Today we met to discuss coexistence with art. The two of you are leading the SNU Museum of Art, an arena for art exchange open to the public, and the Institute for Culture and Art, established in July of last year. I wonder about the operational directions and core plans of each organization.

Director Sim Art museums are spaces that deliver quality and distilled experiences seldom found in the mundane lives of people. I hope that this venue will be available for a kind of communication in which people visit for new encounters, and exchange emotions and feelings. We are striving to create an art museum that enables anyone to comfortably enter this place as if returning home, and gain indelibly persistent experiences for rumination. Hopefully, students will frequent this art museum while commuting to the university.

Director Lee Culture and arts have long been downplayed by our society and schools. A sea change is now occurring. A new society has arisen in which people substantially consume culture. People are willing to wait in long lines to enjoy cuisine at restaurants recommended by the Michelin Guide, as well as famous exhibitions. With the advent of an era of surpluses, the power of culture and the arts has become more absolute and enormous than ever. The Institute for Culture and Arts symbolizes the two elements of “experience” and “practice.” The Institute introduces various phenomena occurring at the forefront of culture and arts on campus and facilitates the entrance of students into the field of culture and the arts.

The goals and orientations of the two organizations appear obvious.
Then, why should such cultural arts organizations exist on campus?

Director Sim The identity of adolescents primarily forms during puberty, while the social and intellectual identity of students takes shape during their college years. Thus, students should spend time genuinely getting to know themselves even after entering college. This is because the college entrance exam system in this country allows no time for students to think about themselves. As a result, students are forced only to complete technical preparations for advancing their careers. The encounters of students, who have failed to discover and meet their inner selves, with the world leads inevitably to distortion. In this respect, the cultural and artistic soil of the campus should be fertile to foster the growth of mature and healthy qualities as human beings.

Director Lee The reason why any university system, including SNU, operates art departments such as music and arts may be to nurture next-generation artists. More importantly, however, these art departments serve a pivotal role in spreading the creativity of art across the university. Facilities related to the arts are readily found in world-class universities, and they are open to all students beyond just art majors. Creative products and spaces encourage the creativity of students with various majors in their fields by inspiring them through the essence of art. This is why art organizations exist within universities. We must continue to create an artistic heartbeat and flow on campus so that students can naturally live under the influence of culture and arts. Culture and arts organizations are present to create this flow.

We would like to hear your thoughts on the educational functions of the arts and the correlation between art and education.

Director Sim As the education system solely dedicated to the college entrance exam prevails, drawing, painting, playing musical instruments, and singing have been regarded as part of school curricula. Yet, people consider culture and arts to be dispensable and inessential along the course of life when compared to learning the English language. This attitude is imbalanced and pathological in terms of comprehensive aspects of personality. What is education? Its ultimate goal is to foster the internal and intellectual growth of individuals. Thus, the division of the arts from education itself is a product of disciplinary thinking. Arts may be the educational soil that allows us to grow.

Director Lee Professor Hong-Jung Kim from the Department of Sociology pointed out that “To encourage students nowadays to spend time on culture and art, we must persuade them that ‘culture and arts are requisite competencies, rather than entertainment.’” I agree with this idea. The cultural capital possessed by an individual can render them unique. For example, the depth of an individual can be indicated by instances of appreciating and conversing about the history of wine or works of art at a dinner table. Moreover, empathy is gaining attention these days. Emotional competence matters. The inclusiveness that creates empathy and emotion, I believe, stems from culture and the arts. In the end, culture, art, and education become inevitably interconnected.

Then, what should the roles of SNU be to sustainably nurture artists of our time and spread the value of art?

Director Sim The modern culture that laid the foundation for the contemporary lifestyle is essentially rational. Despite its tremendous achievement in production and consumption, this culture tends to be inhumane and violent. However, at present, emotion is said to outweigh reason even in an intellectual aspect. Outstanding inventions that have changed human life have frequently risen from intuition.

Director Lee I concur with Director Sim. In the past, the priorities of universities were science and technology while the bodies and minds of students today are driven by culture. I believe that meta-creators, such as planners, curators, and programmers, should outnumber independent artists. I hope to see interconnected artists developing opportunities and frameworks to collaborate, rather than struggling as individuals. We interviewed an artist who won the “MMCA (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) Artist of the Year Award” last year, and his artwork incorporated the collaboration of a total of 32 people, including a drone pilot and a 3D expert. In this way, contemporary culture and art emerge from the combination of process and production. The process of fabricating one content piece assumes a pipeline structure in which multiple experts and technicians collaborate. I anticipate that this campus will bring a wealth of experience to our students. In this respect, this campus must substantially serve as a hub for cultural creation. This virtuous cycle will naturally lead to the emergence of leaders in the culture and arts sphere.

Director Sim Absolutely true. In addition to the inexorable values of science and technology, balance and circulation stand out as remarkable. If one advances while the other retreats, that society will stumble. In his congratulatory speech at the graduation ceremony last August, Professor Jae Chun Choe demanded that “You, as SNU graduates, should seek a world where all live well together, rather than living well alone.” A crack spreads across society if it pursues nurturing quality talents. That crack may become irreparable at some point. We need to fully realize the severity of this issue to develop well-rounded talents. Ultimately, there is a compelling need for organizing the concept of talent and setting a direction to foster talents who shine through their characters, as well as achieve outstanding results in their fields.

2023 is nearing its end. I am curious about the future plans of the SNU Museum and the Institute for Culture and Arts.

Director Lee The mission of the Institute for Culture and Arts and myself may be to invent a cultural organization suitable for this era. According to the changing times, a demand has arisen for a new scheme where resources, culture, art, and the public can circulate. It is crucial to conduct experiments with leading cultural reproduction by inviting and engaging various genres across cultural and artistic borders. As is often the case, we continue to contemplate these issues and showcase new stimulating attempts.

Director Sim Each person holds creativity inside. However, there is a general lack of sufficient opportunities for growth. I hope that everyone can broaden their experiences, including potential and self-discovery, through art. As we live, we inescapably face vague and tortuous facets of self. In this case, the specific language of an artist would reveal the meaning of this confusion, allowing one to exclaim “Ah, this is what it implied.” I hope that the SNU Museum remains a space where individuals can meet themselves and where new thoughts begin to form. In this respect, I look forward to seeing our students, who will shepherd the transformation of this world, frequent the Museum.