Korean Artistry Inside & Outside SDMA

By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt. Photos by Maurice Hewitt.

 INSIDE: Sacred Mt. Baekdu by artist Lee Sookja

February 3 was, for a change, a sunny Saturday in San Diego and a great time to be in Balboa Park. We were there to see Korea in Color: A Legacy of Auspicious Images, a truly auspicious exhibition at San Diego Museum of Art which that day had an outdoor component: an array of Korean performers and artists in a special event titled On the Steps.

Outside : K-Pop Dancers from NK Dance Studio in LA

In the Study: Pictorial Ideographs. A panorama of slow-moving images that gradually change as you watch.

Three static views of one ideograph’s changes. (This and the 2 images below)

Women in traditional clothing welcomed visitors to artists’ tents adjoining the performance area.

Award-winning San Diego-based artist Saegil with some of her work

On the Steps was a one-time-only event, but Korea in Color will be at SDMA through March 3, and it’s something no art-lover would want to miss. https://www.sdmart.org
 
While we were there, we strolled over to the museum’s new partner, the Museum of Photographic Arts, which is now MOPA@SDMA. We always enjoy the annual Juried Youth Exhibition, which features students from SD and TJ in grades K-12. One of our favorites was the work of a 9-year-old photographer from Sequoia Elementary in Clairemont, but there’s lots more to admire, and the show runs through April 21.

Sea Level, by Ni'yema Alexander, age 9.

In the main gallery, we were thrilled to discover James Balog: Photographs from the Anthropocene, a display of imaginative images of humans and nature by someone whose name was new to us. You have until March 10 to see for yourself.   https://mopa.org
 

The Old Man and the Ape, by James Balog.

 A wall of relaxing nature photographs by James Balog.

 Here’s wishing you many eye-and-mind-opening encounters in the months to come!
 
 
Lonnie Burstein Hewitt is an award-winning author/lyricist/playwright who has been writing about arts and lifestyles in San Diego County for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net