The exhibition of "50 Years of Korean Contemporary Printmaking" will illustrate both the artistic heritage of the country and the development of the genre in Korea for 50 years. It will also offer viewers an opportunity to observe the characteristics of various media used for the art and how the media development in Korea has correlated to the overall development of Korean contemporary art over the past five decades.
The exhibition is segmented into four: 'Introduction' in the 1950s; 'Formation' in the 1960s; 'Expansion' in the 1970s~1980s; and 'Diversification' in the 1990s onward. Politically, demand for democratization peaked in the 1980s, when woodcuts depicting working people's lives began to gain momentum in Korea. The exhibition elaborates how the genre has evolved since and how it can be characterized.
Fifty Years of Korean Contemporary Printmaking
Choi Eunju
Chief Curator
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Today, Korea is regarded as one of the most dynamic nations in the world, in terms of its politics, economic development, and modern society. In an effort to understand its arts and culture, an exploration of the prints created by Korean contemporary artists provides meaningful information because of the genre's rapid adoption of traditional Korean printmaking aspects, along with illustrating in detail how traditional and contemporary elements have converged in the visual arts of Korea. Furthermore, it is worth noting the significance of printmaking to the contemporary arts of Korea since the 1950s for a number of reasons. First, a number of prominent contemporary artists were printmakers in their early periods; second, Korean printmakers have come to be known on the global scene through their participation in international printmaking events; and third, the genre has spawned artistic movements such as Minjung(the people's) woodblock printmaking in the 1980s, in response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement. The most significant factor of Korean contemporary printmaking, however, lies in its medium, which allows for differing forms of expression and experimentation, and the fact that it has stimulated the creativity of Korean artists. Along with woodblock printmaking, copperplate printmaking, lithography, silk screen, and even digital printmaking, the distinct qualities of printmaking's various media and techniques have led to impressive achievements by Korean artists.
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, was quick to recognize the significance of Korean printmaking and has steadily expanded its print collection, which now includes well over 400 pieces. The collection consists of award-winning works of the Seoul International Printing Biennale(1970-1994) and the SPACE International Print Biennial(1980-2011); the witty print works of world-renowned video artist Paik Nam June; and several Minjung woodblock prints that collectively exhibit the consciousness of their era and society. The collection represents 50 years of Korean contemporary printmaking, dating from the 1950s, when modern printmaking techniques were introduced into Korea. This exhibition features 80 carefully selected prints from the collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, which seeks to outline the characteristics of Korean contemporary printmaking and to illustrate this aspect of the historical development and characteristics of Korea's contemporary art.
Contemporary printmaking in Korea is generally considered to have started with the founding of the Korean Printing Association in 1958. Certainly, there were printmakers in Korea from the 1910s and onward - the artist Pai Un-sung even won second prize at the Warsaw International Woodblock Printing Exhibition, Poland, in 1933. Moreover, in the early 1950s, printmakers like Choi Young-rim, Chung Kyu, Yoo Kang-youl, and Lee Hang-sung produced prints that were appreciated as serious works of art. Choi Young-rim, who created woodblock prints from the late 1930s, had his works featured as illustrations in newspapers and magazines in the early 1950s, together with Chung Kyu, arousing interest in printmaking among local artists and the general public. In addition, Yoo Kang-youl produced woodblock prints with a distinctive Korean character, as well as works of dyed textiles. It is also noteworthy that, in 1951, Lee Hang-sung held his first solo exhibition of polychrome lithographs. These aforementioned works, along with various other attempts at printmaking, laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Korean Printing Association in 1958. The core founding member of the Association, Lee Hang-sung, submitted a lithograph, Dajeongbulsim (Compassion), to the 1959 International Printing Biennale, organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio, U.S., which won an award in the process. Lee's art world is well-represented by his lithograph Mangmunyeom (Serenity), in which his artistic traits - unrestrained brush strokes and sense of color - are fully incorporated and in which Chinese characters, the embodiment of Eastern conceptual thought, are reinterpreted and represented in artistic forms.
