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Welcome to the new books network. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the new books in Korean Studies, a podcast channel on the new books network. My name is Leslie Hickman, one of the channel's hosts. Today, we'll be talking to Dr.
Jung-Nakim about her new book, Korean Art Since 1945, Challenges and Changes. The book was published by Brill in April this year, 2024, and is volume 9 in the series Modern Asian Art in Visual Culture. It was first written in Korean in 2020 and is now available for English readers to enjoy. Dr.
Jung-Nakim is a professor emerita of the part- the Department of Archaeology and Art History at Seoul National University, and was the director of the National Museum of Korea from 2011 until 2016. Dr. Kim received her bachelor's degree from Newlenburg College and her PhD in Art History of Art from the Ohio State University. She has many publications to her name about Korea's ever-evolving arts team.
Okay, Dr. Kim, I'm very excited to speak with you today and learn more about your book. Hi, thank you for your invitation and opportunity to introduce my book. By the way, I actually was very surprised that you went to Newlenburg College.
I went there for an archaeological dig. The music thing? I did. Oh, I was there in 1970 and graduated in 1973.
1973? Yes, my father was visiting professor there, so I went with him. Well, I never met another person with a connection to Newlenburg College, so I'm very excited. My father was archaeologist, so if you are there at that time, you might have- you might take his course.
No. Yes, that's so cool. So, kidding into the questions. Yes, your book covers a range of artists and art movements.
How did you decide what and who to include? Well, the aim of my book is to provide a comprehensive survey that covers full spectrum of Korean contemporary art. So, therefore, the artist and art movement mentioned in my book are those who have made significant contribution to the development and understanding of Korean contemporary art. For example, I focused on artists who led new art movements or those ideas and works presented 20 points.
Also, the works that reflect the spirit of the time. In addition, I feature artists such as Pen Namjian and Iwo Han. But despite living outside of Korea, I have forged meaningful connections with the Korean art. Yeah.
I really enjoyed seeing all the different artists and come up in your book and how diverse they were. And that's good. It was as well. Wonderful.
Next question. You argue that contemporary art began in 1945 when Korea gained independence from Japan. What was Korean art like under Japanese rule and how did it begin to change after independence? Well, explaining this fully would require actually another book.
Okay. But I just published a book in Korean on that subject covering Korean art from the late 19th century to the liberation 1945, which includes Japanese occupation period. It's in Korean, but I'm going to publish it in English. Also, during the Japanese colonial period, there were no professional arts schools in Korea.
Therefore, most artists, especially Uy painters, this is a new medium. And so then he went to Japan to study and it was through Japan that they were introduced to European art. Also, Korea's exhibition systems in art museums followed the Japanese mothers showing undeniable Japanese influence. However, it is important to note that there were essays and figures discussions at the time about what Korean is in art meant.
It appears in newspapers and magazines. So if you look at it really carefully, I'm sorry that I cannot show you the images, but you can really see the distinct Korean elements in the choice of subjector styles. So after liberation, there was significant efforts to break away from Japanese influence that had persisted. Some artists who had joined the pro-Japanese art groups were excluded from national exhibitions.
And one notable change was that the rise of international painting, while colored ink paintings, were perceived as bearing the imprint of Nunga, which is Japanese modern painting. And another important change during this post-liberation period was increased on the direction between Korea and the West. And more artists began to journey to France and later to the United States to learn about contemporary international trends. So I kind of briefly summarize it.
So we look forward to when that translation comes out. When you expect it will come out for your new book. I hope maybe in two years. It's now the translation itself about half-down.
We look forward to that. So my next question was about the Korean War's impact on South Korean art. How did artists explore and work through the trauma of or come to terms with the Korean War through their art? What art movements, techniques or styles did they employ?
Well, the Korean War was unique because it wasn't caused by a conflict of interest between two countries. Instead, it was a war between the process of two ideology, democracy and communism, fought by people who had previously shared history. Most South Korean artists focused not on depicting direct combat scenes but on expressing their pain and sense of futility over the laws, who was a separation of family members, who were to struggle to survive. So as a result, many artworks right after the war, they pick idealized paradises with families, living happily together, who explore themes of motherhood and children.
But in the late 1950s, a group of young artists who had experienced the war and fell frustrated, a mid-est rubble of the post-war society emerged. They protested against the conservatism of the artworks, which is still favorite realistic works and figurative depictions, often portraying standing or seated woman or elderly men. So young artists who felt the need to express trauma and horrors of the war found inspiration in the spontaneity and subjective expression of post-war European and American art movement, like art and film and abstract expressionism. They organized a group and began showcasing bearing use of calligraphy structs and overwhelming subjectivity that surpassed the previous expressions.
