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By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- Pioneering media artist Lynn Hershman Leeson is known for exploring how identities expand and evolve through new technologies long before generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms became part of everyday life.
Works spanning the American artist's six-decade career will be shown in Seoul beginning this week in what marks her first solo exhibition in Asia, the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) said Tuesday.
Titled "Lynn Hershman Leeson: First Person Plural," the exhibition, which begins Wednesday, will bring together some 200 pieces of her work spanning painting, photography, sculpture and media installation, according to SeMA.
This image, provided by the Seoul Museum of Art, shows a poster for the upcoming exhibition "Lynn Hershman Leeson: First Person Plural." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Born in 1941, Hershman Leeson is known for questioning the relationship between humans and technology by experimenting with new technologies, such as video, the internet, artificial intelligence (AI) and genetic engineering.
In the 1970s, she carried out a multi-year performance art project in which she lived as Roberta Breitmore, a fictional alter ego she created. For the project, she obtained a driver's license, opened a bank account and even ran an advertisement looking for a roommate for Roberta to experiment how the fictional persona can blend into reality.
She later showcased the interactive work "Lorna," (1974-84), in which viewers can take part in an artwork by using a remote control to choose the narrative in an experience akin to playing a role-playing game.
This photo, provided by the Seoul Museum of Art on behalf of Henny Garfunkel, shows American media artist Lynn Hershman Leeson. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Viewers can make decisions for Lorna, a fictional character suffering from agoraphobia, across 36 selectable sequences, in a project that explores the isolation of modern individuals and how private lives can be possibly monitored through technology.
Other notable works on display include "Agent Ruby," (1998-2002), an early form of web-based chatbots, which changes its expression and responds to texts typed by a user, and works fusing art and data, such as "Synthia Stock Ticker," which shows a fictional character behaving differently in accordance with real-time stock market data.
The exhibition, comprising six sections, ends with artworks navigating themes of identity and genetic engineering, an area which likely takes its roots from her experience of studying biology at university.
This photo, provided by the Seoul Museum of Art, shows American media artist Lynn Hershman Leeson's work on display at the upcoming exhibition "Lynn Hershman Leeson: First Person Plural." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
For the exhibition in South Korea, her interactive media artworks originally created in English, such as "Lorna," "Deep Contact" and "Agent Ruby," will be shown in the Korean language for the first time, the museum said.
In an effort to highlight her career not only as a media artist, but also as a filmmaker, special screenings of her feature films, including "Conceiving Ada" starring actor Tilda Swinton, will be held.
"I am hopeful that this exhibition will give you a chance to meet some of the many selves that have evolved in order to become who I am and also inspire you to think what your many selves are, as well," Hershman Leeson said in a video message to viewers here.
The exhibition runs at the Seosomun branch of SeMA through Feb. 21.
American media artist Lynn Hershman Leeson's work is on display at the Seoul Museum of Art for the upcoming exhibition "Lynn Hershman Leeson: First Person Plural." (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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