Woodblock printmaking was most commonly used by printmakers in the 1950s. This is due in large part to an underdevelopment of printmaking forms and techniques and a tendency to rely on traditional methods, since most artists dabbled in printmaking as a sideline apart from their specialty. In the late 1950s, however, there was a rapid development of printmaking techniques and forms thanks to support of the United States Information Service in Korea and the return of artists who had studied in America. Interest in printmaking grew steadily among young artists in the 1960s, based upon the efforts of their forerunners and many international printmaking exhibitions hosted in Korea. Young artists, in search of ways to make direct contact with audiences, were attracted to modern printmaking because it enabled multiple reproductions of works, and were further drawn to the genre to expand and experiment with various media of expression. Printmaking courses at universities were taught by the artists, who had studied abroad, such as Kim Jung-ja and Youn Myeong-ro, noticeably affected the course of printmaking development in the 1960s. In 1968, the Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association was formed and it went on to produce some of today's foremost printmakers. The Association's founding members included Kang Whan-sup, Kim Min-ja, Kim Sang-yu, Kim Jeong-ja, Kim Hoon, Bae Yoong, Suh Seung-won, Yoo Kang-youl, Rhee Sang-wook, Jeon Seong-wu, and Youn Myeung-ro. Around this time, printmaking began to enter education curricula, albeit partially, from the primary to high school levels. The 1960s also witnessed the globalization of Korea's contemporary printmaking, with the hosting of international exhibitions at home and the active participation of Korean printmakers in printmaking events abroad. In 1962, an exhibition Contemporary American Prints was presented by the United States Information Service in Korea; in 1963, Bong-tae Kim participated in the 3rd Paris Biennale; in 1966, Kim Jong-hak entered the 5th Tokyo Biennale; and in 1969, Bae Yoong, Kim Hyung-dae, Seo Seung-won, Youn Myeung-ro, Rhee Sang-wook, Yoo Kang-youl and others took part in the Carpi Woodblock Printing Triennial in Italy. Among the young artists in the 1960s, abstract forms were prevalent, which originated from Informel, while Youn Myeung-ro's Quality No. 13(1962) and Han Yong-jin's Work 62(1962) offered distinct evidence of the attempts to experiment with forms. Another leading Korean artist Rhee Sung-ja, produced woodblock prints in her unique style as a reflection of her everyday life as an artist in France. Her works depict elements of Korean folk art, as an expression of her longing for home, resulting in an eclectic abstract style that fused with the formative styles of her adopted homeland.
During the 1970s and '80s, Korean contemporary printmaking enjoyed remarkable advancement due to an arrival of various printmaking techniques that led to diversification and technical development of printmaking. It was also in the 1970s that printmaking gained a unique place in the Korean art circles thanks to the accumulation and enhancement of printmaking techniques. Youn Myeung-ro, Kim Ku-lim, Park Re-hyun, Suk Ran-hi, Song Burn-soo, Hwang Kyu-baik, Han Un-sung, Han Dong-cheol and others returned home after studying advanced printmaking techniques in the West and devoted themselves to printmaking, which enabled printmaking exhibitions of solo, group, and international scales being organized during that period. What deserves special mention in the 1970s is that international exhibitions began to be organized in Korea. The 1st Seoul International Printing Biennale, organized by the Dong-A Ilbo daily newspaper, paved the way for international interchange through the print media. The Biennale received more than 200 works by 80 artists from 23 countries; the grand prize was won by Kim Sang-yu with No Exit(1970), a woodblock print notable for its powerful sense of subject. For Kim, who studied philosophy during his university days, this work embodied his philosophy toward death. The work is divided into three sections, with the image of a figure in a coffin fading away, from left to right. Another competition, the 1st Korean Contemporary Printing Grand Prix, was held at Myeongdong Gallery in 1971 with support from the Korean Printmakers Association, in which artists like Seo Seung-won, Song Burn-soo, and Kim Jin-suk received awards. The Seoul International Printing Biennale was held nine times, until 1994, prompting the inclusion of printmaking categories in other competitions. For example, the Grand Exhibition of Korean Art(1970), organized by the Hankook Ilbo daily newspaper; Korean Contemporary Printing Grand Prix(1971) by Myeongdong Gallery; and Independent(1973) by the Art Association, newly added a printmaking category, and the Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association also organized the Korean Contemporary Printing Competition. Printmaking in the 1970s showed remarkable development in line with Korea's increasing appreciation for art and robust economic growth. This trend continued well into the 1980s, with numerous solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, competitions, and international exhibitions being staged in Korea. While printmaking realized noticeable progress overall, various movements produced a new awareness of the value of print, along with establishing it as an international art form.