Thank you. My next question, you write that the, or in 1957, Korean art in formal, which you mentioned, took off. And this movement was inspired by art in formal and abstract expressionism. What set this Korean version of art in formal apart from these other two international movements?
The spirit of vitality and experimentalism of art and formal and abstract expressionism of Europe and USA stimulated many Korean artists, opening their eyes to international art movement and encouraging them to experiment with abstraction. Unlike their European and American counterparts who used a huge canvas and vivid color to express personal drama, Korean artists preferred dark, muddy and heavy colors focusing on reflecting papers and contamination. Korean artists were particularly attracted to calligraphy structs, likely because they are familiarity with traditional calligraphy. Later, there was a tendency to experiment with the textural effects, such as raffoning, wrinkling, or cracking the surface.
So even though Korean artist was influenced, but there is also an influence in certain part of the artist's movement. Thank you. You write that the field of Korean painting was divided between abstract art like art and formal and conservative representational art. What were the main points of contention between representational and abstract art?
At that time, realism, which had been prevalent since the Japanese colonial period, was considered outdated. Additionally, as the global trend leaned toward abstraction, the younger generation felt the need to keep pace with this international development. Some artists went to France and later to the US to study art, so the contention between realism and abstraction went beyond a stylistic differences, it embodied the generational divide in Korean art. The authoritarian government under Park Chhandi, who was in power from 1961 until 1979, emphasized nationalism and maintained strict censorship.
How did this political environment influence the art world and what kind of art work did the government promote? In the 1960s and early 70s, in Korea there was an avant-garde movement like happening in performances emerged as a new form of art. However, this movement struggled to survive because the military government clamped down on what it deemed in distant culture and foreign trends, viewing them as threats to public worlds. At that time, police even detained people for having long hair or wearing short mini-scards.
So these shocking performances happening on some radical arts were condemned not only by the government but also by the media. The military government strongly emphasized industrialization, re-artiting work and anti-communism, and they fostered a new national culture by commissioning monuments and paintings that glorified historical figures and promoted nationalism. So at that time, public spaces were filled with statues depicting all heroes and memorials. As it developed, Korean art was met with critics who argued that some of the country's art movements were just derivatives of international movements.
Don Sequois developed in the 1970s as artists began searching for ways to better distinguish themselves. Can you describe the characteristics of Don Sequois and what makes this style distinctly Korean? Yes, in the 1970s, as Korea's economy began to prosper, there were calls for artists to create art that was truly Korean. And Sequois artist, which means monochrome painting artist, responded this by eliminating imagery and using neutral monochrome colors like white, grey, and earth-lit bond umber.
These restrained colors were reminiscent of ancient Korean pattern, chosen by the white porcelain, and the black and white colors of traditional ink painting. Most painters have reiterated the importance of emptying the mind and leaving the creative act to nature. They claim that this attitude of detachment, rather than carrying out a logical plane, length, reflects eastern attitude. However, this movement also aligned with contemporary Western art movements such as minimalism and shared a formalist interest in the medium itself.
So as a result, the concept of movement was seen as successfully integrating both national and international identities, becoming a representative contemporary art style of Korea, and was widely extubated internationally. So in the next decade in the 80s, this dominant self-ansequois style became the main target of newly emerging young artists known as Minjung artist. That brings me to my next question, which is about that contention. So while representational versus non-representational art characterized the 1960s, as you mentioned, the division between modern art styles like Don Sequois and Minjung art characterized the 1980s.
So these new artists that came up, these Minjung artists, could you describe what kind of artists these were and why they were opposed to Don Sequois? Yes, Minjung artist can be translated peoples are. It is the first socially critical art movement in Korean art history. Minjung artist argued that the formalism of a Pansequois artist was false, and they are merely imitating Western modernism.
They also claimed that Pansequois artists did not reflect Korea's social reality or history. So Minjung artists aimed to create art forms that people could easily understand. They focused on the struggles of the working class and farmers using a realistic figurative style with narrative contents. So by the mid-80s, Minjung art became a prominent movement involving not only art, but the entire literature, music and dance.
And their critical issues included materialism, government corruption, the division of Korea, and Korea as a new colony of US imperialism, which led to oppressive responses from the government. After 1990, Korean artists began to shift away from trying to establish a distinguished Korean identity in their art. What motivated the shift and how has art evolved since then? Well, many Korean people believe that the 20-point for Korea was the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The Seoul Olympics showed its desire to engage with the international community, and we made a diplomatic relationship with the foremost Soviet- Black Eastern European countries too. And what's significant is the government removed our restrictions on overseas travel for its citizens. As a result, more college students and business people studied and worked abroad, and the middle-class home makers began taking tourist trips overseas. At the same time, more foreign laborers found jobs in Korea.
