In Songdo International City, Korea's burgeoning architectural center, an eye-catching building has finally been opened. Shaped like three 'rice bowls' attached together, the 'Tri-Bowl' is a unique concept for a cultural and artistic space.
This building, built to celebrate the 2009 Incheon Global Fair & Festival, has been built on a total of 2764m² of land with three floors above ground and one underground. It is located next to Central Park Station Exit #4 in 24-6 Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City (approximately 12,300m²). The exterior wall of the Tri-Bowl has been covered with aluminum to provide urban sophistication. The three bowls shapes represent the 'sky (airport)', 'sea (port)', and 'land (metropolitan traffic network). Additionally, they represent 'Songdo (business)', 'Cheongna (leisure)', and 'Yeongjong (logistics)'.
A concert hall, which can hold up to 500 people for musicals and concerts with a grand exhibition hall (event hall) with the second and third floors combined, has been established.
The Tri-Bowl appears to be floating on water as it is erected 18.8m high in the middle of the waterside area (width 90m, length 50.5m). All spectators can access the building by a low bridge.
The Tri-Bowl, which creates an architectural harmony with nearby high-rise buildings and evokes the look of a city of the future, provides a thrill with its brilliant and unique shining lights at night.
Global Man, Global City
Avant-garde artist Paik Nam-june's art pieces are exhibited in the most anti-form cultural space. To celebrate the opening of the Tri-Bowl, a special exhibition by the pioneer of video art, the late Paik Nam June, 'Global Man - Global City' has been held for 87 days from the 23rd of last month until July 18th.
Total 43 works will be displayed in this exhibition, including two large pieces of video equipment, 10 video pieces, 10 picture·drawing pieces, 12 of Paik's performance photographs by Lim Young-kyun, nine single channel video pieces, and more.
The most eye-catching of all is the 'turtle', which is a mega size video art piece, composed of 166 TV monitors 10m wide and 6m long. The piece creates the illusion of a live turtle moving freely. 'M 200/Video Wall', made of 94 TV monitors, shows videos of Mozart, John Cage, Joseph Beuys, and others.
Also, other art pieces in the exhibit include 'TV bed' featuring Charlotte Moorman's performance, 'Joseph Beuys' featuring the embodied shape of the German Avant-garde artist, 'Chandelier' featuring a new type of collage made of chandeliers, TV, and natural materials. 4 'Neon TV' series pieces that meet up surprisingly at the visitor circulation area create a poetic and sentimental ambiance.
Additionally, many other sensational art pieces are available. Such as 'Beuys/Vox' composed of props, prints, and more, that can help the viewer get the feel for Paik's Nam-june wit, humor and gifted artistic sensibilities. The admission fee is 5,000 won for adults / 3,000 won for college students / 2,500 won for middle-high school students. (032-440-7853)
