Until the dawn of
the twentieth-century, art was in synchrony with
everyday life. However, since that point,
the dominant sentiment has become ¡°art for art¡¯s
sake¡±-a view of art, which has kept it at a distance
from daily life.
In fact, this radical split between life and art
has been valid for only a century. In other words,
it is not so much a natural ¡°fact,¡± as a ruling
ideology.
The artistic direction of the past one-hundred years
is thus better described as a trap than a destiny.
But, properly understood, the rules of the game
are not so much written as waiting to be defined.
Of course, from the viewpoint of the past and the
ruling ideology, the rules for art appear to be
fixed.
But art, being a process more than a set of rules,
is able to clear a path to the future- a future
in which rules don¡¯t apply or are not yet defined.
In this respect, the Public Furniture of the Sea
Art Festival in Busan Biennale 2006 is not so much
a modern, formalistic or experimental event, as
a living, practical alternative to current public
art.
That is, instead of being reserved for an educated
elite, or a select social group, it is truly poli-cultural
and genuinely open. Indeed, anything less could
not bridge the gap between life and art.
