작업 소개

이 컬렉션은 ‘아시아의 사진’ 아카이빙 프로젝트의 한국에 관한 자료 컬렉션 중 하나이다. 이 프로젝트는 한국의 원로 사진가들의 생애사에 대한 구술을 기록하는 것으로, 이를 통해 한국 사진사의 부족한 서술을 보충하고자 하였다. 사진 활동의 중심이 되었던 서울 지역 주류 사진계의 주요 인물들에 대해서는 상당수가 정리되고 있는 반면, 사진계에 충분한 자료를 남기지 못했거나, 서울 이외의 지역 사진가들은 상대적으로 여력이 미치지 못하고 있는 현실에 주목하였다. 따라서 예술사진 영역이 아닌, 실용적 영역에서 활동했거나, 지역에서 활동한 사진작가들을 적극적으로 포괄하였다.

정정회 구술사
Oral history Cheung Jung Hoi

강봉규 구술사
Oral history Kang Bong-gyu

김한용 구술사
Oral history Kim Han yong

임정의 구술사
Oral history Lim Chung-eui

‘아시아의 사진’은 사진을 통해 아시아 각국의 근현대사를 조망하는 컬렉션으로 아시아 사회, 정치 및 문화를 기록한 4명의 사진들과 사진가들의 구술 채록 자료들로 구성되어 있다. 사진은 아시아가 근현대를 거쳐 오면서 사회와 문화를 기록해 온, 전통적으로 가장 중요한 매체였다. 수십 년 전의 도시 공간, 건물, 공장, 광고사진, 보도사진은 이제 사실성을 전달하는 임무에서 벗어나 당시 문화와 역사를 기록한 시대상의 보고로 인식되고 있다. 수집된 컬렉션은 일제강점기, 해방, 한국전쟁 등 근대의 격변을 담고 있는 중요한 자원이 될 것이다. 또한 원로 사진가들의 생애사 구술 채록 영상은 생생한 증언을 통해 사진 기록의 서사적 공백을 보완해 줄 것이다. 향후 대만, 중국, 일본, 인도네시아 등 아시아 전역으로 수집 범위를 확장하여 아시아 문화 연구의 중요한 자원으로 활용될 것이다.

출처 : 국립아시아문화전당 ‘아시아 문화예술 전문 주제 아카이브 전시’’ 中 ‘아시아의 사진’ 전시 소개글

It was 1959 when I first met Kyungmo Lee. I met him as I started working for the Honam Shinmun (newspaper). He covered the Yeosoon Rebellion, Jeju Uprising, and the Korean War. He made records of all the atrocities. Mr. Lee had a great talent in journalism photography. I had an interest in the camera while being taught by Mr. Lee.

The April 19 Revolution happened because of the election fraud on March 15. The president Syngman Rhee resigned after the revolution.. It was sparked after the news covered that Ju-yeol Kim was found dead. I was on the side of the students with a sense of righteousness. I was at the front of the demonstration because the police was so violent to the students.
Jungjuha : You did so as a journalist?
KangBong-gyu : Yes, as a journalist. I took photos with a wide angle lens and captured the faces of police troops. And there was the YMCA building in front of the newspaper’s headquarters. There was a small exhibition space in the building and I exhibited my photos there.

Jung juha : What kind of photos did you exhibit?
Kang Bong-gyu : Photos of the police violence. When the martial law was announced, the owner of the newspaper tried to keep me in the office. He held me in the arm because I always went out with my camera. He told me that I would be shot. I saw students being shot and falling down. I ran up to a building. I took photos from there. I didn’t miss anything. That’s how I recorded the revolution only with a sense of just. It happened in the midst of bullets.

Jung juha : Did the exhibition happen after the revolution?

Kang Bong-gyu : No, it was during the revolution. Well, there were three strong high schools that led the demonstrations in Gwangju. Before they start, they always called the head of the photo department of Jeonnam Ilbo (newspaper).

Jung juha : Who made those phone calls?

Kang Bong-gyu : The students did. They raised me up like this when I went to the demonstrations.

Jung juha : Did they put you up on their shoulders?

Kang Bong-gyu : Yes, they did.

Jung juha : So, you had a good relationship with them.

Kang Bong-gyu : Sure I did, since I defended them. With me there, the police couldn’t beat them with clubs, And I publicized them. I felt like I was an important figure of justice.

Jung juha : What was the position of your newspaper company?

Kang Bong-gyu : They pretty much liked it. The Honam Shinmun experienced a boost in sales. Other newspapers could not catch up with Jeonnam Ilbo.

The important function of journalism photography is its ability of recording. It is really important to have artistic value, too. Journalism photography is not just about showing cruel, disgusting, or violent things. Only the Korean newspapers focus on them. It’s a fault of the editorial desk.

