The Gwangju Biennale 2004 is a cultural
forum that experiments with established cultural practices that are
centered around the art specialist and cultural power, specifically,
artist and curator. To subvert the existing hierarchy, we deploy new
strategies and incorporate the spectator's direct participation in
cultural production. For this purpose, the Biennale invited 60 "Viewer-Participant"
– individuals and groups from different backgrounds from all around
the world – to create a platform for active discussion and dialogue
amongst the audience and artists, and to collaborate in the art-making
process. They share artists’ point of view or expectations from an
audience, and by doing so they transcend the established system of
power that recognizes and produces art.
The title “A Grain of Dust A Drop of Water”
reflects the concept and the strategy of the Biennale. Dust and Water
are vital natural phenomena, which can be understood as ecological
orders describing the cycle of creation and extinction. The tile also
implies the idea that the Gwangju Biennale 2004 functions to enhance
discussions on fragmented viewpoints and discourses existing in visual
culture to embrace multiple aesthetic definitions to co-exist.
Hence, the Gwangju Biennale 2004 is the place where both artists and
audience can experience art and culture as instruments of vibrant
social networking. As hinted in the title "A Grain of Dust A
Drop of Water" this is the secret of a small but the most articulating
step towards directing the art world more accessible and encouraging
creative cultural activities. |
