Jee-sook Beck, Art Critic & Artistic Director of Atelier Hermes
 
The third workshop consisted of a lecture by Jee-sook Beck and an individual critique session on the writings written by the 3 participants of the workshop, on two subjects proposed by Beck: What is a global artist? and Comparative Exhibition Reviews.

1) Why and How Should We Write?
The lecture began by emphasizing the importance of writing based on Beck s experiences as a curator and culture and art critic. First, she stressed that writings like exhibition preface or criticism can bring much more solid results in the overall organization when they are written concurrently with the exhibition. She went on to explain that to the curator, writing is something that demonstrates the curator s ability to organize the overall exhibition as well as an important method which facilitates the public sharing of the curator s stance and outlook on the world. Consequently, not only should the curator be able to sufficiently persuade his or her proposal to others, but also be able to demonstrate his or her stance and convictions through writing. Beck requested that the participants write in such a way as to demonstrate his or her own character and uniqueness.

The ability to write text with good content is a necessary and sufficient condition to become a good curator. Beck claimed the curator should be equipped with the desire to both organize a good exhibition and to write good content. She also stressed that the curator writes the text by keeping in mind
the many kinds of readers of the text (for example, the curator should postulate that reporters will be reading the press release), and emphasize on what is to be focused in the text according to the type and objective of each text to be written (exhibition proposal, preface, press release, theoretical work, or exhibition review).

In writing text of criticism, a big difference can result according to the decision in which stance is taken: that of the curator, or of the critic. There obviously may be commonalities between the two stances, but Beck stressed that it s important to consider if criticism from the critic s stance can, ultimately, be read as an assessment as opposed to that of a curator. She then asked the participants at the workshop how a curator, who s different from an evaluating critic, can write text of criticism. Paik went on further to state that the curator explores what new critical writing is possible in times like today where the role of the critic is gradually diminishing. As a critic herself, Beck also confessed that what is more needed is theoretical criticism based on art history or art theoretical background, rather than criticism on site.

2) Difficulty of Writing
Through individual critique of writing by the three workshop participants, Beck raised issues of difficulties that follow writing in Korean language. Asserting that one can often fail to properly understand the innate peculiarity of one s own native language, and that one cannot write well in Korean without being trained in writing. Beck requested that the writing is repeatedly edited, and that it be read aloud after processes of proofreading. She explained the biggest difficulty before writing is that culture changes so quickly, to the extent that it evades linguistic definition. Paik discussed how Korean language itself is difficult to conjure up concepts or tangibility.

Beck warned how one must be careful not to thoughtlessly take popular theoretical discourses from the West and apply it to situations in Korea, and asked how the participants felt about taking a fixed theoretical framework of a certain context and using it to criticize artists and their work of a different context. Meanwhile, Beck pointed out that although there are sometimes cases where art and artwork is used as an explanatory device for theories in humanities and social sciences, the discursive layers or the language style which explains the work seems vastly different.

Ultimately, Beck stressed the importance of reflecting on how one can connect the theoretical layers with art work or artist, and wrapped up the workshop with the suggestion to continue thinking about these issues.