작업 소개

1917년, 조선 왕조를 거치며 가장 오랜 시간 왕실의 공간이었던 창덕궁이 화재로 일부 전소되었다. 훼손된 창덕궁을 재건하기 위해 경복궁 일부 건물을 헐어 옮기고는 희정당, 대조전, 경훈각을 복구하고, 궁중을 장식하기 위한 벽화들도 한국화가들의 손에 의해 다시 그려졌다.

촬영을 위한 답사로 경훈각 행각에 들어서는 순간, 양 옆으로 늘어선 창문 사이로 서늘한 공기가 느껴졌다. 미로처럼 이어진 복도를 걸으니 마치 시간을 거스르는 듯하였다. 복도 끝을 지나 경훈각에 들어서자 1920년에그려진 삼선관파도三仙觀波圖와 조일선관도朝日仙觀圖가 어스름하게 눈에 들어왔다. 100여년의 시간을 버텨온그림은 궁의 어둠과 하나가 되어 있었다. 감히 불을 밝힐 수 없었다. 어떤 빛이 100여년의 어둠을 관통할 수 있을까.

조심스럽지만 호기심 어린 빛으로, 부드럽지만 강직한 빛으로, 강렬하게 타오르는 불꽃같은 빛으로, 대한제국의 마지막 궁중 회화를 담았다.

In 1917, a fire ravaged Changdeokgung Palace, one of the longest-standing royal spaces in the Joseon Dynasty. To restore the damaged palace, parts of Gyeongbokgung Palace were demolished and relocated, and Huijeongdang, Daejojeon, and Gyeonghun-gak were rebuilt. Additionally, murals to decorate the palace were repainted by Korean artists.

During a scouting trip for filming, as I entered the hallway of Gyeonghun-gak, I felt a cool breeze through the windows lining both sides. Walking through the labyrinth-like corridor felt as though I was moving through time. Upon passing the end of the corridor and entering Gyeonghun-gak, I was greeted by the faint images of Samseonggwanpado (Three Immortals Viewing the Waves) and Joilseonggwanddo (Sunrise Immortals Viewing the Landscape), both painted in 1920. The paintings, which had endured over a hundred years, seemed to blend with the darkness of the palace. I dared not light a candle. What kind of light could penetrate over a hundred years of darkness?

With a cautious yet curious light, a soft yet strong light, and a flame-like light blazing brightly, I captured the last royal court paintings of the Korean Empire.

창덕궁 부벽화 주제 미디어아트
대한제국의 마지막 궁중회화, 빛으로 담다
이미지 (3채널 비디오. 4채널 사운드. 15분 30초)

Changdeokgung Palace “Bubyeokhwa” Thematic Media Art (The “Bubyeokhwa” technique involves painting on silk and attaching it to walls for decoration or storytelling.)
Art of the Korean Empire-The Emergence of Modern Art
Lee Meejee (3-channel video, 4-channel sound, 15 minutes 30 seconds)

* 이 영상은 57STUDIO 웹사이트 내에서만 재생 가능합니다.
* This video can only be played on the 57STUDIO website.

The Historical Site Connecting the Joseon Dynasty, Japanese Colonial Era, and the Republic of Korea: Changdeokgung Palace

After a fire in Changdeokgung Palace in 1917 destroyed the inner palace area, the restoration work, which took three years, was completed. The newly restored Daijojeon, Huijeongdang, and Gyeonghunjeong halls were adorned with large-scale murals. Despite the Japanese colonial period, these murals were created by Joseon-era artists under the will of Emperor Sunjong, and the themes of the murals were based on traditional Joseon painting subjects.

Oh Ilyoung and Lee Yongwoo, Bonghwang in Daejojeon Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 214 x 578 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

The paintings of White Cranes and Mythical Birds Bonghwang decorate the left and right walls of the central parlor in Daejoseon Hall above the doors that lead to the bedrooms of the king and a queen. In particular, the painting of mythical birds, known as bonghwang, colorfully but delicately depicts ten bonghwang accompanied by the sea, clouds, the sun, a waterfall, rocks, paulownia trees, bamboo, orchids, and peonies. This painting is a collaborative work of two young graduates of the Calligraphy and Painting Society, namely Oh Ilyoung and Lee Yongwoo. At the time, Yi was not yet twenty years old. In the left section of the painting, a red sun rises in the sky with propitious clouds above a boundless ocean. This painting serves as a counterpart to the White Cranes painting with a night scene on the left wall in terms of themes and the placement of objects.

