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| "Blue," a painting by late artist Yun Hyong-keun, is seen in the background of a photo for BTS member RM's solo album, "Indigo." Courtesy of Big Hit Music |
RM shows respect to Korean monochrome painting master through 'Indigo'
By Dong Sun-hwa
In his first official solo album, "Indigo," RM of K-pop juggernaut BTS brings not only his musical talents to the fore, but also his love of Korean art.
"Indigo" has been turning heads, selling more than 550,000 copies on the first day of its release, Dec. 2, according to album tracker Hanteo Chart. Its lead single, "Wild Flower," also conquered the iTunes top songs chart in 88 countries and retained the No. 13 spot on Spotify's Daily Top Song Global chart.
The album carries 10 songs written by the BTS leader, who spent three years to gear up for his solo project. The 28-year-old emphasized that "Indigo" is a diary-like album capturing his emotions and anxieties, which can also be thought of as an exhibition that he curated by himself.
Delve slightly deeper, the album is like a love letter to Yun Hyong-keun (1928-2007), the master of Korean monochrome painting ("dansaekhwa") and the artist that RM admires the most. The first track included in "Indigo" is titled after his family name, "Yun."
"You can also find some images of Yun's 1972 painting, 'Blue,' in my album," RM explained in a video message released by his management company, Big Hit Music, on Dec. 2. "This work was created when he was going through a period of transition (in his career), before he showcased his signature 'Burnt Umber & Ultramarine Blue' paintings and other works colored in dark black. Since 'Indigo' is also about my transitional period, I decided to have 'Yun' as the first track of this album, hoping that I could craft a world of my own just like Yun did."
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| Dansaekhwa master Yun Hyong-keun in 1980 / Courtesy of PKM Gallery |
"When Yun was alive, he often said that we have to be human beings first, before we do art," he said. "My album actually starts off with his teaching and I have prepared my own response to him."
Thus, RM's tune, "Yun," includes the following lyrics: "I wanna be a human before I do some art…It's a cruel world, but there is going to be my part because true beauty is a true sadness." It also features Yun's narration to show his respect to the iconic Korean artist.
"Indigo" has naturally piqued K-pop fans' interest in Yun.
"I got to know about Yun thanks to RM," a fan commented. "I might go to his exhibition in the future to feel what RM had felt."
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| Yun Hyong-keun's 'Burnt Umber & Ultramarine' (1991) / Courtesy of PKM Gallery |
Yun's creations often mirror Korea's turbulent modern history, such as the 1950-53 Korean War and the post-war dictatorships. The artist predominantly blended only two colors ― ultramarine and burnt umber ― in his paintings, believing that they are emblematic of heaven and Earth, respectively. This technique led him to name one of his most reputed series, "Cheonjimun," or the Gate of Heaven and Earth.
"Blue is the color of heaven, while umber is the color of the earth. Thus, I call them 'heaven and Earth,' with the gate serving as the composition," Yun wrote in his diary in 1977.
"With these seemingly offhand works, Yun succeeded in translating the humble, comfortable and solid values of Korean traditional aesthetics into the lexicon of international contemporary art," the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said in its introduction to the "Yun Hyong-keun Retrospective" exhibition.
