작업 소개

57STUDIO는 국립현대미술관의 열린강좌 프로그램 중 미술관 소장품 강좌 시리즈를 제작하였습니다. 윤범모 관장이 직접 작품을 설명하는 형식으로 구성하였으며, 실제 교육 현장에서 효과적인 학습 자료로 활용될 수 있도록 제작되었습니다. 또한, 어느 장면을 캡처하더라도 교육 자료로서의 기능이 충실히 전달될 수 있도록 화면을 구성하였습니다. 이 시리즈는 작가 12명의 작품을 조명하며, 매주 수요일 YouTube LIVE를 통해 공개되었습니다.

57STUDIO produced the Museum Collection Lecture Series as part of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s (MMCA) open lecture program. The series was structured in a format where Director Yoon Bum-mo personally explains each artwork, ensuring its effectiveness as a valuable educational resource for use in learning environments.

The videos were designed so that every frame could function as an informative material, regardless of where it was captured. This series highlights the works of 12 artists and was released weekly via YouTube LIVE every Wednesday.

Lee Insung, Kaiyu, 1932

Hello, I am Youn Bummo, the Director of MMCA. Today we will take a look at an artwork called Kaiyu, painted by artist Lee In-sung in 1932.

Lee In-sung (1912-1950) was an artist who worked mainly in the Daegu region in the 1920s and 30s. Daegu was also the base for artist Seo Dong-jin (1900-1970), who was a renowned watercolor painter in the 1920s. Daegu Art Company, which Seo established to carry out general art sales and art education, produced artists such as Lee In-sung and Kim Yong-jo (1916-1944). Thus, Lee entered the new world of watercolors under the guidance of Seo Dong-jin. And the special genre called watercolors emerged as a new art language on the Daegu art scene during the 1920s.

The work Kaiyu was painted in April 1932, and has the artist’s signature in its lower right corner. Its most noticeable characteristic is that it is a watercolor painting of flowers. It was a significant work by Lee, who went on to make a name for himself with watercolors, befitting a Daegu artist. In 1932, Lee In-sung was just 20 years old. At that young age, he produced this superb work, well organized in composition, colors and other aspects. The work was also an award-winning piece at the Joseon Art Exhibition. His debut at this competitive exhibition at the age of 17 was an early sign of his genius. In the painting, we see five large white calla lilies at the back, with a red rose, a white rose and big leaves at center front. Though it is a simple composition without background, it fully demonstrates the artist’s skill. The overall style can be linked to that of the Impressionists, Cezanne in particular, making us recognize it as a rare example of the artist’s early works.

This piece is known to have been purchased by the Imperial household of Japan, and it is among the early works of Lee that recently were returned to Korea, after which it became part of the MMCA collection. During the colonial era, there were no particular arenas in which art professionals could work. In the absence of institutions such as art museums, art schools and galleries, the only opportunity for debut was the annual competition called the Joseon Art Exhibition, organized by the Japanese Government General. This meant that aspiring artists had no choice but to create their works on the basis of the Joseon Art Exhibition. If I were to mention a single star produced by the Joseon Art exhibition it would definitely be Lee In-sung. Lee manifested his artistic skills at this competition from a young age. When the Joseon Art Exhibition inaugurated its “recommended artist” program, Lee was the first to receive its benefits. He became a recommended artist when he was only 25.

He submitted some 33 works to the Exhibition, presenting his unique world of art. Meanwhile, Lee was also at the center of a major debate on the 1930s art scene, known as the “Joseon local color argument.” With the majority of judges for the Joseon Art Exhibition being academic Japanese artists, one of their guidelines for evaluation was that the participants should “paint the rural scenes of Joseon.” Therefore many artists at the time made landscape paintings of rural areas. Lee In-sung was no different. A typical characteristic of works in the 1920-30s was red soil. Lee also composed his landscape paintings showing large proportions of earth, particularly red soil, as he captured scenes in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, and the ancient city of Gyeongju, in realistic landscapes.

Those who were critical of the Joseon local color argument, maintained that artists portrayed pastoral, romantic rural life while ignoring the devastating reality, such as Kim Bok-jin. Besides rural landscapes, Lee In-sung also produced diverse and realistic still life paintings and figures. Following watercolors, he went on to cultivate his world of oils. Three representative masterpieces remain today. Among them is One Autumn Day, painted in the 1930s. One Autumn Day depicts a young woman and a girl standing naked in a field of diverse, flourishing plants. Their lack of clothing indicates summer, yet the background scene is that of fall. This seasonal discrepancy seems to have been intentional, aimed at staging a particular situation.

Another representative work is Mountain Valley of Gyeongju, which received the highest award at the Joseon Art Exhibition. It is a realistic portrayal of the Gyeongju landscape, with two boys standing in the woods. The older boy is taking a break from clearing land in the woods; the other carries a baby on his back. Roof tiles protrude from the ground, indicating that this is an ancient building site from the Shilla Dynasty. Along the distant mountain ridge we can see a structure resembling the shape of Cheomseongdae. In reality, that ancient observatory is not located on a mountain ridge. Such characteristics of spatial discrepancy are also thought to be the artist’s intentional staging of a particular space. Lee frequented Gyeongju, and was deeply influenced by the Shilla culture, which he often used as a theme for his work. Perhaps he was using Shilla as a metaphor of his sorrow for the loss of his country.

Another masterpiece was painted in 1944, during the last stage of the Japanese occupation. It is titled Sweetbrier. The painting shows two girls and a young woman standing on a beach, and again gives one the feeling of a staged image. The theme and purpose of the work are unclear; we do not know why the three have gathered on this seaside plane. Unfortunately, Lee departed this life early during the Korean War, due to a police shooting accident. He died at the young age of 38. Lee In-sung was the most popular artist of the early 20th century, and one of the pioneers of oil painting in Korea.