Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing

FAIN: GI-261111-18

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA 90036-4504)
Stephen Little (Project Director: January 2018 to present)

Implementation of a temporary, single-site exhibition on the art and history of Korean calligraphy.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) requests an implementation grant of $100,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing, a temporary exhibition on view from May 26 to September 15, 2019. As the very first comprehensive exhibition to examine the history of Korean calligraphy ever organized in the United States, Beyond Line will include approximately 170 works of art spanning nearly two millennia—many of which are national treasures and important cultural properties owned by Korean cultural institutions that rarely leave the country. It will be accompanied by an extensive array of didactic materials and a full complement of interpretive humanities and educational programs, along with a fully illustrated 528-page catalogue,that will introduce both an American and international audience to a vital element of Korean art and history through objects of undisputed quality and appeal.

Associated Products

Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing (Book)
Title: Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing
Author: Virginia Moon
Author: Stephen Little
Editor: N/A
Abstract: Offering an extraordinary window into Korean culture, Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing brings a multidisciplinary approach to the history of Korean writing--from the earliest texts from the Three Kingdoms period to its use in contemporary art. This volume discusses the social and cultural conditions that led to the creation of calligraphic works by a wide range of people, including kings, queens, officials, scholars, painters, monks, and even slaves. It also explores the variety of materials employed in the creation of the art--from paper, ink, and bamboo to ceramics, silk, and metal. In addition, it looks at how calligraphy was used both to maintain Korea's historical class structure and, as literacy spread, to incite social change for women, merchants, and other segments of society. The authors explore how the invention of the hangeul phonetic script led to a more global identity for Korea, and how this script continues to shape contemporary art and design. Beyond Line illuminates the restrained beauty, strength, and flexibility of Korean calligraphy.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.thelacmastore.org/collections/exhibition-catalogues/products/beyond-line-the-art-of-korean-writing
Primary URL Description: LACMA Store Website
Secondary URL: N/A
Secondary URL Description: N/A
Access Model: Open Access
Publisher: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books, an imprint of Prestel
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9783791358147
Translator: N/A
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing (Exhibition)
Title: Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing
Curator: Virginia Moon
Curator: Stephen Little
Abstract: Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing will be the first exhibition held outside of Asia to focus on the history of writing and calligraphy in Korea. Believed to mirror one’s qualities as a human being in ways unmatched by any other art, calligraphy has long been considered one of the highest art forms in Korea. This exhibition, organized both conceptually and chronologically, explores the role of calligraphy in different strata of Korean society over nearly two millennia, and includes works both in hanja (Chinese ideographic characters) and hangeul (the unique Korean phonetic script). The lives and legacies of writers and calligraphers will be examined through works by kings and queens, officials and scholars, painters and monks, and even slaves. The exhibition also explores Korea’s innovations in woodblock printing during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and in movable metal type during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). Due to the rarity of several of the international loans, Beyond Line will only be on view at LACMA—making this a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/beyond-line
Primary URL Description: LACMA Website
Secondary URL: N/A
Secondary URL Description: N/A

Beyond Line—A Conversation with Virginia Moon (Blog Post)
Title: Beyond Line—A Conversation with Virginia Moon
Author: Arthur Nguyen
Abstract: Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing, on view in the Resnick Pavilion, focuses on the history of Korean writing and calligraphy, long considered one of the highest art forms in Korea. It is the inaugural exhibition to emerge from The Hyundai Project: Korean Art Scholarship Initiative at LACMA, a global exploration of traditional and contemporary Korean art through research, publications, and exhibitions. In this interview, exhibition co-curator and LACMA assistant curator of Korean art Virginia Moon talks about the exhibition and what Korean calligraphy says about the people who created it.
Date: 9/5/2019
Primary URL: https://unframed.lacma.org/2019/09/05/beyond-line%E2%80%94-conversation-virginia-moon
Primary URL Description: LACMA Unframed blog post from September 5, 2019
Blog Title: Unframed
Website: LACMA Unframed

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