So this younger generation who grew up during this time and started working with the Korean people. This younger generation who grew up during this time has a distinctly different viewpoint from previous generations. They have language skills and an international perspective. The focus on uniquely Korean artistic qualities has decreased, and there is a more interesting universe of things.
This generation is individualistic and feels no pressure to stick to one type of art. So feminist art, new media art, video, and installation and photography have become popular. So exposed to diverse global cultures, this younger generation has played a crucial role in filling high-year the Korean wave when they grow up. It definitely had an impact on me how you and the later the Korean art itself.
Last question is about your last section of a book. You briefly mentioned Korean art was very interesting. So Korean art has developed quite differently from South Korean art. What are some key features of North Korean art and what influenced the ideology of North Korean's development?
Initially, the North Korean art education was heavily influenced by the socially-stoheistic movement of Soviet Union. Soviet Union, which is now Russia, then even an artist to have guide the future of North Korean art. However, in the 1960s, the North Korean government began tightening its control over art and scholarship. The Chuche theory, which means self-reliance theory, promoted that art works most to show loyalty to the party, the working class, and the painted, then people.
This is kind of official doctrine. So painters also were encouraged to create Chuche on bar, which literally means Korean painting, specifically referring to the North Korean style of ink wash painting. Kim Il-sung, the country's supreme leader, emphasized that Chuche on bar was the national style and pushed the art community to reject oil painting because this is a western style. So the number of work of oil painting was decreased at that time, but the key feature is the representation of the leader Kim Il-sung.
He is always at the center of the artwork, surrounded by other people with lighting, depth focuses, and attention on him. The most important art form is public sculpture. In Pyongyang, there are many images of Kim Il-sung, including bronze marble and granite statues. All these are most of these public statues are animals in the subway station.
They are produced collectively. It's a big size and you can't really do it by yourself. So there is no sign of the artist. It's a collective work.
So now it is more than 70 years since the nation is divided, and the other of these two countries have developed in very different directions to the point that it is not difficult to identify any common ground between the two. You also mentioned in your book that the North Korean art has been able to or they've allowed North Korean art to be sold to some other countries. I thought that was very interesting. Very cool.
In Africa, there were about 20 monuments. The North Korean structures went to a construct there. They set up just the leader of African countries in huge scale, just like Kim Il-sung monument in Paris. It is one of the ways of earning dollars.
So I went to North Korea in 2007 when we have a dison-shine policy. I saw many statues and paintings. The technique is just to prove. It's almost a posture, just like some statues, just like a Roman emperor with a blessing with one hand and looking down the people.
So, you know, it doesn't really impress me, but this technique of making this bronze with this huge scale, this is just amazing. Well, yeah, that'd be so cool to see. I also would like to ask, now that we've kind of gone through the history of Korean art and how it's developed, what do you see in its future? Is there a particular trend that's gaining popularity or is it difficult to tell?
I think one of the big change that is coming is the emergence of a new media art. Media art, so the individual and computer interactives, all these new media art has been kind of marginal. But now it's becoming the mainstream of the contemporary art, not only in Korea, but also in the world. I think that the Korea is a very strong IT country, and there are many art Korean artists working other countries, and they were kind of awarded, and they have big exhibitions.
So, as we are talking about AI and everything, I think it affects R2, and so it's very interesting to see how it developed. You already have a works by AI. It's been an experiment. I think that's the kind of big.
It's the kind of big turning point. We are already influenced by it. Even I have tried to make art with AI before. So, kind of...
Really? Yeah. Just using things online. But it's exciting as well as a bit, just concerning.
Always fun. At this point. I also look forward to the changes in Korean art scenes since I live in Korea, and in Seoul. So, I get to go to the different galleries.
And very fun to see what people are up to creating. Before we head out, thank you so much for answering your questions. Do you have anything else that you would like to share about the book or anything else that you're working on? Since you just published in Korea, maybe you want to break, but is there anything else that you have going on?
I'll show you my book. Oh, that's great. Can you see? Yes.
So, there's a painting on the front. Is there a...? Yes. This is...
The artist name is Gangloung. And this is done in the early 1940s when she studied in Tokyo art school for women's. And she later became very, very important woman artist in Korean art. Thank you very much for joining us.
This is Iryung Na Kim on her new book, Korean Art in 1945, Challenges and Changes. It's a really beautiful book. It's really worth a look to see all these wonderful paintings and learn about all this great history of Korean art. So, I encourage you to go out and buy this book if the book comes out.
And, Dr. Kim, have a wonderful rest of your day. And I hope you see it. I look forward to your new book coming out later.
Thank you. Enjoy. It's a beautiful day.