IKS Lecture: Soyoung Lee, "Defining 'Korea': Case Studies in Ceramics, in East Asian Context"

The Institute for Korean Studies presents:

"Defining 'Korea': Case Studies in Ceramics, in East Asian Context"

Soyoung Lee
Harvard Art Museums

Abstract: This lecture explores case studies of artistic influence and reception in East Asia, centering the ceramics of Korea ranging from 12^th-century celadon to 15^th-century punch’ŏng ware to 19^th-century blue-and-white porcelain. Collectors and museums in the West began in earnest to take notice of Korean ceramics in the early 20^th-century, especially for their perceived distinctive qualities vis-à-vis Chinese and Japanese counterparts. This differentiation or uniqueness continues to be the defining contextualization for appreciating Korean ceramics. Yet the most interesting and compelling layers of the rich history of Korean ceramics—and cultural history more broadly—are arguably the points of cross-cultural intersection, of how influence and reception unfold within the East Asian contexts. And a coda: how have modern and contemporary artists responded to this history?

Download the PDF flyer here.

Soyoung Lee is Chief Curator at the Harvard Art Museums, where she oversees the museums’ exhibitions program and the curatorial vision and strategy for its collections. She also directs the Art Museums’ training program of curatorial, conservation, and education fellows. Lee’s areas of expertise and research interests include Korean and Japanese ceramics from 1400-1900, issues of cross-cultural exchanges in East Asia, and contemporary Asian art. Prior to Harvard, Lee was the curator for Korean art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has curated, authored, and lectured across a range of topics in Korean and East Asian culture. Lee received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University.