacturing and I am wondering what other finds might be out there.....I will explore more tonight.

I have also learned the importance of not mixing Makkoli and Soju.  Makkoli is a traditional drink first made by rice farmers and now popular enough to be considered the national drink.  It is milky white in appearance, has an alcohol content of 10%, and can easily be found in every corner market. Very popular as well is Soju which is made from potatoes and is much like vodka in taste and appearance.  Soju is leathal especially if you choose to drink with Makkoli....I did and lost a full day.

Day 10

It is day 10 and I have accomplished much.  I know the neighborhood quite well thanks to a few folks at the center here.  I also go walking in search for locations to place my work.....Geumcheon is an working class neighborhood and many factories are situated around the art space.  I feel the setting is a perfect for what I am doing.  The weather has been rainy and overcast so today's bright skies were welcome.

I have been asked to post more pics of the art center.  Below is one of the many common spaces, my room/hostel, kitchen, and second floor studio hallway.

Day 5

The local cuisine is not only tasty but very healthy, I consider it comfort food. A few other residents and I eat out at least once a day. What a deal, 5000 won or a bit more than 4 US dollars per person. It is common to have kimchee, the ubiquitous to Korean dish, at all meals yet I usually skip it at breakfast.  Below, artists Neumseng of Korea and Luigui of Italy enjoy gamjatang or pork bone soup in one of the many small diners within walking distance of the art space.

Day 2

It is the rainy season here in Korea and the downpours have kept me inside more than I like. I have collected plenty of rainwater for my horticultural work and an now in the planning process for a few mobile hydroponic gardens.  Here is what the studio looks like.  (16.52m²-23.14m²)

Yesterday, I did get the chance to venture out a bit with another artist, Gisoo KIM, a Korean expat who now lives in Germany. Gisoo assisted me in exchanging dollars for won at a local bank which turned out to be a huge process. At the airport I had decided service rates were too high however, being only 2 days in Korea was not enough time for my passport to be listed online for the bank. Thought I was out of luck for groceries, fortunately Gisoo was able to smooth things out and now my pockets are full of won. On the way back from the bank we walked through a meat market...all I can say is WOW!  Very soon it was raining again so we made our way back to the art space. A woman felt sorry for the soggy foreigner and she gave us an umbrella. She would not be refused...I now have two umbrellas.

I have just arrived in Seoul

After a 16 hour flight, I have arrived in Seoul, South Korea for a residency at Seoul Art Space in Geumcheon. I am still finding my bearings yet I feel fully at ease here in Korea. I do not speak any Korean and rely on a few I-Phone apps for translations and currency rates when necessary. So far I find Koreans very helpful and willing to speak English after you butcher a few Korean words.

Incheon International Airport (ICN) serves as the main hub for international travel and is located 43 miles (70 km) west of Seoul. While ICN is the largest airport in Seoul and one of the busiest in the world, it is well designed (see below) and extremely easy to navigate.


Seoul Art Space Geumcheon is located 56 km from ICN. There are several options for transit such as train, bus, and taxi. Taxi service is the fastest and cheap compared to other large cities as the trip from the airport took little more than an hour and cost 70.00 US dollars or 84,000 KRW which included tolls. When choosing a taxi, there are several types ranging from the basic to the more expensive international taxi that offers translation services. This site http://www.korea4expats.com/article-types-of-taxis.html has more detailed descriptions of Seoul taxi services. My taxi had no meter and was some guy running his own taxi business on the side. He was very helpful carrying my excess baggage to the front door however, I had to remind him of the original fare agreed upon.