| Kwon Chang-ryun's calligraphy work is on display at “The Modern and Contemporary Korean Writing” exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Deoksugung. This is the first calligraphy exhibition at the national museum and is part of MMCA director Youn Bum-mo's effort to bring neglected art genres to the museum. / Courtesy of MMCA |
Coronavirus pandemic pushes exhibition to online
By Kwon Mee-yoo
In East Asia, there is a long-standing theory that calligraphy and painting have the same origins. However, calligraphy in Korea failed to keep up with the times as the country went through Japanese colonization, became independent and achieved rapid economic growth, and is now considered a stuffy, old-fashioned hobby.
"The Modern and Contemporary Korean Writing," a new exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Deoksu Palace in central Seoul, sheds light on the development of modern calligraphy and the significance of calligraphy in fine art.
This is the first calligraphy exhibition at the national museum and is part of MMCA director Youn Bum-mo's effort to bring neglected art genres to the museum.
"Reintroducing Korean calligraphy, which puts an emphasis on artistry unlike Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, this exhibition outlines the progress of an era in which new, abundant and ornate forms of text art were produced," Youn said.
The exhibit features some 300 pieces from calligraphy and paintings to ceramics and media arts, looking into the relationship between calligraphy and other art genres as well as how traditional calligraphy developed into modern art through the Joseon Fine Art Exhibition and the National Art Exhibition.
Bae Won-jung, curator of the exhibit, said Korea has a long-standing tradition of "si-seo-hwa," which encompasses poetry, calligraphy and painting.
"This exhibition looks into how the si-seo-hwa tradition evolved into modern calligraphy and painting," Bae said. "While Kim Whan-ki's paintings fetch billions of won, these calligraphy works are sold for less than 1 million won. However, the artistry of Korean calligraphy should be rated much higher than it is now.”
The first section "Calligraphy in Painting and Painting in Calligraphy" explores the relationship between calligraphy and contemporary art.
"In the si-seo-hwa tradition, the same brush is used to write calligraphy and paint pictures. Such a tradition evolved into the new literary painting movement and the poetry-painting trend," Bae explained.
Kim Yong-jun captured new possibilities of literati painting based on the unity of calligraphy and painting. In "A Young Old Man, Kim Whanki, Sitting in Lotus Position" (1947), Kim portrayed the now most expensive Korean artist in simple and brisk brushstrokes and wrote the painting's title on the top right in Clerical Script, showing his respect to master calligrapher Kim Jeong-hui.
Chang Woo-soung's "An Angry Cat" (1968) captures the fur of a black cat with calligraphic lines.
| Kim Whan-ki's poetry painting “A Jar and Poetry” / Courtesy of MMCA |
Kim Whan-ki's 1954 work "A Jar and Poetry" is a modern interpretation of poetry painting in the Western style, matched with Seo Jeong-ju's poem “A Prayer."
Letter abstraction, developed by Lee Ung-no and Nam Kwan, was previously interpreted as influenced by Western art movements such as Art Informel or Abstract expressionism.
"However, letter abstraction is better understood based on the tradition of Korean calligraphy as textual elements becoming artistic elements based on the structure of Korean writing," Bae said.
Lee Ung-no's "I Ching 64 Hexagrams Sequence" adds human figures to the 64 characters as the collection of writings become a painting of a group of people.
Calligraphic Abstraction refers to abstract artworks with an emphasis on brushstroke and relates to the linear qualities and energy of traditional Korean calligraphy.
Oh Su-fan is trained in painting, but his 2008 work "Variation" showcases how he employs sweeping lines in his abstract paintings, based on his childhood lessons in calligraphy.
Renowned sculptor Kim Chong-yung's "Work 65-2" transcends the structure of Kim Jeong-hui's writing style and recreates it in a sculptural language.
Choi Man-lin achieved a form of sculptural calligraphy by dripping molten metal from a welding rod in "Grace 77-5."
| Yoo Hee-kang's 'Namu Amitabul: Buddhist Hymn on the Stillness by Kim Jeong-hui' / Courtesy of MMCA |
The exhibit continues to the second section "Calligraphy Mirrors the Calligrapher: The First Generation of Korean Modern and Contemporary Calligraphers," shedding light on the work of 12 first-generation modern calligraphers in Korea, bridging traditional Korean writing with contemporary art.
