[Square] Tolerance of Space

Kim Bora, Director of Seongbuk-gu Art Museum

When a place you visit after a long time remains unchanged, it feels as if old memories are living there, bringing a sense of warmth and familiarity. However, everything in the world changes little by little, with some changes being perceptible and others not. To maintain the emotional surface of a place as it is, careful and purposeful changes are necessary. Yet, there are many things around us that disrupt that tranquility.

Recently, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, was entirely covered with a large silver polypropylene fabric. This was the posthumous work of the world-renowned installation artist Christo Javacheff (1935?2020), titled “The Wrapped Arc de Triomphe.” The artist had long created land art installations worldwide and produced a series of wrapped works, including the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin, enveloping them in fabric. The Arc de Triomphe project was a work he had envisioned since 1961. One can imagine how many imaginative pictures he must have drawn for that space. In 2019, with the approval of the French president and government, the project proceeded based on technical inspections. However, installation was delayed due to the COVID-19 situation, and the artist passed away during this time. The project team continued the installation, and this work, which Christo had prepared for 60 years, was ultimately able to be with us for 16 days.

“The Wrapped Arc de Triomphe” made the monument invisible while making people look at it again. Although the Arc de Triomphe was built to commemorate victory, over the long years it has become a backdrop for various historical events such as wars, festivals, and protests. Perhaps it intends to make us reconsider the now desensitized spatial meaning. By wrapping this historic monument like a gift, Christo seems to suggest discovering new values.

The M?nster Sculpture Project in Germany is held every ten years. During this period, the city is filled with sculptures, where the natural flow of life and contemporary issues balance each other, resulting in quite remarkable works. Some pieces are carefully selected after long deliberation to remain permanently, allowing people to reunite with these works after ten years. The space becomes a meaningful place, and that place adds memory upon memory. Everything moves very slowly and requires long waiting, but for that reason, it is not easily lost.

We frequently encounter artworks by chance in our daily lives. Still, we often fail to recognize them or complain greatly about suddenly appearing works. Since it is difficult for a work to please everyone, it is not easy for artworks to coexist in public spaces.

If we are to live with public art anyway, is there a wise way to encounter street artworks? Since artworks begin with the space, it would be good to deeply read that space first and then place the work. And for those who enjoy them, how about taking enough mental leisure the moment they face the artwork? Surely, some people felt uncomfortable seeing Christo’s work. Nevertheless, they showed composure toward the work as an object of contemplation.

Spaces wait and endure to become meaningful places. Spaces where artworks harmoniously blend regain tranquility. This is the tolerance that space teaches us.

Kim Bora, Director of Seongbuk-gu Art Museum