On Thursday, February 16, opens the exhibition Art Fluidity. International Moving Image Collection, in whose organization we have collaborated.

Ulsan Museum of Art is concurrently holding three exhibitions under the theme of What is The Collection Now?, which examines the past, present and future of the collection itself. The screening exhibition of International Moving Image Collection: Art Fluidity is one of them.
As can be seen from the subtitle 'Art Fluidity', the exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of how the meaning of the collection has changed through the transition of the form and medium of the artwork, focusing on the fluidity of today's immaterial digital works. Moreover, the exhibition shows the current state of contemporary (visual) art that vigorously engaged with other art genres or academic fields. This phenomenon informs us that today, the boundaries of 'art' are ambiguous and fluid.

Since Einstein, quantum physicists have come up with the theory that the ultimate factor defining existence is not the material but the immaterial. It is an overturning of the existing physics theory that the source of what we call reality is matter. In other words, objective figures and quantities do not define existence, but the relative spirituality beyond matter becomes the force that supports matter. Now, mankind is living in an era in which the smallest unit constituting the universe has been converted from atoms to bits, the so-called “digital transformation era.” The same is true for artistic creation. It has been a long time since the way of existence of the work has been converted from material to non-material form. Even in the distribution system of works, immaterial works floating online can be viewed transcending time and space. This immaterial worldview and the way works exist also affect the meaning and institutions of the collection. Today, the collection goes beyond the meaning of private collectors and public museums purchasing works in material form and sharing them with the public in a finite space. In other words, the meaning of the collection is changing from ‘possessing’ to ‘sharing’, and from sharing to ‘disseminating’.

Hence, Ulsan Art Museum uses the video archives shared from the leading institutions' collection (VDB, HAMACA, CASA ASIA and ZKM). On view are the selected works from moving image practices, from the late 1960s to the present:  experimental videos with media, such as performances, electro-intermediate installations, and so on, as well as documentary videos on socio-political issues, and narrative videos. The exhibition will serve as an opportunity to understand the fluidity of art, presenting works from analog moving images of 1960s to digital moving images today.

The exhibition includes selected works of moving image practices from the late 1960s to the present: experimental videos with media, such as performances, electro-intermedia installations, etc., as well as documentary videos on socio-political issues and narrative videos. The exhibition will serve as an insight into the fluidity of art, including —alongside pieces by figures such as Nan June Paik, Bruce Nauman or Hermine Freed —a selection of six works from the Hamaca archive: Un Mystique Determinado (Carles Congost, 2003), Ellas Filipinas (Marisa González, 2010), Cinco retratos de una mujer sentada (Iván Marino, 2005), Un beso (Cabello/Carceller, 1996), Touching Blues (Aimar Pérez Galí, 2021) and The flight of the hen (El vol de la gallina) (Albert Merino, 2013).

In the image, a frame from Art Herstory, by Hermine Freed (1974).