A Rock That Was Taught It Was a Bird

2010

Kim Beom 김범

(Korean, b. 1963)

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Culture

Korea

Medium

Single-channel video on 12-inch flat monitor (1 hr, 27 min, 30 sec; edition 1/3)

Credit Line

Louis D. Kacalieff, M.D. Fund 2010.263.c

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The video documents several lessons are imparted to the stone on the physics of flying (in Korean, subtitled in English).

Description

The man in the video repeats “You are a bird!” to a rock, while a sculptural assemblage to the left features a rock posed like a bird on a bough. A Rock That Was Taught It Was a Bird is one of Kim Beom’s satirical artworks. It comments on authoritarian regimes—South Korea during the 1970s and 1980s—where education was frequently used as a tool to influence people’s view of the world and themselves.

Kim is a Seoul-based artist whose mixed-media works are internationally well known. His art explores the intersection of various artistic genres and media, including poetry, drawing, video, painting, and installation. In this work, Kim uses a touch of humor to turn unrelated objects into one minimalistic sculpture packed with strong social critiques.