the traditional craft techniques of korea reflections on intangible

ICOM General Conference >no. 2 > 2004 ICOM NEWS

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> In celebration of the ICOM General Conference, the National ScienceMuseum of Korea will invite craftsmen working with traditional Korean tech-niques, to demonstrate how traditional artefacts are made. These will includemaking celadon porcelain (using an inlaying technique), creating the traditio-nal Korean wagon wheel, making metal items on a blacksmith's forge, leather

inlaying, metal inlaying and making natural dyes. These activities will takeplace on the central square of the National Science Museum from 1 Octoberto 17 October 2004, in order to give participants at the General Conferencethe chance to experience and understand the unique Korean approach to theworld and the great technical expertise of the Korean people.> Under the Cultural Properties Protection Act, the Korean Governmentidentifies and protects intangible cul-tural property such as music, dance,theatre and sports, because theseare valuable cultural assets even ifthey do not take material form. Todate, 108 elements of this preciousintangible cultural heritage havebeen inventoried. 43 of these arebrass or white brass ornaments,musical instruments and mother-of-pearl works in the domain of indus-trial technology. > Several characteristicallyKorean techniques will be demons-trated. The technique of inlayingconsists of engraving a line or an

Korea’s exceptional

c r a f t t r a d i t i o n s ,

which illustrate the vita-

lity of the intangible

knowledges and skills

passed down from gene-

ration to generation, pro-

vide a valuable context to the debates on

“Museums and Intangible Heritage” which will

take place at ICOM 2004 Seoul

The traditional craft techniques of Koreab y H u n - G y u L e eDirector, National Science Museum

Putting the iron frame on

the wagon wheel

© National Science

Museum of Korea

heritage is meaningful for members of modern society, how it relates tomigrant multi-cultural groups or the inhabitants of cities without his-tory such as are described by city specialists, and how it relates or doesnot relate to mainstream society.> If we emphasise the vitality of heritage, we will realise the impor-tant challenges museums are faced with. Community museums andecomuseums were closer to the everyday, ordinary life of society, andwere as a result more sensitive to intangible heritage and to the waysin which it could be understood.> Steps have already been taken towards new forms of expressionand new responsibilities in museums. Nevertheless, one of the biggestchallenges we must face in the future is to learn how to comprehendwithout immobilising, so that museums may become a space of “recrea-tion” that allows conscious or unconscious exchanges between indivi-duals possessing different types of heritage. In the past, museumschanged and developed by recognising and promoting their educationalresponsibilities and, subsequently, their responsibility towards thepublic. Maybe today we will witness a new phase in the evolution of themuseum, in which it will make space for different communities toexpress themselves and will function as a forum for reflection.

Contact: Yani Herreman, Av. Contreras n° 475, Col. San Jerónimo Lidice,C.P. 10200 México 18, D.F. Mexico.Tel. (+52) 5 595 1899 - Fax (+52) 5 668 0279Email: kanori@data.net.mx

U NESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the IntangibleCultural Heritage has raised a number of extremely interesting

questions. It is now impossible to talk about intangible heritage withoutalso addressing issues as important as identity, appropriation, multi-culturalism, tradition, cultural environment and trans-culturalism.> These issues, which are usually studied by anthropologists andsociologists, are now also being addressed by architects and planners,and more recently by museologists. > In the collection of essays Mutations (Actar, 2003 – in English,French and Spanish), experts such as Rem Koolhaas present a view ofidentity and of the intangible heritage associated with this term, thatdiffers markedly from the “Romantic” vision. The contributors writeabout cities that have lost their history or cities that were born withoutone. The concept of identity, extremely complex in itself, is renderedeven more difficult nowadays by world-wide migration, which is grea-ter than ever. Moreover, a hallmark of our contemporary society is theinterdependence of the global and the local, which we are called uponto interpret.> UNESCO defines intangible heritage as follows: “The “intangiblecultural heritage” means the practices, representations, expressions,knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts andcultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and,in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”.> In this context, museums inhabit multiple universes and face newchallenges, possibilities and limits. We need first and foremost to exa-mine the ways in which we can preserve and recreate intangible heri-tage in museums. We also need to determine in what ways intangible

Reflections on Intangible Heritage b y Ya n i H e r r e m a nVice-President of ICOM

Inta

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11< ICOM General ConferenceICOM NEWS no. 2 > 2004

area on an object, for example furniture, and inserting other material there,which gives a heightened ornamental effect. Inlaying contributes to the ove-rall form of ceramic objects and the brilliance of the glaze, as long as the tem-perature and degree of contraction are correctly controlled, and theconditions within the kiln closely regulated. This technique yields a very dis-tinctive style.> In the case of the traditional Korean wagon wheel, the size of thewheel and the number of spokes are essential to the balance and to main-taining momentum equally. Visitors can see with their own eyes how theaxles are made, which allow the wheel to move freely, and how the ironframe which surrounds the wheel is attached.> As for dyeing, the traditional process involves extraction of thecolours from plant roots, stems, leaves and flowers. The colours are pre-dominantly white, blue, yellow, red and black, in that order. These dyes donot pollute the environment because they are obtained directly from natu-ral sources. These traditional dyes are effective for mothproofing andconservation. Additionally, they do not provoke skin allergies.

> To summarise, these live demonstrations by Korean craftsmen oftraditional Korean techniques will introduce visitors to some unique tech-nical skills. The scientific and technological achievements of Korea havefor a long time been neglected by modern science, and this is an oppor-tunity to redress the balance, and showcase some of Korea’s rich intan-gible heritage.

Contact: Hun-Gyu LeeDirector, National Science MuseumDae deok Science Town, Daejeon305-705 Republic of KoreaTel. (+82) 42 601 7974 Fax (+82) 42 601 7975http://www.nsm.go.kr

View of the National Science

Museum, Seoul © National Science

Museum

To register for the ICOM General Conference 2004, please

visit the following Web page:

http://www.icom2004.org/registration.htm