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"A Beggar Woman" & "A Homeless Woman"Kimsooja
Artist Kimsooja reflects on her series of videotaped performances—A Beggar Woman and A Homeless Woman (both 2000–01)—realized in cities around the world: Cairo, Delhi, Lagos, and Mexico City.
More information and creditsCredits
Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Susan Sollins. Camera: Richard Numeroff. Sound: Merce Williams. Editor: Lizzie Donahue & Paulo Padilha. Artwork Courtesy: Kimsooja.
Closed captions
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Kimsooja’s videos and installations blur the boundaries between aesthetics and transcendent experience through their use of repetitive actions, meditative practices, and serial forms. In many pieces, everyday actions—such as sewing or doing laundry—become two- and three-dimensional or performative activities. Central to her work is the “bottari,” a traditional Korean bed cover used to wrap and protect personal belongings, which Kimsooja transforms into a philosophical metaphor for structure and connection. While striking for their vibrant color and density of imagery, Kimsooja’s works emphasize metaphysical changes within the artist-as-performer as well as the viewer.
“And I suddenly felt so vulnerable, and realized that I had become a real beggar now. And I couldn’t stop crying from that moment.”
Kimsooja
Performance
Carrie Mae Weems
Artwork Survey: 2000s
Kimsooja