For example, we haven’t seen any disgusting photo about the Japanese Tsunami, or the Sarin gas attack happened in Tokyo. The Japanese attitude is to take an image of a cat going across the crime scene after the deadly gas is gone. They do not agitate people even when someone is dying. They don’t publicize any image that raises a sense of disgust. I think that journalism photography is not about showing cruel images. I strongly think that a journalist is also an artist. One should consider the aesthetics.

It is not good to have too much distaste and cruelty. That was my philosophy. Then the photos were convincing. They were not about cruel subjects. Even when I took a landscape photo, it was important to analyze subjects and create new forms in a unique way. This is very important. That figurative quality can draw certain empathy from people. The same applies to journalism photography. For example, we had a train accident. People took a lot of photos about people suffering. None of the images were used in the end. Only the faces of the dead were publicized. We have to compete in the good things. There’s no need to produce useless things. It can be valuable as a record, but that would be too cruel for readers.

The idea of creating an international biennale, the late Young-joong Kim initiated the idea that Seoul would host a biennale, managed by the art association in Seoul. It would focus on the art of Asia. He told me about this idea, and I suggested him that Gwangju would host the biennale. I didn’t know well about the biennale. Only that it would happen every two years. I went to meet the mayor of Gwangju and suggested him to host it. I told him to host a biennale of Asia. But he was ahead of me, suggesting to host a global biennale.

Jung juha : Who was the mayor then?

Kang Bong-gyu : It was Woon Tae Kang. He was full of passion. He established a plan just in six months, then started working with me. Then, some people suspected us that the biennale was to dilute the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. But I was the first one to say, “Let’s make the May 18 spirit go global.”

“Biennale is a way to do it.” But some people just opposed my suggestion. The universities were the first ones to react. …and the Minjung Misul (people’s art) artists. They put up tens of thousands of funeral odes in the May 18 park as a protest. I pushed forward, despite the opposition. Then I invited an artist. It was Nam June Paik, for the first Gwangju Biennale. 1,860 thousand people visited the biennale, which was the biggest number ever in Gwangju. It was unprecedented. I asked a middle school student at the exit of the exhibition to check the reception of the visitors. The student said it was entertaining. Then I thought it was a success. That comment gave me a sense of conviction. I also organized the first Luminarie in Korea while serving the president of the Korean Peoples’ Artists Federation. I gathered the presidents of May 18 organizations, and there were 28 of them. Everyone agreed with my opinion about soothing the wound and making the streets in the city center as a more pleasant place. It was the first time to hold a street festival in the country. Even in Seoul, there was no festival that used the entire street. We invited 36 teams from all over the country. The number of performers was about 3,000. Since the May 18 street in the city center left wounds to the citizens, I wanted to transform it into a street a pleasant place.

The organizing committee of the Seoul Olympics hasselected my work. The selection was done by Sejik Park, the chair of the committee. It was about the theme of Korean people’s hometown. It was to be used as a PR image for the Olympics. However, my work was not selected at the end. We can talk about the problems of the culture here in this country. These are the photos about people’s hometown. The chair of the committee decided to buy my photography book about this theme. An emergency meeting took place with the Blue House, the military intelligence, and the public relations department. It was pointed out that there were ‘dark’images. They concluded that those images would distort Korea’s image. And asked me to change seven photos in my book. I asked, “Why do you think these images are gloomy? “This is how people live their lives. To be poor is not a sin. So I declined the offer.

Luckily enough, “The Home of Korean People” was listed as the recommended book by the cultural ministry. This photo thus reminds me of fresh memories. As you know, my work is mostly about people’s lives. Our ancestors’ modesty, diligence, curiosity, and earnestness are carried by all of us. We are very emotional. We are artistic in doing events. I regard them as artistic. I don’t disregard them. Even a dog house is an installation art. The same applies to a henhouse. Even our mothers and the tools for making rice cakes, I see certain aesthetic beauty and mastery in there. I always try to observe the home of people. Photography is a discovery of subjects from observation. . Photography is about constructing the new figure by reorganizing the subjects through one’s own mind. I never took any photo without much consideration.I alway think beforehand.

My photography book was a failure. I had to have enough knowledge about the shape of the head of Koreans. I had to do a research about the regional difference. There was a limitation in visiting old people merely depending on my impression. I talked with Yong-sun Cho, an academic who studies the face of Koreans. I told him that I worked upon my impression that certain faces are from certain regions. For example, I met different from different provinces. There are so many people in Seoul, so I decided to meet the royal family. It worked to some extent, but it wasn’t that satisfactory. I recognized the limitation and suspended the project. One has to have enough knowledge to work on a certain subject. Observation is a way to research. I put the capacity of recording as the primary function of photography. The artistic value is added upon the capacity of recording. Create photography that is alive. Create photography that only you can create. As Henri Cartier-Bresson has told, create photography with philosophy. That’s all I want to say.