By Suzette Grebe
Ja-Young Ku, a South Korean born, world-renowned performing artist, is showcasing his talent throughout the week in the Museum of Art.
“His work looks at the relationship between illusion, reflection and reality,” said Christine Howard, marketing and PR manager of the MOA.
Ja-Young Ku”s performance can be described as layers of illusion, mirrors, video, projection and reality.
The process of creating his art is complicated.
In the MOA, he first videotapes people coming down the staircase and then makes a projection out of the recording, Howard said.
Ja-Young Ku shows the projection on a mirror and videotapes the mirror.
“If our only access to the real is through representation, then how can illusion disrupt and/or mediate the relationship between the real and representation?” Ja-Young Ku said.
“Limitless layers of simulation cyberspace, digital communication and even video games seem to construct a separate reality, one that can be deceptive,” he said.
“Can one say which is real and which is not?” he asked.
The video and projection part of his performance began on Saturday and will continue through Wednesday on the second floor of the MOA.
The finished performance can be seen on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and on Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the MOA.
Following the Friday performance, a symposium will be held in the same location from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. where the artist will discuss his work and answer questions.
The performing exhibition will be available free of charge.
Ja-Young Ku just returned from his latest performance in a major international contemporary Asian artist exhibition in Berlin.
Ja-Young Ku has a M.F.A. in new forms from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., and an M.F.A. and B.F.A in painting from Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea.
His stellar performances consist of exhibitions such as “The 88th CAA MFA Exhibition” in Times Square Gallery New York, “Blind Dates” in Steuben Gallery and “DMZ-2000” in Gallery Korea to name a few.
“Given his world-renowned status, it is a privilege for the Museum of Art to be hosting such a spectacular work of contemporary performing art,” Howard said.
