Chung Chan-seung

Chung Chan-seung (; 1942–1994), was a South Korean visual artist. He was also known as Chan S. Chung during his time in New York City.

Early life and education Chung was born in Seoul, Korea. He studied art in Hongik University's Department of Western Painting. In 1964, while he was still a student, Chung and some of his classmates formed the artist collective Non Col (논꼴, also romanized as Nonggol). Its members included Kang Kuk-jin (강국진, 1939–1992), Kim In-hwan (김인환, 1937–2011), Nam Young Hie (남영희, 1943–), Han Young Sup (한영섭, 1941–), Yang Cheolmo (양철모, 1943–), and Choi Taeshin (최태신, 1942–).

Career In Seoul, Korea: 1965–1980 Non Col and The New Exhibition Group Upon graduating from Hongik University in 1965, Chung and other Non Col members began presenting their work in annual group shows and publishing its own publication, Non Col Art . Due to changing interests between members, however, the collective disbanded just after its third annual group show in 1967.

The New Exhibition Group or the Sinjeon Group (신전동인, Sinjeon Dongin), was established and run by artists including Chung, Kang Kuk-jin, Kim In-hwan, Shim Sunhee and Yang Deoksu . Along with the Zero Group and the Origin Fine Arts Association, the New Exhibition Group came to represent a new wave of young artists experimenting with non-traditional genres of art, especially through the Union Exhibition of Korean Young Artists they organized together in 1967. The police arrested Chung during the protest, which marks the first of 40-some arrests to come while working in Korea. Understanding the potential of this type of performance as a public-friendly form of art that could engage in social commentary, Chung began to organize and produce his own happenings soon after. where they were buried in the ground and dumped with water. The three artists then climbed out of the ground and put on vinyl tunics, on which they wrote "cultural swindler (pseudo-artist) [문화 사기꾼 ]," "culturally blind (culture phobic) [문화 실명자 ]," "culture shirker (idealist) [문화 기피자 ]," "cultural fortune maker (pretend great master) [문화 부정축재자 ]," "culture peddler (political artist) [문화 보따리장수 ]," and "cultural acrobat (artists jumping on the bandwagon) [문화 곡예사 ]." The tunics were burned after the phrases were read out loud. The act was offered as a blunt and straightforward criticism of Korea's outmoded and conservative cultural establishments.

During this time, Chung also performed in the pioneering and experimental film work by artist Kim Kulim, The Meaning of 1/24 Second (1969). Among the fragmented and quickly changing images of Seoul's transforming and modernizing landscape, Chung is featured as a lone urban man, expressing his ennui while walking, yawning, and smoking. Such works led Chung, as well as Kang and Jung, to consolidate efforts with the artist Kim Ku-lim and others in forming the Korean avant-garde art collective, The Fourth Group (제4집단, Je Sa Jib-Dan). By 1983, Chung found his studio space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with the help of artist Sung-ho Choi.

Junk Art While Chung continued to perform happenings, such as creating chalk drawings in the park in the middle of the night for them to disappear after people walked over them throughout the day, most were not documented.

Exhibitions

1st Non Col Exhibition, Shinmunhoegwan , Seoul, 1965. 2nd Non Col Exhibition, 1966. 3rd Non Col Exhibition, Busan, 1967. Union Exhibition of Korean Young Artists, Korea Information Center, 1967. Total Art Exhibition , Duksukung Exhibition Hall , Seoul, 1968. 11 Korean Young Artists, Solidaridad Gallery, Manila, Philippines, 1969. Participating artists: Kim Kulim, Kim Tchah-sup, Park Seo-bo, Suh Seung-Won, Youn Myeungro, Chun Sungwoo, Chung Chan-seung, Cho Yong-Ik, Ha Indoo, Ha Chong Hyun. The Exhibition of Korean Fine Arts Association , 1971. 1st Independent Exhibition (앙데팡당전 Angdaepangdangjeon), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, 1972. 2nd Independent Exhibition (앙데팡당전 Angdaepangdangjeon), 1974. 3rd Independent Exhibition (앙데팡당전 Angdaepangdangjeon), 1975. Ecole de Seoul Exhibition, July 30–August 5, 1975. 9th International Biennial Exhibition of Prints, Tokyo, Japan, November, 1974. Participating Korean artists: Lee Ufan, Kim Kulim, Chung Chan-seung. 13th São Paulo Biennial, October–December, 1975. 1st Gwangju Contemporary Art Festival, Jeonil Museum of Art, Gwangju, 1976. 11th Biennale de Paris, September 15–October 21, 1980. Asian American International Video Festival, Danceteria, New York, 1984. Point Blank, Minor Injury, Brooklyn, New York, October 4–20, 1985. Ruins of Revolution, Minor Injury, Brooklyn, New York, February 9–March 2, 1986. Dialogues of Friendship, Minor Injury, Brooklyn, New York, July 12–August 4, 1991. Rebellion of Space: Korean Avant-guarde Art since 1967–1995, Seoul Museum of Art, 1995 A Decade of Transition and Dynamics: Korean Contemporary Art from mid-1960s to mid-1970s, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon, June 21–August 1, 2001. Performance Art of Korea, 1967–2007, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Seoul, August 24–October 18, 2007. Korean Rhapsody – A Montage of History and Memory, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, March 17–June 5, 2011. Coloring Time—An Exhibition from the Archive of Korean-American Artists, 1955–1989, Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York, New York, April 10–May 17, 2013. Busan Biennale: Hybridizing Earth, Discussing Multitude, Busan Museum of Art, September 3–November 30, 2016 The Oddball:, September 3–November 30, Remembering Chan S. Chung Through the Memories of His Friends, Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York, New York, September 18–October 31, 2019.