From the moment we passed through the Incheon air terminal in a travel induced stupor, we have been surrounded by art in public places. Had the circumstances been different, I might have started my public art photographs then and there. But we were muscling a suitcase-burdened cart through the terminal, trying to find enough signs in English or in internationally standardized images to find our way toward customs, immigration, and the free world beyond.
Of course, my camera was stowed safely in one of those bags on the cart, too, and recovering it for a few snapshots would have required major time and effort for unpacking, retrieving, and repacking.
Suffice to say, between the long plane ride and lack of sleep we did not seem ourselves.
These faces, traditional Korean dramatic masks, are actually from a station on Busan's extremely fine subway line. There are four of them, two at each end of a long mural depicting fishermen hauling a long net toward the water. All in stone. We had passed in and out of this station many times before I remembered to bring my camera along for the ride.
London tube stations, which we rode frequently during the fall months, are interesting, too, but for different reasons. I did not detect the same civic devotion to art on the London underground. I photographed a number of stations there as well but for far different reasons.
When we arrived at our hotel in Seoul, this painting in the hotel caught my eye.
Sometimes, as with this painting, the art is distinctively Korean, even with its modern feel. At other times, such as with this sculpture from Seoul, the piece is distinctively . . . well, weird. Oddly reminiscent of Alfred E Newman, for those who can reference the old MAD magazine covers.
The campus at Pusan National University where we live and work is full of public art too. Sometimes the piece outside the building is just too revealing. I think you can guess who was on the committee choosing this piece for their building's signature sculpture.
I can just hear the guy with the pen nest in the pocket liner asking, "Do you think they will make the connection?"
OK, I'm sorry. That was a cheap joke. After all, it's not that the piece outside the Humanities Building is all that hard to figure out.
My favorite pieces so far tend to be traditional, such as these figures in the outer courtyard at the Busan Museum.
Or this one from inside the Museum. I think this rabbit is from the Korean version of Animal Farm.
Of course, the real artistic treat is art in performance, as with these students on the PNU public soccer field performing traditional dances.
The public art is not all compelling, but I enjoy the fact that it's there. From what I have seen, Koreans have made a serious effort to make art visible for everyone who passes by.
In my view that is ALL for the good.
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