Ilwol obongdo is a folding screen depicting the five mountain peaks, the sun, the moon, and pine trees that were placed on the back of the royal palace in the Joseon dynasty. It is called many names, Ilwol Obongbyeong, Ilwol Oakdo, and Ilwol Konryundo. Kim Hongdo, one of the most famous artists in Korea, drew it. It was painted with a portrait of King Sejong on the front of the 10000 won. Ilwol Obongdo is not only a symbol of the kingship, but was created with the intention of wishing for the people’s peace of mind. Ilwol Obongdo, this symbolic meaning is said to be interpreted as an expression of a poem called Cheonbo in Sikyung, the ancient truth of Confucian scriptures. This poem is about praising the virtue of the king and praying for the blessing of heaven and ancestors to the king. There is the moon on the left, and the sun on the right in Ilwol Obongdo. It consists of the mountain of five peaks where two streams of waterfall flow. And a pine tree painted at the front. The feature of this painting is a ‘left-right symmetry’ that gives a very majestic feeling. The fact that the sun and the moon are hung in the sky at the same time does not symbolize the coexistence of day and night, but is said to mean plus and minus, the principles of the sky. In addition, the sun and moon means jagangbulsik, meaning that you do not rest on your own. The meaning of the five peaks has a variety of meanings. It means the five elements inuiyejisin-benevolent, righteous, wise, and trustworthy- or the east, west, south, north, and center, and expresses the five famous mountains in Korea. The two pairs of pine trees means the existence that connects the earth and the sky. The red color is red pine, which was considered the most sacred and precious among pine trees. The part of the land has a shape of continuous clouds, and 70% represents Korea, a mountainous area. It was always behind the king, and when he died, it was also buried. And when there is only Ilwol Obongdo, it is not a completed painting, but only when the king sits to make Ilwol Obongdo.
In the News - LACMA/Hyundai supports Art + Technology
LACMA and Hyundai Motor Company just announced The Hyundai Project - a brand new 10 year partnership in creating a Art + Technology and Korean Art Scholarships. Hyundai will be sponsoring exhibitions that address the intersection of Art + Technology and “champion technology-based artist projects through grants and in-kind support from leading technology companies.”
“For Korean art scholarships, The Hyundai Project will support three exhibitions and multiple publications planned over the next decade, ranging from historic, traditional art forms to new works created by contemporary Korean artists. The Korean Art Scholarship Initiative creates a new platform and model for research in these areas—key aspects of Korean art that have never before been explored on this scale in either exhibitions or books published outside Korea. The exhibitions, currently planned for 2018, 2022, and 2024, will each include international symposia, online scholarly publications, and exhibition catalogues.”
This partnership/support resonates with us as our blog is all about Art + Engineering plus I’m Korean American! This is a great way for Korean artists to step up and engage in this opportunity.
“Born in 1913, Lee Quede (1913-1965) is a Korean painter who spent most of his life witnessing the struggle of his country, first against colonial rule, then against itself. […]”
Due to its geographic location, Korea is often viewed as a kind of cultural bridge between China and Japan, but in fact the peninsula was home to a vibrant culture quite distinct from both of its neighbors. This course explores the history of art on the Korean peninsula from prehistoric times to the present, introducing ceramics, sculpture, painting, and architecture in detail with brief glances at music, dance, food, and philosophy as indicators of Korean culture.
Kwon Young-Woo (권영우) was considered a pioneering figure in the development of Dansaekhwa (or the modern monochrome movement), a Korean painting tradition where artists work predominantly with paper.
Throughout his career, Kwon explored the textural abilities of his chosen medium by scratching, tearing, and layering sheets of hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper) onto canvas and manipulating the material into three-dimensional relief sculptures which were then decorated with ink painting. Later in his career, Kwon removed any trace of representation and worked solely with white paper.
Kwon’s skill in altering a traditional material to reflect themes of Abstract Expressionism has led to him being recognised as one of Korea’s most groundbreaking artists. Recently, the artist’s works have been exposed to new audiences due to a resurgence in interest of the Dansaekhwa movement.
still from Citizen’s Forest by Park Chan Kyong (b.1956)
3-channel black and white video, directional sound, 2016
It is said that a ghost only appears on Earth when there is an unresolved conflict. In Park Chan Kyong’s three-channel film Citizen’s Forest (2016), viewers slip in and out of a comatose state of collective amnesia as they see ghouls from Korea’s past: young students in uniform, resembling those who died in the Sewol Ferry tragedy; men bearing glossy, skull-like helmets, presumably victims of the Gwangju massacre.
something very disheartening that i have seen lately is a lot of well-meaning non-asian people saying things like “[asian woman’s name] is so beautiful! why is there so much hate???”
one issue that asian women experience in places where they are a minority is that people don’t look past their ‘physical beauty’ at all. there’s a long history of asian women being treated like passive sex objects, and its incredibly dehumanizing and infantalizing. i really understand that these people think that this is a great compliment, but its exhausting and tiring to see these takes without any kind of critical thinking about why, maybe, there is so much hate and violence directed towards asian women who are considered ‘beautiful.’
being considered physically beautiful does not mean that people respect you, or the fact that you have agency, thoughts, or desires that might conflict with theirs.
if other people have thoughts or questions on this, feel free to reach out to me.
if you like kpop, if you like anime, if you like the art and culture produced from asian countries, please think constructively about how you can contribute to stopping asian hatred and anti-asian racism.
please listen to us when we tell you that we dont feel safe.
