Spring Beckons at Pak No-soo Retrospective
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
With its clear blue skies and blossoming trees, the lovely spring weather will make people want to spend more time outdoors. However, the National Museum of Art in Deoksu Palace is hoping to entice people to go inside its halls, by offering a whiff of spring through art.
Springtime’s cool blues and greens can be found on the works by traditional Korean artist Pak No-soo, who is now the subject of the on-going retrospective ``A Boy Waiting for the Spring.’’
This exhibition features 100 works, including traditional Korean paintings, drawings and unpublished smaller works, giving viewers a broad view of Pak’s oeuvre throughout more than five decades.
Park Soo-jin, exhibition curator, said that Pak brought a unique aspect to Korean traditional art by using vivid colors, bold composition and blank spaces. ``He connected tradition and modernity in his art,’’ she said.
After graduating with a degree in Eastern Painting from Seoul National University, Pak consistently won special awards at the Korea National Art Exhibition (``gukjeon”) from 1953 to 1956. On display at the exhibition is ``Beauty of Woman,’’ Pak’s representative work that won him the Presidential Prize at the 4th Korea National Art Exhibition in 1955.
A boy is a major element in Pak’s works, as seen in numerous paintings like ``Under the Willows,” ``A Boy’’ and ``Mountains.’’ ``The boy resembles the painter. The boy represented someone the artist wanted to empathize with. He won the presidential award when he was only 28. There were many who were jealous of his success, and this led Pak to walk down a path of loneliness and isolation,’’ Park said.
Pak was also fascinated by spring, which is a symbol of rebirth and hope for the future. ``A boy's heart used to long for dreamy fantasy. Boyhood is gone for good, yet every year when spring comes back, his dream comes back too... My heart is lit with brilliant, lush dreams, waiting for the imperious call of spring,'' Pak was quoted as saying.
In ``Under the Trees,’’ a boy is looking contemplatively at the yellow moon, surrounded by brilliant swathes of blue color, as if he is waiting for something or someone.
Unlike many Korean traditional artists who avoided using color, he embraced it. In particular, he favored a bold shade of blue that is now recognized as his trademark color. ``People shunned the (deep blue) color for not matching well with other colors or other subjects... I suppose a streak of stubbornness in myself made me try something others found it difficult to do,’’ Pak once said.
The exhibition highlights many interesting aspects of Pak’s oeuvre, majestic landscapes and his distinctive use of bold lines, blank spaces and clear, transparent colors.
Unfortunately, the 83-year-old artist has not been able to create new works, after being struck by an illness seven years ago. Visitors can still take a peek at the artist’s studio, filled with his paints, dyes and brushes, recreated for the exhibition.
Meanwhile, the museum organized a guided tour of Pak’s retrospective for a group of diplomats and their families, Monday. It also included a demonstration of a Korean tea ceremony and a lecture on Korean traditional paintings by Korea University art professor Jung Jong-mee.
It was the first time for the museum to hold such an event for the diplomatic community, as part of their growing efforts to introduce and promote Korean contemporary art to the rest of the world.
The event was well received by the participants. Ligaya Fujita, wife of the Brazilian ambassador to Seoul, said she was glad for the opportunity to learn more about Pak and Korean traditional art.
``Korean art is very rich, not just in visual arts, but also in terms of music and dance. We are enjoying our stay in Korea immensely because of the different forms of art that are available to us... I think they should organize more events like this, especially since Korea is trying to become more global. Showing Korean art to the expatriate community will really open more doors for Korean culture to the rest of the world,’’ Fujita said.
The museum also offers a curator talk several times a day (except Monday), plus a special tour to Pak’s home in Ogin-dong and studio in Buam-dong on April 10 (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.). A concert ``A Boy Blowing a Pipe’’ is also planned for April 10 and 11 (3 p.m.) at the foyer of the museum.
Admission to the exhibition, including entrance to Deoksu Palace, is 5,000 won for adults and 2,500 won for children. To go to Deoksu Palace, get off at City Hall Station (Line 1, 2) exit 12 or 2. Visit www.moca.go.kr.