Daejeon artists celebrate 10.5 years with art, board games

Members of Daejeon Arts Collective (DJAC) pose at last fall's exhibition. / Courtesy of DJAC

By Jon Dunbar

The Daejeon Arts Collective (DJAC) is celebrating its 10.5th anniversary this week, with a multidisciplinary art exhibition at Igong Gallery from this Thursday to next Tuesday, and an open house on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The 13 participating artists come from both Korea and around the world, but all of them represent Daejeon or the vicinity. They're contributing diverse art, including paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics, mixed media, installation art and even one board game.

"The Daejeon Arts Collective began with an exhibition in the fall of 2011 for foreign artists," said Rosalie Knaack, the president of the DJAC. "That event quickly grew into a group of foreign and Korean artists working together to open the door to artistic expression. Most of our members are not professional artists. We are working and studying in Korea, but we all have a drive to create art. This exhibition, '10.5,' celebrates more than 10 years of this collective's drive toward creative expression."

Knaack came to Korea from San Antonio, Texas, in 2007, and for the past five years, she's been living in a village outside Daejeon. A ceramic and mixed media artist, she earned a master's degree in ceramic design at Kongju National University. According to her bio, over the last two years of the pandemic, while spending more time at home, she became more focused on objects found in her local environment. Her latest works reflect the shapes and textures around her. As well as contributing her art pieces to the DJAC exhibition, she's also gearing up for a solo event in September titled, "Impressions."

"Lotus" by Rosalie Knaack / Courtesy of Rosalie Knaack

Kevin Nickolai, an illustrator who also makes puzzles for The Korea Times' Foreign Community page, will be showing off a prototype of his board game creation, called "Blitzograms." Two players move around a game board that resembles a word search, rolling the dice to determine the length of words they can spell as they move. "It works a lot like Boggle, in that you make words from jumping from letter-to-letter by spelling through adjacent squares," he told The Korea Times. "But it also works a lot like Yahtzee in that there are certain word lengths and letters that you are required to hit before the game is over."

Kevin Nickolai demonstrates "Blitzograms," his board game prototype. / Courtesy of Kevin Nickolai

Joining the exhibition will also be Wil Pertz, a freelance composer from the U.S. who mixes elements of the classical music tradition with current forms of technology, and throws in random elements of chaos.

"Wil Pertz is my favorite artist to collaborate with," Nickolai said. "He always brings a high level of expertise to any sound or musical element in a piece. He pushes strongly against anything that smacks of the traditional and demands you bring your own focus and interpretation to his work. He is a very giving contributor and is always willing to add his composition to other artists' pieces to bring new life into the work.

Pertz will contribute an interactive sound and visual installation to the event, which Nickolai described as a "sort of human theremin-like construction."

"The presence of visitors interacts with the visuals being displayed, which in turn affects the sound," Nickolai said. "A bizarre feature of this work is that it will be titled when a random person blurts out the title at the event."

Nickolai also said he's excited to see mixed media artist Christopher Maslon present images related to cemeteries, catacombs, coffins and an antique Victorian fireplace clock.

"Maslon's art has shifted from bright pop-art screen printing in his earlier years toward the shadowy and intricate world of the dead," Nickolai said. "He brings a high amount of energy into these exhibits and is the group's best welcoming committee. I love Christopher's enthusiasm not just for the art but also the process of creating his work. He is more than happy to share with you every step of his journey and give you the keys to making your own creative pieces with his techniques."

An example of I.F. Haddock's street photography / Courtesy of Hank Haddock

The gallery will also feature the works of I.F. Haddock, a photographer who captures candid life on the streets of Korea. "His black-and-white film photography shows the grit and the beauty of urban life," the DJAC said in a statement. "I.F. seeks out subjects full of character. The grizzled old man on his bike. The gaggle of elderly women in their wildly patterned outfits. The grit and glitz of the city are evident in his unique eye."

Korean American artist Sunsook Han is contributing to mixed media art with a focus on watercolor and traditional Korean rice paper art. Her art reflects both her diverse life experiences, as well as her ongoing exploration of her Korean roots and the country's natural beauty.

A painting by Sunsook Han / Courtesy of Sunsook Han

The DJAC hosts exhibitions twice a year, in spring and fall, and has become an important element of the international community in Daejeon. Visit djartsco.org or fb.com/DaejeonArtsCollective for more information.