As we anticipate the opening of a new gallery next year to showcase our Korean Art collection, we are so excited to host the South Korean musical duo CelloGayageum on May 26.
The duo is composed of Austrian-born cellist Sol Daniel Kim and Seoul-based gayageum (Korean 12-stringed zither) player Dayoung Yoon. Trained as classical Western and Korean musicians, the two artists met in Berlin and started collaborating in 2016. Through sharing inspirations and reshaping their respective artistic ideas, the duo offers a new musical experience. CelloGayageum is critically acclaimed for bold interpretation and masterful execution. We hope that the performance, presented in PEM’s historic East India Marine Hall, will bring visitors the joy of discovering this collaboration.
I joined PEM in May 2023 as the museum’s new Curator of Korean Art. For the past year, I have been working on the reinstallation of the Gallery of Korean Art and Culture, which is scheduled to open in May 2025. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with PEM’s unique and historically significant Korean collection. Just like CelloGayageum, PEM’s collection of Korean art and everyday objects was born from the encounter of two cultures. This encounter was staged at the moment of Korea’s first steps toward globalization, as Korea’s last dynasty, the Joseon, ended its long era of seclusion and opened its doors to international contact.
A. B. Cross Photography Studio, Salem, Massachusetts, Portrait of Yu Giljun, 19th century. Photographic print. Phillips Library. Edward Sylvester Morse Papers. E2, box 88 3 Japan, ETH000031. This photograph is on view in Salem Stories.
In 1882, Edward Sylvester Morse, director of the PEM’s predecessor the Peabody Academy of Science, met with a group of Korean officials in Japan. The next year, the first official delegation from Korea arrived in the United States, and its youngest member, Yu Giljun (Yu Kil-chun) was introduced to Morse. Morse soon became Yu’s mentor.
A. B. Cross Photography Studio, Salem, Massachusetts, Portrait of Yu Giljun, 19th century. Photographic print. Phillips Library. Edward Sylvester Morse Papers. E2, box 88 3 Japan, ETH000031. This photograph is on view in Salem Stories.
Yu remained in Salem to pursue his studies and even donated some of his own traditional Korean clothing for the collection. Morse, in collaboration with Paul George Möllendorff, a German diplomat to Korea, went on to purchase 225 objects from Korea. Since then, PEM has continuously expanded its Korean collection.
One remarkable group of Korean objects that came to PEM in the late 19th century is a collection of eight musical instruments exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. This set represents the finest instruments used by court musicians, who accompanied a delegation to the 1893 fair and played these instruments at the Korean pavilion. The saenghwang (free-reed wind instrument), now displayed in our exhibition Salem Stories, is beautifully constructed from bamboo. Often depicted being played by immortals in Joseon-period paintings, its natural but delicately balanced form epitomizes Joseon aesthetics.
Artist in Korea, Saenghwang (free reed wind instrument), 19th century. Bamboo, rattan, wood, and bone. Museum purchase from the World's Columbian Exhibition, Chicago, 1893. E9796. Peabody Essex Museum.
A janggo is another rare example of an exquisite 19th-century court musical instrument. This large hourglass-shaped drum is one of the most versatile and uniquely Korean traditional musical instruments. Its usage ranges from classical court music to village shaman rituals. The ever-changing and dynamically uplifting rhythms of janggo exemplify the Korean musical spirit, and are well integrated into CelloGayageum’s modern interpretation.
Artist in Korea, Saenghwang (free reed wind instrument), 19th century. Bamboo, rattan, wood, and bone. Museum purchase from the World's Columbian Exhibition, Chicago, 1893. E9796. Peabody Essex Museum.
Another work that features a variety of musical instruments and musicians is the early 19th-century painting Banquet of the Governor of Pyeongan. Set in the once-prosperous city of Pyeongyang, it describes eight spectacular moments from lavish official celebrations. In the grand banquet scene, for example, extravagant dances are presented on an extended stage prepared for the event. Six musicians play three types of flutes, two types of drums (including janggo) and a haegeum — a Korean fiddle similar to the Chinese xiqin. Next to the six players stands a senior director holding a fan-shaped bak to cue the start and end of a song. This set of paintings, originally made as one magnificent folding screen, came to PEM as eight separate panels. With the generous support of the Korean government and Samsung Foundation of Culture, it is now undergoing conservation work in Korea and will brighten the new Korean gallery in its original form.
Thank you for allowing me to share my enthusiasm about the CelloGayageum performance and the new Korean gallery. We are deeply grateful for the continued support of our partners for the Korean gallery and its new installation project, and to the Consulate General of Korea for making this beautiful performance possible.
Join us for a concert in East India Marine Hall on Sunday, May 26 from 2–3 pm, featuring South Korean musical phenomenon CelloGayageum. This concert is included with admission, but same-day tickets are required and capacity is limited. Tickets will be available at the Information desk.
The CelloGayageum concert is made possible by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Boston and supported by the Lowell Institute.
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Event
CelloGayageum
Sunday, May 26, 2024 from 2-3 pm
