MAISON&OBJET
SEP 2022
PARIS, FR
Global Art Fair, MAISON&OBJET
Exhibition
SEOJAE: MUNBANGSAU
A Modern Reinterpretation of the Tool & Stationary Used by the Ancestors for Study & Enjoyment
In a contemporary context, this exhibition reinterprets the meaning of ‘SEO JAE’, the room in which Korean ancestors used to spend leisure time contemplating and honing their tastes.
With a consensus that it is a space for enjoyment, it presents a unique modern study with inspiration and thought and play and healing. You will be able to experience creative synergy through the multi-layered composition of objects, spaces, tea ceremonies, and incense performances by 16 artists, including writers, designers, and craftsmen. In a pandemic period when anxiety are amplified, AL_SEASON hope it will be an opportunity to discover my own taste for play and rest, enjoy small moments of life, and purify mind.
문방사우(文房四友)란, 옛 문인들이 책을 읽는 곳 혹은 쓰는 도구들을 의미하는 ‘문방’과 글을 쓰거나 그림을 그릴 때의 4가지 친구, 즉 곁에 늘 두게 되는 ’사우'가 합쳐진 문구를 일컫는다. '사우'의 네가지 친구는 종이, 붓, 먹, 벼루 이며 예나 지금이나 글을 쓰는 행위는 인간 사회의 가장 필수적인 것이었고, 컴퓨터는 커녕 잉크 조차 없었던 당시 이들은 동아시아에서 글쓰기에 가장 효율적인 물건들 이었다. 특히 조선시대 양반 등 지배계층은 그 특성상 각종 기록들을 많이 남겨야했기 때문에, 자연히 글을 쓸 때의 네 가지의 보물이 된 ‘문방사우'라 할 수 있다.
The term "MUNBANGSAU(文房四友)" refers to a phrase that combines "munbang," which means a place where old writers read books or tools to use, and four friends when writing or painting, that is, "sau," which is always kept next to them. The four friends of "Sau" are paper, brush, ink, and inkstone. The act of writing was the most essential thing in human society throughout the ages, and at the time, when there was no ink, let alone computers, they were the most efficient objects to write in East Asia. In particular, the ruling class, including the aristocrats of the Joseon Dynasty, had to leave many records due to their characteristics, so it can be said that it was a "MUNBANGSAU" that became four treasures when writing naturally.