PEACE minus one or G-Dragon takes over high art by stealth

There is always controversy about shifts in perception of Art. What becomes acceptable and how.
Like punk rock in the seventies was dangerous, untouchable for the majority, something abhorrent yet nowadays it has comfortably shifted into the mainstream and can now be heard playing as elevator musak. The same happens with pop culture. What are the criteria for the shift from pop culture to high art. Actually what is high art?

In this case I'm talking about what it takes for pop culture to move off the stage, out of the earphones, away from the computer and be placed within a frame and hung in the 'Art Gallery' And specifically the Seoul Museum of Art!
Is that not the pinnacle of 'High' Art in South Korea? or at least one of them?
G-Dragon from the Big Bang K-Pop band fame has done exactly this with an exhibition called
Peace Minus One - Beyond the Stage.

 To tell you the truth my expectations were not high. The music that Big Bang produce is considered to be good K-Pop but is that an oxymoron? They have one or two good songs and they are very lavish in the costume and make up department and over the top in the music video department but is it high art? will it translate to the gallery?

 The first space is a sort of surreal interpretation of life according to G-Dragon. It's a space that has been set up by him displaying a lot of his personal items and art from his own collection. As a surreal space it is a bit amateurish, a little bit like a bad Dali rip off from the 40's. Everything off tilt, hands coming out of doors etc No dripping clocks but the room is filled with the sound of a clock. But what fills the space is quite interesting and starts to give you an insight into this individual. He actually collects some very interesting art and artifacts from all around the world. It is easy to say that with that kinda money I would too but it's just as easy to do nothing with that kinda money too. His decisions and interests seem to be very well informed.

 And just like in real life where he is more than just a pawn in a boy band, he is power producer too, song writer?, artist! his artworks chosen for this display are very interesting and certainly worth the time to peruse.

 There are not too many items of 'favourite jacket', hat, shoes etc but a collection of crucifixes and a fantastic electric organ are just some of the things you will see.

 Once out of this first space you move into spaces where other artists have collaborated in setting up the space or it is just exhibiting their work because the G-Dragon likes them or they like the G-Dragon.

 This is where the exhibition gets very interesting, a series of rooms with all types of Artworks, like the interactive video installation above, or gigantic Hip Hop picture grams, sculptures, paintings, drawings etc etc.

 G-Dragon as Slayer or the slain?

Osang Gwon - untitled G-Dragon, a space with no name

Certainly my view of G-Dragon as vacuous, pretty boy toy singing doll has changed somewhat. The exhibition certainly changed that misconception.


At the very least we can say that Jiyong Gwong currates a great exhibition and certainly I am comfortable with his transition to High Art or the spaces of the galleries and museums of the world.

Box Fresh

Box Fresh.
Heard the term today.
Funny language.
Brand new, fresh out of the box. esp with sneakers.
We must talk Unboxing Videos one day, ...fascinating genre.
They'd be very Box Fresh
The latest cover from , Just back from Japan, Nylon Pink's version of BIGBANG's Monster
featuring Scotty the Kid.

Here's the original.

And here's some more

I reckon they should cover this one from Rurouni Kenshin

Nylon Pink - K POP gets Rocked

Coming out of LA, California USA all grrrll band Nylon Pink have been honing their skills in the Dark Art of the cover song. Not just any song but.
They have been picking the cherries of the 'go nuts' music phenomenon of K-POP.
Pop Music in Korea.
Sounds odd? maybe, until you look at the size of this industry.
Sometimes slightly twee, usually quite epic, love it or hate it, knowing Psy is just scratching the surface.
There is Sistar, Girls Generation, 2NE1 (twenty one), T-ara (tiara) and a whole lot more.
PS these are just the girl groups, plenty of boy ones too.

I don't really get the highly manufactured looks, choreographed performances, the miming but caught wind of this whole thing through the epic film clips of the band T-ara.
Day by Day is an epic 20min, big budget post apocalyptic/sci fi showcase video clip from T-ara that is more film than music clip. Check out the costumes, the sets, the camera moves etc. OK the story may not be great but it is narrative.
This outfit seems to have laid claim to the filmic music video promotion title but the others also plough plenty of bucks or Won (KRW) into their clips too.

But the music always got in the way for me, good songs but a bit too froth and bubble for me.
That is until I stumbled onto Nylon Pink.
For starters they hold and play instruments, they translate the lyrics to english but most importantly they rock the froth and kick the bubble. Oh yeah they kinda look good too. (smiley face emoticon)
They describe themselves as Hello Kitty on Acid!

Here's a couple of of their versions along side of the originals so the comparison can be yours.

I am the best - 2NE1


I am the best - Nylon Pink


Gee - Girls' Generation


Pretty light on eh?

Gee - Nylon Pink


There are others  like Hyuna's Ice Cream and Big Bang's Blue (they're a boy band) but these girls also do their own music.
They aint just a cover band but the covers are a clever way to raise ones' profile.
Nylon Pink are a self funded, Indie rock/pop outfit and they've been at it for over four years.

Now if you are in Japan you can catch them as they will be touring at the end of March and early April 2013 and to help cover the costs of such a tour they are running a KickStarter campaign.
So if you wanna get behind them you can check em out live, or maybe pitch in some bucks ($US) or even join their global army of Ninjas (social media promoters)

They could sure use your help at this stage with only 3 days to go