Crazy Multiply!
Crazy Multiply is an art collective based in Seoul, Korea that promotes contemporary Korean and international artists.
They aim to bring artists and musicians together and explore different themes in a variety of mediums. According to Amy Smith, one of the founders and curators, Crazy Multiply started from a desire to show their own work. A friend departing Korea wanted to have an art show before departure and a roommate suggested paring it with some music and thus an idea was born. The first few shows went so well, Amy Smith along with Olivia McNair and Laura MacDonald chose a name and the collective was established in the hopes that they could make it easier for artists to show their work and meet other artists in the area.
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“The name sort of came by accident last year while we were talking about medical terms for the show that we were organizing,” explains Olivia. “Someone mentioned something that related to cancer and it reminded me of how cancer is described in French la mitose en folie and at the time I tried to describe it’s meaning and ended up with “crazy multiply”. Later when it came time to name ourselves as a group, “crazy multiply” came back up. The meaning has changed from the first time though, to us it’s about multiplying art, multiplying music, multiplying, multiplying, multiplying.”
There is no set schedule for the shows and according to Amy happen more organically as the mood strikes. “They happen when we get excited about exploring a particular idea and when we feel like we have a strong group of pieces to show.” Art is combined with music in a party style in the hopes that those in attendance will not just spectate but will also become involved. The November show encompassed all of these things under the title of Run Off The Mill with works centered around inventions. The collective brought together works by Hallie Bradley, Brian Churchman, Tony Clavelli, Lyndsay Gallivan, Martin Hynes, Olivia McNair, Laura MacDonald and Amy Smith combined them with music provided by local bands The Makoli Men, Henry Demos, Lions on the Beach and Cat Navy and to really get the party started there was craft beer provided by Seoul Homebrew. All of the elements were covered and the art show, music concert, party went off without a hitch.
Crazy Multiply doesn’t aim to give people the traditional gallery experience but instead hopes to provide a different way to enjoy art. They’ve had shows where attendees could grab a marker and make art, a show where a mural on one entire wall was started and finished throughout the show and the show in November provided interactive art. They provide a platform for those that enjoy talking and analyzing artwork as well as space for those that want to enjoy art and dance the night away.
Future plans for the collective include expanding the kind of art shown, reaching wider audiences, connecting with more artists and facilities and fostering more collaborations between artists and musicians as well as providing more performance based work. The collective is a not for profit group that hopes to be able to pay for not only the gallery space in the future, but also pay for all of the show expenses and cover the cost of making the art. The women are open to suggestions and proposals and hope that more people will reach out to them as they reach out to artists in Seoul to continue producing great collaborations in shows to come.
In January, Crazy Multiply will have a special art auction and night of music to raise money for the Support Scott Jones Foundation. Scott Jones taught, lived and sang his way through Seoul in 2013 and shortly after he returned to Canada was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of an act of violence. To keep up with what the collective is getting into in the future be sure to follow them on their Facebook page CrazyMultiply ArtCollective.