"These first generation calligraphers chose the path of calligraphy over art when they were at a crossroads. Under the influence of Joseon's most celebrated calligrapher Kim Jeong-hui, these calligraphy practitioners developed their own style," Bae said.
Son Jae-hyeong is the one who coined the Korean term for calligraphy, "seoye," emphasizing its artistic qualities. A master in calligraphy of both Chinese and Korean characters, Son won the calligraphy part of the Joseon Fine Art Exhibition multiple times. He developed his own Sojeon style, highlighting formativeness, best shown in "Poem by Admiral Lee."
Kim Eung-hyun opposed Son's ideas and reinforced ancient rules in calligraphy. He wrote the 1,775 letters of the Gwanggaeto Stele in his style, asserting the importance of adhering to rules.
Yoo Hee-kang raised the status of calligraphy to art by combining his experience in both calligraphy and painting. His writing of Buddha's mantra in the shape of a pagoda is surrounded by a poem by Kim Jeong-hui, bringing a pictorial quality to calligraphy. Yoo's “The White Duck: A Ballad by Du Fu” features characters written in regular, running and cursive scripts and yet they go well together as a whole.
In his later days, Yoo suffered paralysis on his right side and he strived to develop a new style that he could create using his left hand.
Female calligrapher Lee Chul-gyeong focused on reviving the court style writing of Korean script.
Seo Hee-hwan pioneered his way into the simple and modern Korean letter calligraphy, reinterpreting “Hunminjeongeum,” the 1446 document introducing the Korean alphabet by King Sejong.
| Hwang Suk-bong's “Aboard Ship 1, 2” / Courtesy of MMCA |
The second-generation calligraphers, trained by the first-generation in the second section, steals the limelight in the third section "Calligraphy Revisited: Experimental and Unconventional Contemporary Calligraphy."
Contemporary calligraphy focuses more on the image than the content or legibility.
"These creative and experimental calligraphic pieces cannot represent contemporary calligraphy in general, but these calligraphers push the genre's boundary," Bae said.
Park Won-kyu's work looks more like design, but in fact it is existing letters. His work "Justice" reinterprets a Chinese character engraved on a Bronze Age ritual utensil.
Hwang Suk-bong's "Aboard Ship 1, 2" and “Horses” presents similarities and differences between the strokes of a painter and a calligrapher.
Yeo Tae-myong's "Gasinae (Girl)" interprets Joseon commoners' calligraphic style, generally used for transcribing novels and lyrics, in modern artistic form.
While the term "seoye" seems outdated and stuffy, the English word "calligraphy" refers to more stylish handwriting that appeared in the Korean design scene in the late 1990s.
"It should be understood as an expanded range of traditional Korean writing with brushes," Bae said.
Members of this new generation of calligraphers design typography and text to enhance readability and visual recognition.
| Lee Sang-hyun's 'Haeju Arirang' / Courtesy of MMCA |
Calligraphist Lee Sang-hyun's "Haeju Arirang" uses colorful masking tape to enhance calligraphic writing using "meok" (Korean ink).
Contemporary calligraphy is also commercially popular, easily found in the logos of numerous products as well as titles of television shows.
In an attempt to demonstrate the versatility of Korean calligraphy, the MMCA commissioned calligraphist Kim Zhong-kun to write the lyrics of four popular songs based on the tone and atmosphere of the music, which can be appreciated in the format of media art. The four songs are BTS' "Spring Day," Song Ga-in's "Arirang," Lee Jin-ah's "Yum Yum Yum" and Jeon In-kwon's "Don't Worry, My Dear.”
Typographic designer Ahn Sang-soo's creation is on display as an attempt to experiment with horizontal writing in calligraphy, which has traditionally been done mostly vertically.
"Ahn said the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) is basically typography as it was first distributed in the format of woodblock print. All Korean character calligraphy is typography design in a sense, according to Ahn," Bae explained.
However, the state-run museum has been temporarily closed since Feb. 24 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The writing exhibit was originally slated to open March 12 but visitors cannot yet go see the powerful and neat brushstrokes of master calligraphers and artists.
Instead of delaying the exhibit further, the MMCA decided to preview it online through its YouTube channel (youtube.com/MMCAKorea). The exhibition video, guided by curator Bae, runs for about 80 minutes and has recorded over 29,000 views as of Thursday since its release on March 30.
The re-opening of the museum will be announced according to the progression of the COVID-19 outbreak.