Leeum Samsung Museum of Art

Two weeks ago on one of my many vacations (my job is so easy!) I went to the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Itaewon with Jae Hyun and my friend Josh. For 14,000 won we got into all three exhibits. The museum was really nice and had some interesting work by a lot of artists I had never heard of, including many famous Korean artists, and also easily identifiable works by some really world-famous artists like Chuck Close, Giacometti, Rothko, and Jeff Koons. In fact, I am kind of obsessed with Jeff Koons' "Smooth Egg with Bow" sculpture that was at the museum. Beautiful egg. So big, so shiny, so blue and pink. I wanted to rub myself all over it because it looked so smooth. I wanted to steal the egg from the museum. I felt kind of like those people in that documentary that fall in love with inanimate metal objects. But not really. I just like shiny blue and pink things.

Here are some pictures of "Smooth Egg with Bow" courtesy of Google Images:

And here are some pictures of the museum that I took on my phone camera because I forgot to bring my real camera:





The focus of the museum is on modern and contemporary art,
but it had some nice collections of old pottery, jewelry, weapons, and religious objects as well. It was really quiet and peaceful and a nice way to spend an afternoon. Plus, before we went, we ate delicious falafel sandwiches. And then Jae Hyun took me to the Times Square shopping center at Yeuido. This day gets 5 out of 5 stars.

My favorite was a really awesome temporary video installation by Christian Marclay that really blew my mind. He manipulated various movie clips of telephone conversations into a sinister and suspenseful conversation with no end or beginning in one piece. In another, he used four separate screens to present different scenes from musicals that resulted in a surprisingly enjoyable cacophony. My favorite, "The Clock", was a 24-HOUR LONG VIDEO of different movie clips showing the passage of time in real time. I had to be dragged away from it. It was so amazing to watch. How did he find a different movie scene for almost every minute of the day? He used films as diverse as "Pineapple Express" and old Hollywood movies. I thought it was really, really cool.

I think this museum is a must-see if you are living in or visiting Seoul. It is my favorite art museum of the three I have visited.