Many design exhibitions are taking place all over the world.
Design events are taking place everywhere all the time, from
museums and galleries to bigger international events like
biennale and triennale. The theme and size vary a great deal also,
from crafts, graphic, furniture, and concept of design from the
perspective of humanities, to archival exhibitions on the
accomplishment of a craftsperson or a designer. In Korea,
the legislation of the Promotion of Craft Culture has accelerated
the participation of the craft world in the movement of “Being
Used to Being Viewed.”

With this in mind, Making is Thinking is Making: New Korean
Craft of XXI Triennale di Milano International Exhibition focuses
on two things. First is how craft and exhibition should accompany
each other for sustainable craft environment. The question is
also about how to reinterpret the cultural concept of craft,
which is brought to the platform of exhibition as something to be
studied, interpreted, and viewed, rather than object solely for
practical use. It’s also about the role of curators. The second is
how to turn craft into a sustainable culture within our society
rather than a collection of objets d’art, within the frame of this
year’s triennale theme, “21st Century. Design after Design.”

The exhibition aims to discover the significance of craft present and future
in the current society where much of production processes are taken over
by computers. In order to do so, we sought much help from Richard Sennett’s
The Craftsman. We very much agree with his concept of craftsperson as
someone who devotes himself completely to creating something without
seeing its production simply as means. The title of the exhibition, Making
is Thinking is Making, is inspired by the phrase in his book, “making is thinking.”
The title refers to a cycle in which making and craftsmanship expands
themselves through individuals and societies through those individuals,
which then comes back to influence individual’s making and craftsmanship.

The exhibition is based on four principle themes:

1. Archiving of actual production processes of crafts, relevant
records, and the way the finished product is used.

2. Contemporary art works that show the relationship between
craft and pure art.

3. Works of craftspeople and designers who have achieved
their own unique languages of expression.

4. Archive lounge with research-related materials and videos,
as well as audience-participation installation.

The exhibition is based on the opinions of various craftspeople,
designers, artists, theorists,and organizers about the significance of
craftsmanship, which necessarily requires time in the world where
everything is consumed instantly. We attempt to demonstrate the
social and cultural significance of craft. To do so, we use project
archive at the center of the exhibition to examine from various
perspectives the evolution of individual craftsperson’s act of making.
We also focused on making it the place of active learning and free
discussion, instead of passive viewing.

I hope that this exhibition provides a good opportunity to rediscover
the importance of traditional craft from the perspective of making
and craftsmanship while finding a way for craft to expand its role in
the society and ensure its future by building relations with other
branches of art and collaborating with them.

The exhibition began with an open question. We thank the 29 artists
who participated in our exhibition with their precious artworks,
members of the working group who worked with such enthusiasm
throughout the whole process, many experts who have given
interviews,and the participants of the discussion program series,
The Communal Discussion on Discovering New Craftsmanship,
who offered many valuable opinions.