작업 소개

국립현대미술관 윤범모 관장이 들려주는 소장품 10분 강좌로, 작가 12명의 작품을 매주 수요일 Youtube LIVE 를 통해 공개하였다.

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10분 영상으로 만나는 소장품, 열린강좌 – 미술관소장품강좌
국립현대미술관 윤범모 관장이 들려주는 소장품 이야기

1. 오지호 Oh Jiho, 남향집 Sunny Place, 1939
2. 장욱진 Chang Ucchin, 마을 Village, 1956
3. 안중식 An CHoongsik, 산수 Landscape, 1912
4. 정찬영 Jung Chanyoung, 공작 Peacock, 1937
5. 이인성 Lee Insung, 카이유 Kaiyu, 1932
6. 최욱경 Choi Wook-Kyung, 환희 Joy, 1977

Jung Chanyoung, Peacock, 1937

Hello, I am Youn Bummo, the Director of MMCA. Today we will take a look at Peacock, a masterpiece by artist Jung Chanyoung. Jung Chanyoung was a woman artist of the 1930s who was especially proficient in traditional color painting. However, she has remained relatively unknown to the public, due to the small number of her remaining works, and the fact that she stopped working in later life. Nevertheless, I believe she is an important artist, a successor to the tradition of Korean color painting who achieved new developments in the genre during the 1930s.

Born in Pyeongyang in 1906, Jung had the opportunity to witness new culture. It is well known that in the first half of the 20th century, Pyeongyang and Daegu, as well as Seoul, were major centers of art. As a region that had accommodated the new Western civilization early on, Pyeongyang was also a center for the study of new forms of art. During the 1910s, artists such as Kim Kwanho and Kim Chanyoung, who had studied in Tokyo and begun a new tradition of oil painting in modern Korea, were from Pyeongyang. Jung’s teacher was Lee Youngil. He, too, was a proficient traditional color painter, but because he gave up his practice of art early, few of his works survive today.

Country Girl, a large masterpiece by Lee from the late 1920s, is among the MMCA collection. Jung Chanyoung, who studied traditional pigment painting technique with Lee, submitted her work to the Joseon Art Exhibition competition in the 1930s. During the Japanese colonial era, the annual Joseon Art Exhibition, held each May, was the only stage for the debut of ordinary artists. In 1929, Jung’s color painting Lotus was selected for the Exhibition, after which she continued to submit her works. Jung often painted birds, such as peacocks. On her visits to the zoo, she actually observed and sketched various birds and animals, diligently developing her drawings into paintings.

In 1935 she received the Changdeokgung Award, the highest prize at the Joseon Art Exhibition, for her work A Girl. But this promising young woman artist of the 1930s gradually grew apart from her artistic practice after forming a family, due to her lack of time to paint. During the Korean War, her husband, a botanist named Do Bongseop, was abducted to North Korea, thus forcing the artist to become the sole breadwinner for her family. This misfortune further distanced her from the art scene, consequently making her an artist with very few remaining works. Long ago, on a trip to Pyeongyang, I visited the Chosun Art Museum, the national art museum of North Korea. There, I had a surprising experience. To my astonishment, Lotus, known as the artist’s early debut work, was in a permanent exhibition at the museum. Upon returning to Seoul, I introduced this work to people through a color photograph, thus confirming the new status of artist Jung Chanyoung.

Peacocks, also part of the MMCA’s collection, is a horizontally long painting of a pair of peacocks. Besides this work of two peacocks perched on the trunk of a pine tree, characterized by the birds’ long, draped feathers, there is also Peacock, which is of a single peacock with his wings fully spread, filling the entire surface of a 4-piece folding screen. Peacocks have beautiful patterns on their wings, but they are by no means easy subject matter, since the artist must portray them delicately, with a fine brush. Without masterly skills in detailed brushwork, the portrayal of peacocks and pine trees is a very challenging task. Jung Chanyoung was up to it, painting the peacocks with exquisite, fine brushwork. The mainstream of Korean traditional painting has been color pigment painting. But because such coloring technique was also characteristic of Japan, Korean public sentiment toward color painting was negative, and the genre was devaluated following liberation. Color pigment painting originated in China, where it can be categorized into the Southern School and the Northern School. Compared to the ink paintings by literary artists of the Southern School, color painting can be seen as belonging to the Northern School. Since color technique was associated with the Northern School style, artists practicing such technique in the Korean peninsula, which was under strong influence from the literary ink painting style, were not highly evaluated. Against this background, it is noteworthy that a skilled color artist such as Jung Chanyoung gained prominence.

Looking at the masterpiece Peacock, we are moved to think again about the tradition of color painting, about Jung’s artistic merit in her elaborate work, and about her inner desire to pursue a new future through the brilliant peacock, despite the dark and gloomy times. The work seems to be asking us to think about what the Peacock means to us, in our life and era today.

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.

Choi Wook-Kyung, Joy, 1977

Hello, I am Youn Bummo, the Director of MMCA Today, we will take a look at Joy by artist Choi Wookkyung. Painted in 1977, Joy is a free-spirited abstract painting masterpiece.

Artist Choi Wookkyung made monumental achievements in the 1970s. She cultivated an independent world of art, partly influenced by her studies in the United States, where she learned about Abstract Expressionism. Let us explore some of the most outstanding characteristics of Choi’s unusual world of art. First, there are the “realistic figurative elements.” While some of her works are realistic portrayals of various subjects, including her self-portraits, the majority of her works, especially in the later period, entered a “world of pure abstraction.” The artist’s pure abstract paintings were also free-spirited, and full of energy and liveliness. She typically used rapid brush strokes forming curves, and brilliant primary colors. I see Choi as an artist who filled the whole picture-plane with the concept of “freedom,” while dreaming about a world of free people.

Meanwhile, another aspect we can sense in her work is its “literary” nature. Choi Wookkyung had a strong literary sensibility, as seen in her published book of poetry. Therefore we can read the “spirit of poetry” in her paintings. Another characteristic of her work is its traditionality. Choi once commented, “Among the things that influenced me were Korean traditional dancheong and folk painting.” As you know, dancheong and folk painting are characterized by their feast of primary colors, based on the traditional five cardinal colors (obangsaek). The Korean people have always loved primary colors. Thus, we could say that Choi’s color awareness based on the obangsaek and her free-spirited brushwork that broke the rules of formality were based on her unique world of poetic spirit.

When we think about the Korean art scene of the 1970s, we recall the strong presence of Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting). During that time, Choi’s abstract expressionist style based on primary colors must have stood out conspicuously. As if there were a smelting furnace deep down in the inner world of the artist, dynamic gestures and vitality seem to emanate from Choi’s paintings. The following poem, taken from her book of poetry, is about her name.

This poem, titled “My Name is,” is from the artist’s book Like Unfamiliar Faces, which was published in 1972. The artist portrayed herself as a “mute child” who had forgotten how to speak, and a “lost child” who got herself lost following her rainbow dreams. She also expressed herself as a “nameless child” who became nameless as she was bridled by daily life. Nevertheless, Choi Wookkyung successfully achieved a unique, dynamic world of abstract art, by integrating brilliant colors with free-spirited brush strokes, based on a profoundly poetic spirit.

Anyone can see in the artist’s work Joy that it is an unhindered world created through rhythmical beauty and colors, an unpretentious world that naturally stirs up feelings of delight. enables us to read such a world. The picture-plane is filled with cheerful rhythm resembling the movements of dancing. I think it is a delightful work of art. Today, we were given the opportunity to think about artist Choi Wookkyung, who one day suddenly left this world; and about the art of Choi Wookkyung, who was a free spirit.