Barley stalk marquetry

Lee Sang-soo, a barley stalk (mackan) marquetry artist, at his workshop in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chul

Artist develops ‘mackan’ art based on traditional craft

By Chung Ah-young

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province — Instead of a canvas and a brush, Lee Sang-soo used anything around him, such as plants, clay or gum foil, to form an image in his childhood.

Lee’s parents passed away when he was just 8, after which he lived with his relatives. At the time, becoming a painter was just a far-fetched dream because he had no financial support.

Throughout his teens, he felt lost and miserable because he couldn’t pursue his dream. So, in 1977, at 19, he went to Dongmun Temple in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province to seek comfort and guidance.

His work on a marquetry piece portraying UNESCO World Heritage site Hwaseong Fortress

During his stay at the temple, he was also looking for materials he could use when he happened upon a bunch of barley stalks. He picked one up and split it. Although the stalk was thin and short, its interior was lustrous and had delicate shades that varied depending on the light, from pale yellow to white or gold.

“As soon as I split the barley stalk, I thought I could do something with these marvelous shades in my artistic works,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times.

Enchanted by their uniqueness, he sought the help of villagers in Cheongdo on how to use the stalks.

A flattened barley stalk.

“The villagers just told me that they were used for crafts such as making pillow decorations and hats. But I thought I could do something more than that,” he said.

Lee said he wanted to create something more ambitious, like a mosaic, using the stalks. After experimenting for several years, he became the first to develop “mackan” art or barley stalk marquetry, based on traditional art techniques.

“I worked at a factory during the day and experimented with forming shapes using stalks at night. I slept for only two to three hours a day to focus on my artworks,” he said.

A barley stalk

He developed the method of boiling the barley stalks and then drying, flattening, cutting and applying them on a wooden panel to form images, and finally, coating them with varnish or wax to preserve them.

This method can be applied to surfaces of furniture, screens, jewelry boxes and other decorative objects to create images. He does so by varying the shades of the stalks using dyeing adhesives, which he applies to the materials to produce delicate shades.

In 1983, the Korean Intellectual Property Office granted him a design patent for the process, which requires an immense amount of patience and attention to detail. Later on, he was granted six more design patents related to mackan art.

He held his first solo exhibition at Sun Gallery in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in 1986 for which he received major awards from the provincial government and plaudits from art critics.

Recreating tradition

Straw craft, which began in ancient times, is one of the most common art forms. It usually involves plaiting stalks, which is accessible and has many uses in everyday life.

Mackan art, in contrast, involves slicing barley stalks instead of plaiting them to form a mosaic. Mackan art is both a kind of straw marquetry using barley stalks, and a kind of traditional lacquer art featuring the varying shades and unique textures of their interior.

“In ancient times, traditional crafts using barley stalks were very common. While some straw crafts continue to be used today, the technique of using barley to create a mosaic is very new,” Lee said.

The head of ordinary barley is often used for decorations. However, stalks are rarely plaited, as they are fragile. The interior of a barley stalk is lustrous, and its delicate shades, which change from yellow to gold or white according to the light, create a mother-of-pearl appearance at the first glance. Thus, the stalks are an ideal material for marquetry.

“The shades of the interior vary according to the angle of the light. They are more than just glowing, like mother of pearl. Using the unique grain of the interior, artists can create a three-dimensional effect,” he said.

Many people mistake mackan art for lacquer ware inlaid with mother of pearl for their luster.

“But compared to mother of pearl, barley stalks can be used to create images, like in painting, as they are soft and pliable,” he said. “Also, they don’t decay easily if they are dried well,” he added.

Making such marquetry requires at least some 12 to 15 steps, the most important of which is designing the pattern.

“Designing the pattern represents more than half of the whole process. But understanding the unique texture and the grain of the interior of the stalks is also important to creating a wonderful piece,” he said.

He is currently working on making a marquetry piece portraying UNESCO World Heritage site Hwaseong Fortress, which was built in 1759.

The piece is his third about Hwaseong Fortress. Suwon City Hall commissioned the first piece, which it later gave to its sister city Jinan in Shandong Province in China in 2013.

“I want to promote our traditional images through my mackan art. I am very proud of developing this. I want to introduce it to more people in the world,” he said.

“So far, I have tried to set up mackan art as a separate genre in Korea. But from now, I want to hold a solo exhibition in other countries such as Japan and China,” he said.

He has held cultural exchange exhibitions in Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore.

Keeping artistic integrity

Mackan art is an emerging genre that is quickly drawing interest in the Korean art scene. Many people are learning about this increasingly popular art and how to use it for commercial purposes.

Lee said the popularity is a good sign, but he doesn’t want people to use it just to earn money.

“Some students learn the craft and then open their own workshop just to earn money. It is about art, not technique. Just mastering techniques cannot produce a masterpiece,” he said.

“Commercialization is very dangerous because any product can be mimicked by others and mass produced. Keeping artistic integrity is the best way to survive in this age,” he said.

He expects the techniques used in mackan art, which he developed in 1983, to evolve.

“I hope that my students would keep its core techniques and artistic integrity to sustain it for the next generations,” he said.

His students formed Yemaekhoe, a mackan art group, in 1991. For the past 23 years since, the group has held an annual exhibition to display their artworks.

Who is Lee Sang-soo?

Born in 1958 in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, Lee lost his parents at the tender age of 8, after which he lived with relatives until he went to Dongmun Temple in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province in 1977 at 19 to seek comfort and guidance. Although he wanted to become a painter, he couldn’t pursue this dream because of financial difficulties.

One day, at the temple, he found barley stalks, the interiors of which have delicate shades, and began using them as materials for his art. After experimenting, he developed barley stalk marquetry, which he called “mackan” art, in 1983, for which he was granted a design patent. He received six more design patents related to the art later on.

He was named Artist of the Year in the traditional art category by the Korea Art Critics Association in 2010.

His students formed Yemaekhoe, a mackan art group, in 1991. For the past 23 years since, the group has held an annual exhibition to showcase their

artwork.

What is mackan art?

“Mackan” literally means barley stalks. Mackan art was developed by Lee Sang-soo in 1983.

It utilizes the luster and varying shades of the interior of barley stalks to form a mosaic on a wooden panel or other materials.

The mosaic is later coated with lacquer for preservation. In essence, mackan art was reinvented from traditional straw craft in ancient times that continues to be used today.

To form a mosaic in mackan art, barley stalks are soaked in hot water and then air-dried.

The dried stalks are cut and applied to a surface to form images and finally, coated with varnish or wax.