Exhibition Critique

The Exhibition Typographic Exploration in Hangul at U.C. Davis Design Museum explores the culture of Korea, and their native language, Hangul. In the pieces by Hyunju Lee and Phil Choo, the two artists explore their culture and their language by incorporating their language into their works of art.
The exhibition is set up very thoughtfully, the first work of art when you walk in is entitled, Hanghui, which is about a native dance of Korea. The piece is brightly colored and most definitely catches your eye when you walk into the museum. The piece is also arranged in a circular motion, which mirrors the movement of the exhibit. When walking through the exhibit, you move around the room circularly. The first piece sets the mood for the entire exhibit, and the information about the two artists is complemented by the first piece so that the viewer understands the goals and meanings of the artists and their works.
The overall theme of the exhibition is to educate the viewer of the cultural and societal aspects of Korea. The exhibition incorporates the old traditions with the new traditions in Korea. A lot of the pieces use printing on handmade paper. This symbolizes the past and the present of design in Korea. Also by including the symbols of Hangul, the artists can teach their audience not only about the art of Korea, but the language of Korea. The symbols become part of the art in the exhibit because they are so different from our own language. By using the symbols in the artwork, the designers are introducing the western world to a new perspective. This new perspective is the Korean culture as seen by the eyes of the artists of Korea.
These two artists have successfully juxtaposed their language with their art to symbolize Korean progression in the world as well as representing the Korean Culture. The artists used their language to build a bridge between its literal meaning as well as cultural meaning behind it.