The Ecological Crisis and Nature Art Movement in Korea
Jeon Won-gil
Director of the YATOO International Project
1.
Will our land remain a place in which future generations can live? This question is not forenvironmental activists only; it has become an issue of our time. There have been various responses made to the matter in the art world as well. There were people working in the 1960s and ‘70s called land artists, who brought art outside from indoor spaces and created the new concept that a process could be an art. In Europe, artists such as Richard Long, Andy Goldsworthy, Wolfgang Laib and Nils Udo gained great attention from the public with their earnestand eco-friendly attitudes in their practice. Joseph Beuys’s activist and Agnes Denes’ ecological approachesreferred to the environmental interventions of such pioneering artists.
Those artistic practices within nature seem to reflect their thoughts on how to establish a relationship between nature and humanity, the only living beings that recognize themselves by separating themselves from nature, whether it is regarded as an artistic medium or as an organic and crucial factor to human life.
2.
The Nature Art movement in Korea began with the formation of the Baggat Art and the Korean Nature Artists Association YATOO in 1981. Having associated with the activity of YATOO from the early to the middle of the 1980s, I’ll briefly introduce how they approached nature differently from the land artists in America and Europe, and what meaning their movement has to the ecological crisis of our time, and the lifestyles they are suggesting for us.
YATOO’s nature art practice embraces aspectsof conceptual American land art as well as the eco-friendly attitude of European land art. However, it also retains its own characteristicsthat are not shared with either of them. YATOO’s activity originally started with the name of ‘Outdoor Art Study’, foregrounding the sheer and physical experience of nature, unlike many experimental art groups in the 1970s that had emphasized theoretical studies in order to learn methodologies of contemporary Western art practices. They sought to follow the physical urge to bewith nature rather than to pursuea certain methodological doctrine.
There was no intention involved in the meeting between nature and the members of YATOO. The only thing that they did to prepare for the meeting wasto empty their mind to have the sheer experience of nature. They then used their hands and body to create simple movements, and reflected continuously changing natural phenomena such as water, light, shadow and wind in their works. If they came up with nothing there, they just waited until nature talked to them. Their works stayed in nature just for a while, and sometimes, left nothing behind when they left. YATOO artists listened to the voice of nature and worked according to it, rather than brought their ideas into nature. They preferredmaking small-scaledworks to building monumental pieces within nature. They gave their best appreciation to works that createda poetic metaphor in nature while staying part of it.
This attitude in their pursuit of an art form, in which an artistic act and nature were well balanced, based on a physical experience with nature, was different from that of American land artists, who attempted to establish a challenging relationship with nature and also from that of European land artists, who intended to produce a visible outcome within nature even if it wouldn’t remain there long.
3.
YATOO’s nature art movement began in 1981 whenthe ‘sustainability of the natural environment’ was not a global issue yet. Their practice did not concern the sustainability of nature; they just brought themselves into nature, into its incredible vitality. Still, they give their best appreciation to works thatretained the balance between an artistic act and nature, with little activist pursuit.
We don’t believe that our environmental crisis can be resolved at once through a genius scientific invention. Rather, the best solution will be found when we take a different perspective on our lives, changing our previous lifestyle that relied on the exploitation of nature. And it requires a fundamental change in our attitude towards nature. The change will be enabled when we appreciate small realizations through the interaction with nature as nature artists listen to the voice of nature and interact with it, rather than look for advantages from the exploitation of nature. YATOO does not warn us of the ecological crisis directly but suggests an alternative ideal relationship between nature and human beings by showing through their artistic pursuits a different attitude towards nature.
Since 1991, YATOO members have been striving to spread the spirit of their nature art movement. It has been possible because the members agreed to make their practice, beyond individual achievements, an art movement that advocates the beauty of the co-existence between nature and humanity. The Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, the YATOO Residency and the YATOO International Project are all part of their efforts. Most of all, we focus on hosting nature art workshops for both children and adults to provide them with opportunities to see nature differently and consider how to lead their lives in a peaceful relationship with nature.
4.
YATOO did not have an activist pursuit that either alarmed us about an environmental crisis or tried to resolve it through their artistic practice. Nevertheless, their practice has suggested a solution for the crisis with their pursuit of a balanced state between nature and humanity. Nature art still does not require professional training or knowledge, just like when the members started working in nature. Nature art practice starts with being in nature only, which is always in us, and inspires its viewers to attempt their own works. I hope for nature art to stay within nature and our lives rather than to be exhibited in museums where numerous methodologies and theories are involved. Also, I hope that this movement will carry on its role of providing people with a space where people can express their artistic intentions most freely as an escape from the extremely commercialized and capitalist system.
