MMCA’s newly acquired archives strengthen architectural collection

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea announced on Monday its Art Research Center has acquired some 30,000 archival materials in the last year and a half, much of which concerns Korean contemporary architects Woo Kyu-sung and Joh Sung-yong as well as video art pioneer Paik Nam-june.

Born in 1941, Korean-born American architect Woo Kyu-sung has explored the cultural dichotomy between Korea and the US in the architectural practice. He has designed landmark buildings in Korea and abroad, such as Ho-Am Museum of Art, Whanki Museum, Olympic Village Apartments in Seoul and Korean Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Some 100 volumes of Woo’s design journals are part of the archival collection obtained by the museum that show the architect’s ideas, conceptual sketches, reflections on the design process and consideration for improvements. He had kept design journals since the 1970s when his career started, according to the museum.

Around 20,000 archival materials, including the journals, about Woo’s practice that feature his design drawings and models were collected, according to the museum.

Architect Joh Sung-yong, born in 1944, rose to prominence after winning the design competition for the Asian Games Athletes’ Village and Memorial Park in 1983 in Seoul. The museum collected some 1,200 archival items of Cho’s practices such as photographs, models, sketches and press clippings, which span his architectural career from 1965 to 2020s.

Korean-born video art pioneer Paik Nam-june's archives have strengthened through the new acquisition.

Photographer Lee Eun-joo, a pioneering photographer in the art scene, began taking monumental portrait photographs of artists in the 1980s. Her photographs of Paik and 4,000 samples of Paik's archival footage were newly collected this year.

The museum also said it acquired 5,900 archival pieces from American artist Mark Patsfall concerning Paik. Some 400 video art projects by Paik were created in collaboration with Patsfall, who closely worked with Paik as a technician and designer from 1984 to 2002.

Meanwhile, some 1,200 archival pieces concerning Korean artist Kim Chong-hak, including early drawings, were part of a new acquisition offering insight into the artist’s evolving practice. Kim began his career in the early 1960s, creating works that reflected the social conflicts and realities of postwar Korean society.

The newly acquired materials have become part of the Art Research Center's archival collection that now consists of some 490,000 materials, according to the museum.

The museum stated that it plans to actively make use of these resources through exhibitions, publications, academic programs and original material access services.