The Watermill Center’s Scaler Lecture Series continues on Thursday, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. with a discussion with artist BG Muhn on “Contemporary North Korean Art: Complexity Within Simplicity.”

Art is huge in North Korea. The Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang is the largest government-supported art community in the world. Artists and artworks are highly regarded throughout the country.

But for the outside world, it remains an unexplored territory. Is there “art for art’s sake” in North Korea? Is all of the art produced there entirely propaganda and nothing else? How accurate is general perception of North Korean art in the West?

Professor Muhn will discuss the scope and variety of artistic expression of North Korean art and its meaning in the contemporary art world.

His firsthand research, including interviews of numerous artists, art historians and faculty members and students of the prestigious Pyongyang Art College, will culminate in his forthcoming book on the subject.

Click here to make a free reservation for BG Muhn’s lecture.

More information on the full lecture series is online here.