Kim Eunho, White Cranes in Daejojeon Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 214 x 578 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

This masterpiece created by Kim Eunho (1892–1979) in his late twenties faithfully follows traditional painting techniques and themes for royal decorative painting. Placed above the door to the left room of the central parolor in Daejojeon Hall, the painting colorfully depicts sixteen white cranes in a harmony with stony mountains, mountain streams, and pine trees under bright moonlight. In several spots around the painting are auspicious plants, including bamboo, lingzhi mushroom, and peonies, all of which represent a wish for immortality. It nicely synchronizes with the Mythical Birds Bonghwang painting on the opposite side.

Kim Kyujin, Superb Landscape of Chongseokjeong Pavilion in Huijeongdang Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 205.1 x 883 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

Huijeongdang Hall served as the office of Emperor Sunjong, and this mural painting within it was produced at the direction of the emperor as he pursued a “pure Korean style.” This work was a rare example for its time of an overwhelmingly grand-scale painting using vivid and deep colors. Moreover, it was an unusual work for Kim Kyujin (1868–1933) who was known as a calligrapher and mainly painted landscapes and bamboo in ink. Kim had traveled to Geumgangsan Mountain twice in 1919, and after being commissioned to create a mural painting for Huijeongdang Hall in the early summer of 1920, he revisited Geumgangsan and Chongseokjeong Pavilion to make sketches. Based on these, he completed this enormous painting. In it, Kim portrays a panoramic view seen from Chongseokjeong Pavilion and from a small boat. It is astounding that working alone he could complete this gigantic painting in a just few months.

No Suhyeon, Rising Sun in Gyeonghungak Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 194.9 × 524.5 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

Gyeonghungak Hall was originally a two-story building with blue roof tiles, but after being destroyed in a fire, it was rebuilt with just a single story. On the walls above the doors that lead to the left and right rooms off of the central hall are two masterpieces based on Chinese legends, Rising Sun and Three Daoist Immortals Watching the Waves, by No Suhyeon (1899–1978). In the right section of the Rising Sun, four cranes soar above a red sun, mountains, and seas. The harmony between the rocky mountains and valleys in their bizarre forms, changes in light and shades of green and blue, and pine trees in dark colors add splendor to the painting. The buildings and waves in between the mountains are depicted rather conventionally.

Kim Kyujin, Kim Kyujin, Picturesque Landscape of the Myriad Things on Geumgangsan Mountain in Huijeongdang Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 205.1 x 883 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

Geumgangsan, a sacred mountain in Korea, has been a popular theme for painting since the eighteenth century. In the modern era, it became a famous scenic spot frequented by both Korean and foreign visitors. This painting of a magnificent view of Geumgangsan and Chongseokjeong Pavilion was produced by Kim Kyujin to decorate Huijeongdang Hall, which served as Emperor Sunjong’s office and a space for welcoming foreign envoys. It reflected the tastes of Emperor Sunjong who wished for a mural painting in a “pure Korean style.” While traveling Mt. Geumgangsan in 1919, Kim contributed a travel essay to a newspaper and published a travelogue entitled A Song of a Journey to Geumgangsan Mountain. He devoted himself to creating this mural painting for Huijeongdang Hall by revisiting Geumgangsan and Chongseokjeong the following summer. The original drafts created during his visit remain intact. The finished product, however, depicts scenery in fall rather than summer. This painting is an unusual work for Kim Kyujin who mainly produced calligraphy and literati-style paintings of bamboo in ink.

Lee Sangbeom, Three Daoist Immortals Watching the Waves in Gyeonghungak Hall of Changdeokgung Palace, 1920, color on silk, 194.9 × 524.5 cm, National Palace Museum of Korea

Composing a pair with Rising Sun, this painting by Lee Sangbeom (1897–1972) presents grand mountain valleys at sunset using light green tones. Although the Calligraphy and Painting Society was a modern educational institution, students still studied traditional literati-style painting in ink. It must certainly have been difficult for young painters in their twenties such as Lee Sangbeom to obtain a chance to draw a decorative painting with deep colors on a large picture frame like the wall of Changdeokgung Palace. The anecdote of the three immortals bragging about their age has its origin in Dongpa zhilin (Journey and Miscellany of Su Dongpo) by Su Shi, a famous Northern Song Dynasty scholar.

