The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

A Rock That Was Taught It Was a Bird

2010

Kim Beom

(Korean, b. 1963)
Korea
Single-channel video on 12-inch flat monitor (1 hr, 27 min, 30 sec; edition 1/3)
Louis D. Kacalieff, M.D. Fund 2010.263.c
© Kim Beom
Location: 236 Korean

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.
  • 2010
    Artist's studio, Seoul, South Korea
    2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Juxtaposition and Juncture in Korean Modern and Contemporary Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 21, 2025-May 3, 2026).
    Kim Beom: How to Become a Rock. Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea (Republic of) (organizer) (July 18-November 26, 2023) https://www.leeum.org/exhibition/exhibition01_detail.asp?seq=61.
    Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 29-July 16, 2018).
    Kim Beom: Objects Being Taught They Are Nothing But Tools. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 14, 2010-March 6, 2011); REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theatre), Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (April 21-June 19, 2011).
    Kim Beom. Artsonje Center, Seoul, South Korea (2010).
  • {{cite web|title=A Rock That Was Taught It Was a Bird|url=false|author=Kim Beom|year=2010|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.263.c