The NJP Commission is a new exhibition format presented by Nam June Paik Art Center in 2024. Through the NJP Commission, Nam June Paik Art Center seeks to present new productions by mid-career artists who deal with significant agenda in contemporary art and an in-depth look at their perceptions of the art world, and, thus to demonstrate the museum’s performativity. A total of four curators, including the curators from outside Nam June Paik Art Center, co-curated the exhibition, and commissioned four artists that capture the crucial issues of contemporary art. The exhibition’s title, Humming Chorus, stems from imagining each artist’s work as a song consisting of diverse tones and voices and refers to their harmony, though the sound and rhythm may differ. The artists reflect on the ecosystem and nature devastated by anthropocentric practices, and, by expressing solidarity with the objects surrounding us, they exhibit their identities as performative artists.

In connection with NJP Commission Humming Chorus, we invite participating artist Chan Sook Choi and curator Sungmin Lee for a discussion about her works. They will introduce THE TUMBLE, a trilogy project they have been planning and creating since 2022. The talk will also delve into the artistic research process behind THE TUMBLE all that fall produced as part of NJP Commission, exploring the artwork’s production, various collaborative relationships, and the significance of the essay film. Furthermore, the artist and curator will discuss their reflections and interpretations on performativity and media in contemporary art, themes they have been contemplating in relation to NJP Commission.

Discussants

Chan Sook Choi Artist

Chan Sook Choi explores narrative experimentations with the physical movement and mental migration based on artistic research as a methodology for her artistic practice of addressing contemporary social issues through interdisciplinary engagement. Focusing on the vibrations and marks created by the movement of fragile beings that are bound to be pushed aside or leaked from somewhere, the artist traces their paths and records the subjective existential situations left behind by humans and non-humans in various forms. Choi’s solo exhibitions were held at the Digital Art Center in Taipei (2020), the Art Sonje Center in Seoul (2017), and the Humboldt Forum in Berlin (2017). 

Sungmin Lee Curator

Working in both architecture and the arts, Sungmin LJ has focused on creating open structures that embrace differences and discovering artistic forms that are not fixed. Currently, she works as a curator in the Culture Headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, planning and supervising the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art construction project, operation plan, and curatorial/research programs since 2018. She has also planned the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art’s annual pre-opening public program (2020-2023). In addition, she has participated in projects and exhibitions including the Northern Gyeonggi Village Archive Project (2017-2018), The Village (Seoul/Istanbul, 2016-2018), Seoul Photo Festival (2010, 2018), Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2017), Seoul Mediacity Biennale (2010, 2016), Contemporary Korean Architecture Exhibition: Out of the Ordinary (London, 2015), Anyang Public Art Project (2013-2014), Architectural Urbanism: Melbourne/Seoul  (2013-2014), and Seoul Design Olympic (2008) as a curator, researcher, and/or producer. 

Cheyoung Lee

Cheyoung Lee is interested in the media environment, the relationship between art, humans, and nature, and the social roles and possibilities of art as technology evolves. She is particularly fascinated by the potential for experimental programming and audience participation both inside and outside the museum setting. She studied history and aesthetics and worked as the curator of Ilju Art House, a space specializing in media art, from 2000 to 2005. In 2007, she joined the team preparing for the opening of the Nam June Paik Art Center, where she served as a curator until 2015. In 2015, she moved to the Gyeonggi-do Museum of Art and served as the head of the Paik Art Center's curatorial team from 2017 to 2021, and has continued in this role from 2022 until now.

In addition to Tactics, she has curated exhibitions and performance programs such as Over Music, TV Commune, x-sound: John Cage and Nam June Paik(co-curated), Variations of the Moon, RhythmScape, April's Companion (a memorial exhibition for the second anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy), Extraordinary Phenomenon, Nam June Paik (co-curated), and #Art #Commons #Nam June Paik (the 10th anniversary exhibition of the Paik Art Center, co-curated).