전시 소개 글
Exhibition Introduction

19세기 말에서 20세기 초에 이르는 고종高宗(1852-1919)과 순종純宗(1874-1926) 시기는 대한제국이 멸망하고 일제에 의해 강점이 시작됐던 때로 암흑기로 여겨져 왔다. 그러나 최근 학계의 노력 속에 대한제국에 대한 역사적 평가 역시 점차 재위치를 찾아가고 있다. 사실 대한제국은 근대적 국가로 나아가기 위한 치열한 모색을 하고 있었으며, 고종은 그 한가운데서 고군분투하고 있었다는 것이다. 이 시기에 대한 평가는 아직도 현재진행형이지만 어려운 정치적, 사회적 여건 속에서도 한민족이 근대로 나아가는 중요한 기점이었다는 것만큼은 주지할만한 사실이다. 그간 대한제국 시기의 미술에 대한 해석이나 평가도 역사에서와 마찬가지로 긍정적이지 못했다. 상황적인 불가피성 속에 서구와 일본의 영향을 무차별적으로 수용했으며, 이러한 와중에 조선 시대의 유구하고 우수한 미술의 전통마저 급격히 쇠퇴한 것으로 인식돼 왔던 것이다. 그러나 실상 대한제국은 과거 미술의 전통을 지키고자 노력하는 한편, 여기에 외부의 새로운 요소들을 수혈함으로써 새로운 개량을 꾀하고 있었다. 대한제국의 미술과 시각문화에 있어서 이러한 일련의 변화들은 광범위하게 나타났지만, 다른 어느 곳보다도 고종의 의향을 즉각적이고도 적극적으로 반영했던 것은 바로 궁중미술이다. 궁중회화에서 보이는 다양한 표현방식의 변화, 사진이라는 새로운 장르의 등장과 부상, 이로 인한 시각문화의 변동, 그리고 수공업의 산업공예와 예술공예로의 분화와 전환, 예술가적 화가의 대두 등 일련의 현상들은 대한제국기가 근대 미술의 토대가 놓였던 미술사적으로 매우 유의미한 시대였음을 알려준다. 이번 전시는 대한제국 시기의 회화, 사진, 공예 등 다양한 장르를 총체적으로 아우른 첫 번째 전시로 이후 한국 근대 미술을 체계적으로 조명하기 위한 기반이 되기를 기대한다.

출처 : 국립현대미술관

전시 작품 개요
Exhibition Overview

1. 창덕궁 내부 벽화의 역사적 배경과 의미를 조명하는 전시 작품의 영상 촬영

2. 실제 부벽화를 전시할 수 없는 현실적 한계를 고려하여, 촬영의 스케일과 디테일 효과를 활용해 관객들에게 부벽화의 실재감을 효과적으로 전달

3. 사극이나 드라마에서 소비된 궁의 익숙한 이미지에서 벗어나, 조명 효과를 활용하여 궁의 내·외부를 감각적이고 새로운 시각으로 조망하고, 대한제국 미술품을 통해 당시 시대상을 재조명

4. ‘구본신참(舊本新參)’: 과거의 가치를 기반으로 새로운 것을 창조한다는 개념을 반영하여, 관람객이 한 공간에서 과거와 현재를 동시에 경험할 수 있도록 구성

1. Filming of exhibition works focusing on the historical background and significance of the wall paintings inside Changdeokgung Palace

2. Considering the practical limitations of displaying actual Bubyeokhwa, the scale and detailed effects of the filming were used to effectively convey the sense of reality of the Bubyeokhwa to the audience.

3. Breaking away from the familiar images of the palace seen in period dramas and historical series, the exhibition utilizes lighting effects to offer a sensory and fresh perspective of the interior and exterior of the palace, while reinterpreting the era through the artworks of the Korean Empire.

4. ‘Gubon Sincham’ (Old text, new interpretation): Reflecting the concept of creating something new based on the value of the past, the exhibition allows the audience to experience both the past and present in the same space.

작업 노트
Work Notes

전시 도록
Exhibition Catalogue