Guardian Spirits, mid-20th century, color on paper and fabric, 42 x 63 inches.

EAST LANSING, MI.- Kresge Art Museum celebrates Korea with two concurrent exhibitions. Gods, Demons and Generals: Icons of Korean Shamanism, an historical look at Korean culture and Haeri Yoo: Paper Deep, an intensely contemporary installation. The twelve paintings of Gods, Demon and Generals: Icons of Korean Shamanism represent and explore the indigenous shamanic tradition, which is a force that exists at the nexus of the culture and religion of Korea .The exhibitions are on view at Kresge Art Museum , Michigan State University, through October 18, 2009.

Gods, Demons and Generals: Icons of Korean Shamanism

This exhibition of late 19th-early 20th century paintings of spirits and deities represents and explores the indigenous shamanic tradition, which is a force that exists at the nexus of the culture and religion of Korea. These paintings were not created as art or decoration but rather as visual representations of the gods that a shaman (mudang or mansin) honors each day in her shrine, calls upon to help her give divinations, and manifests in her own person when she performs an elaborate ritual (kut). When they appear in rituals, the gods and ancestors speak through the shaman’s lips and perform through her own body, chastising family members for neglect and misbehavior but also bringing promises of good fortune. The images in the paintings, like the costumes that shamans wear when performing rituals, reveal a lively religious practice that incorporates elements of popular religion, Buddhism, and the old Confucian state, often with a dash of humor. To glimpse the world depicted in these compositions is to gain a unique perspective on Korea’s ancient past and immediate present at once.

This exhibition is organized by and paintings are on loan from The Korea Society, New York.

Haeri Yoo (Korean, born 1970) Paper Deep (detail), 2009, acrylic and mixed media on board, Panel A: 8 x 16 feet