Club Monster

Asia Culture Center presents a contemporary art exhibition that explores the point of contact between popular music culture and current art practices. Across these various genres, key words such as ‘Human Rights,’ ‘Zeitgeist,’ ‘Healing Trauma,’ and ‘Sympathy’ are recurrent leitmotifs. Pressing issues of global concern, such as terrorism, refugees, gender inequity, child abuse, war, unemployment, racism, poverty, and cultural tensions are given urgent expression in both the popular music and the contemporary artworks on display in this exhibition.

The exhibition title ‘Club Monster’ is derived from Metallica’s song, ‘Some Kind of Monster.’ Monsters signify the individuals who face collective trauma such as war, threat of terrorism, social inequality of gender and race, poverty, refugee and so on. Their individual stories unfold the current issues of human rights and resonate the other’s feeling of sympathy. Through the feeling of sympathy and compassion, we might realize that the various faces of monsters in this world are the faces of ourselves. Multiple voices of monsters possess the potential power to change the world and limitless creativity. Thus the exhibition title ‘Club Monster’ is the eulogy to the people who courageously face the traumatic world and overcome it. Participating contemporary artworks and popular music in this exhibition share the themes of those individual stories and their spirits.

‘Club Monster’ has a two-fold meaning. On the one hand, it means a ‘artists’ club‘; 21 contemporary visual artists and almost 50 popular musicians whose works on display in the exhibition get together like club members. On the other hand, it indicates a spatial atmosphere of the exhibition space as a ’music and dance club.’ The exhibition space will use interior design motifs, suggestive of an underground rock club, which were once popular gathering places for the young generation. Most people view contemporary art as an obtuse and esoteric form of cultural production, to the point that a visit to an exhibition is often considered an intimidating and formal occasion. ‘Club Monster’ is a multi-purpose art space easily accessible to a wider spectrum of the public and where visitors will pleasantly engage with music and contemporary art.

Almost 50 musicians selected for the exhibition are influential to people all over the world in that their music gives common people courage to persevere through the often challenging journey that is life. ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon is a good example of this kind of music. After the tragedy of the Brussels airport terrorist attack, the hopeful lyrics of ’Imagine’ became a means for the victims and sympathizers to express their condolences but also envision a more peaceful future. Lennon’s music has power to comfort people beyond the spatio-temporal limitations of the world.

Music that reflects the zeitgeist and evokes feeling of sympathy in people will be presented in ‘Club Monster’ along with contemporary art that shares affinities with such music.

List of Artists : Gary Hill, Pipilotti Rist, Yoko Ono, Tran Luong, Ryota Kuwakubo, Simon Faithfull, Halil Altindere, Bae Young-Whan, Meekyung Shin, Hyunmi Yoo, Kiwun Shin, Darbotz, Arvin Nogueras, Minseung Jang, Hyewon Kwon, Sungsuk Suk, Seungchun Lim, Bokyung Kim, Xeva(Madvictor), Kiyoung Ko, Jinju Lee, NTOP.

List of Musicians : Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, U2, John Lenon, Nuslat Fateh Ali Kahn, Eddie Vedder, Silvio Rodriguez, Metallica, Noraereul Channeun Saramdeul, Kim Mingi, Hahn Daesoo, Kendrick Lamar, Mikis Theodorakis, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Mercedes Sosa, , Fela Kuti, and others.