In 1980, the SPACE Group organized the SPACE International Print Biennial, an international exhibition that accepted small-size (10 x 10 cm) prints. This event opened new horizons for small prints and established itself as a significant international competition thanks to the convenience of transporting print works from overseas. The 1980s saw an increase of printmaking associations and their exhibitions, organized by artists according to university affiliation and various regions, including the Korean Printing Association and Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association by established printmakers; Seoul Printing Society, Hongik Printing Society, Sungshin Printing Society, and others by alumni of respective universities; Daegu Printmakers Association, Busan Printing Society, Chungnam Printmakers Association, Gwangju Contemporary Printmakers Association and others by local printmakers in various cities; and Print Media, Seoul Print Club, Woodblock Printing Group Namu and others by emerging artists.
It was also around this time that woodblock printmaking, employing traditional Korean woodblock techniques, began to be used in Minjung art, as well as for posters, banners, and book illustrations. The Minjung printmaking movement of the 1980s prompted the relevant artists to investigate the possibilities of printmaking as a means of mass communication with the public. This is one aspect of the socially engaged art movement that was practiced in earnest in the early 1980s. Amid calls for a revival of "healthy" art forms that resonated with the public, woodblock printmaking enjoyed renewed appreciation as a "democratic" medium, based on its potential to produce repeated images. By adding the spirit of Mexican Muralism (Generacion de la Ruptura) and the Chinese Modern Woodcut Movement in the 1920s, to the traditional woodblock printmaking techniques, Minjung printmaking established its own style, yielding a unique art form. Minjung woodblock printmakers took pleasure in employing this style while experimenting with their techniques to reflect contemporary styles. Bold and succinct forms were typically used; these were well-suited to delivering the artists' radical messages and highlighting social contradictions. Such prints were rapidly distributed through major print galleries, especially those involved in active exchange with Minjung printmakers, and, at the same time, an improvement of the print studio environment and increasingly active distribution channels did much to boost the development of Minjung art. As a result, the ideological goal of Minjung art in the 1980s, that of narrowing the gap between the arts and life, led to the use of printmaking as a new means of communication. The most leading printmakers of the Minjung art movement included Hong Sung-dam, who sought to record the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980; Hwang Jai-hyoung, who lived with miners and depicted their hardship; and Choung Bi-pa, whose work poetically rendered the graceful nature of his hometown.
This exhibition also features the works by printmakers who were socially conscious but remained distinct from artists fully imbued with frank criticism of our time, society, and reality. Han Un-sung is an eminent printmaker with exceptional skill and talent at articulating his messages. In Greedy Giant (1974) and Giant II (1981), he portrays the gigantic shadow cast by industrial capitalism. The series of Min Joung-ki's Gate of a Forest (1986), questions the relationship between individuals' lives and history through overlapping historical scenes of the 20th century, depicted by a woman, leaning against a door facing the woods. Printmaker Kwak Duk-jun exposed inner feelings about the identity conflict he experienced as an ethnic Korean living in Japan in his series Event-Relation (1983). Song Burn-soo and Jung Won-chul, meanwhile, dealt respectively with oppressive social systems and youth culture in the 1970s in the Air-raid Siren series (1974) and with "comfort women," who had been so vulgarly degraded as wartime sex slaves, in the Portrait(1998) series.
Printmaking in Korea from the 1990s onward is impossible to summarize because of the extent to which the genre has become so diversified. For example, some use computers to produce automated prints; others incorporate alternative art forms, such as photography and media, while displaying traits of post-genre art; and other expand the realm to installation art, based on printmaking. Meanwhile, some printmakers have developed a new awareness of Korea's printmaking traditions, with liberal reinterpretation to overcome the limitations of traditional materials and techniques. Ha Dong-chul has brought traditional rubbing techniques to the sphere of printmaking; his abstract images, made using hanji (Korean paper) to create rubbings of wooden mortars, pose pertinent questions about what printmaking art really is. Other artists have sought to reveal the essence and potential of printmaking, resulting in works such as Kang Ai-ran's aluminum work (1998), Kwak Nam-sin's casting project(1995), Yim Young-kil's animation project(1998), Chung Sang-gon's digital printmaking(1997), and Bak Yeong-geun's grinder project(1998).
