The museum's Gerstner collection core includes 3,000 pieces.
Audiences of Korean drama and movies may have seen more than one small pot, a unique Korean pot that was once used to ferment kimchi, even if they may not know the name of these pots. To emphasize this unique pottery, the American Museum of Natural History plans “From Kiln to Kimchi: A Celebration of Korean Culture.”
“The idea for this event was indeed two years ago, when we were getting information about the museum's new Gilder Center, especially the Gerner Collections Core, a three-layered wall of glass that shows over 3,000 items in the museum's collection,” said Megan Watt, assistant director of the museum. “One of them is Korean pottery, which tells the utilitarian history of paddock pots, which changes usage throughout Korea over time and the way these pots are finally seen in their artistic sense.”
Although the popular Korean culture wave known as Hallyu did not directly cause this exhibition, interest in K-Media (such as Korean drama and K-Pop) is becoming more and more timely.
“It really inspired our team to start thinking with the anthropology department about how to use this display of fences to design a program that really talks about the science of kimchi fermentation,” Watt said. “The role of ceramics in Korean food and houses. Korean and Korean artists were influenced by it, but started to do different things, a continuous shift in Korean and Korean artists. So while we can certainly benefit from the popularity of K-Pop, I would say we were inspired by the Korean and Korean American culture in New York City.”
The event will include pottery demonstrations by Korean-American artist Dave Kim and ceramic works by artists Janny Baek and Jane Yang Yang d'Haene. Soohwan Kim, a PhD researcher at Georgia Tech, will delve into the science behind fermentation, focusing on Kimchi’s signature dishes and their relationship to the pot. According to AMNH curator of Asian Ethnology Laura Kendall, this handmade ship has been used to ferment kimchi for thousands of years.
“People say that relatively porous clay can make proper fermentation,” Kendall said. In a South Korea I observed in a village in the early 1970s, the winter supply was stored in small jars, which was excavated from the winter supply- the unexpected sudden melt of the supply. The family or neighbors dangerously exchange labor for tasks consumed throughout the day without a condiment, which is believed to be a reflection of the moral characteristics of the family. ”
A rare Korean pottery work in the museum’s collection will be displayed and a deeper understanding of its cultural and historical significance, while the pop-up market will offer works provided by more than a dozen local American artists in South Korea, including ceramics, stationery and clothing. Already sold out activities include Korean-style tastings such as kimchi, japchae, ramen, soju, as well as local vendors and restaurants including kimchi Cooks, jumo soju cocktails and hana makgeolli. To provide the taste of K-Pop culture, New York-based DJ Peach will play K-Pop Hits and recent releases. Once the museum decides the theme of the event, participants are easily found.
“Our teams are really able to get into the community,” Watt said. “We went to Pottery Studios in K-Town, we went to markets across the city, and we just started to engage with the people we saw, the people we saw, the people we saw in Korea and the small businesses in Korea in the United States. Then, once we started the publicity, people were so excited to introduce us to other people in their network and get involved in a real way to collaborate.”
Watt said soju and tasting kimchi can be educational. The idea is to learn to create culture through food, art, music, science to have a great time in the museum after get off work and have fun time in the museum.
“We have museum collections, and people in our collections bring more items from the collections,” Watt said. “We have artists doing pottery demonstrations, we have food, we have drink tastings, we have performances and lectures.” We are as excited as museums, because this programming will continue to move forward. ”
The program will be held at the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation on 79th Street and Columbus Street in New York City. While the event only lasts one night, there are still more than 3,000 pieces of pottery permanently displayed in the museum, providing visitors with more opportunities to learn more about this unique aspect of Korean culture. The museum’s online calendar provides information about this and other upcoming events.
