The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

A Rock That Was Taught It Was a Bird

2010

Kim Beom

(Korean, b. 1963)
Korea
wooden table
Table: 73 x 109 x 81 cm (28 3/4 x 42 15/16 x 31 7/8 in.)
Louis D. Kacalieff, M.D. Fund 2010.263.d
© Kim Beom
Location: 236 Korean

Did You Know?

Kim often uses readymade objects—here a wooden table, a stone, and a tree bough—and turns them into a sculptural assemblage.

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).
    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=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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