 Gregory Pence, left, director of operation for the exhibition, and Matt Snyder, volunteer coordinator, auction Song’s works off at the opening of “Song Byeok: Departure” at the Goat Farm, Atlanta, Ga., Friday. / Courtesy of the artist |
By Noh Hyun-giOnce, he glorified the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a propaganda artist in the Stalinist nation. But as a free man living in the South, Song Byeok ridicules Kim by attaching the recently deceased’s smiling head to Marilyn Monroe’s body in a white dress or on a woman’s spaghetti-strap tank top.
The 42-year-old artist, originally from Hwanghae Province, North Korea, traveled a tortuous road to arrive in Seoul. His first attempt to cross the Tumen River in 2000 ended in imprisonment and torture. His second attempt two years later was successful.
Now, a decade later, Song travels again, this time to Atlanta, Ga. His international debut show “Song Byeok: Departure” opened Friday at the Goat Farm in the American city. A total of 20 acrylic paintings, including six pieces not previously seen by the public, are on display there.
“I’ve never been to America. I am a bit nervous about how my works will be received in a country that is said to embody democracy,” he told The Korea Times on Monday, the night before his departure. He need not have worried: more than 500 people crowded the opening at the warehouse-turned-art studio including CNN reporters and Helen Kim Ho, executive director of the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center.
Some works reproduce scenes from the isolated kingdom he was born in, such as the mass games and national congregations with a touch of satire or a peace symbol like white doves and children.
“My paintings not only show the bleak reality of North Koreans but also their hopes for freedom,” Song stressed. Transparent colors and the white of the paper creates a disquieting calmness given the pains felt by Song and the people he wishes to represent. The distinct outlines and even space neatly divided by blocks of color in his images stem from his experience painting posters for the “Dear Leader.”
Prints of his paintings sold quickly and three items — two scrolls and a painting — were auctioned at the opening. All proceeds will go to Dari Community, a North Korean refugee center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
Song is not a novice artist. He held his first show “Forever Freedom” in Insa-dong, Seoul in January 2011, and has been active since.
The Atlanta show happened through a series of encounters. Gregory Pence, a 2010 Fulbright researcher in Seoul discovered Song at “Forever Freedom.” Deeply moved, Pence formed a group solely dedicated to spreading Song’s ideas to a world audience with the help of volunteers and Mike Lee, a professional videographer.
“The more eyeballs we can get to see Song Byeok’s works of art, the better,” said Pence on this opportunity. “His art understandably flows from a very raw and wounded place that runs contrary to his usual soft-spoken and cheerful disposition. Song retains his sense of optimism, knowing one day North Koreans will learn the truth about the outside world.”
Pence contacted his alma mater Dartmouth College to support his efforts to bring Song to the United States. Victoria Moy, co-president of the Dartmouth Asian Pacific American Alumni Association (DAPAAA), came from New York to the opening and spoke about the importance of the community’s support for Song’s art and his artistic journey to freedom and ways to participate through Kickstarter.
Kickstarter is an online fundraising platform where Song had received $5,066 from 106 people as of Monday. DAPAAA sits as the fiscal sponsor for the fundraising project, allowing the contributions to be tax-deductable. The organization also has been reaching out to its alumni connections around the globe to help the cause.
Song plans to expand his subject matter to repression taking place close and afar. “I don’t want to be labeled as a defector painter because I am not talking about issues specific to North Korea,” Song said. “I want to widen my horizon to speak for those who are oppressed in the name of God such as women in the Middle East.”
Song has been invited to speak at schools on human rights, his art, and his personal history. Starting with a lecture at Emory College today, Song will visit Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia and Savannah College of Art and Design.
On Kim Jong-il’s death, Song said: “I wouldn’t say that Kim’s death influenced my work. It is just a pity that he left without making North Korea a better place for people.”
Song’s exhibition will wrap up in Atlanta on Feb. 26 and move to Washington D.C. for another show in April.
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