Heat Magazine | ART: A 21st-Century Naesoong in Hanbok, Oriental Painter Kim Hyun Jung
In its 'LIST | ART' section, Heat Magazine's March 2015 issue introduced artist Kim Hyun Jung under the title 'A 21st-Century Naesoong in Hanbok.' It covered the concept behind the Naesoong Olympics series — which pairs worldly subjects like luxury goods, ramen, and scooters with hanbok — along with her collage and ink-and-wash technique and her attempts at 'social painting' through social media. Text by Kim Young-woo (freelance), photos by Kim Jeong-ah.
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A 21st-Century Naesoong in Hanbok: Oriental Painter Kim Hyun Jung
Kim Hyun Jung is an Oriental painter beloved for her highly distinctive style. Her Naesoong series, rendered through collage and traditional Oriental painting technique, expresses the inner lives of women in an entirely new way, capturing every viewer's gaze.
The Cheeky Pretense of the Modern Woman
A graduate of Seoul National University's Department of Oriental Painting and its graduate school, Kim Hyun Jung is a full-time artist with barely three years of experience. And yet she has already held five solo exhibitions and maintains an extraordinarily active practice, winning the love not only of art lovers but of the general public as well.
The title of the work series that etched Kim Hyun Jung into the public consciousness is Naesoong Olympics. "Naesoong" (pretense) and "Olympics" — her work is as idiosyncratic as this unlikely pairing of two words. In her paintings, a woman dressed elegantly in hanbok eats ramen while gazing at a luxury bag, or plays billiards. She might have oversized headphones over her ears, lost in music, or ride a scooter to deliver pizza. Unlike her refined, elegant hanbok attire, she reveals provocative, contemporary, worldly desires. Through these scenes, Kim Hyun Jung interestingly renders the "cultured pretense" of the modern woman.
"Eating ramen — in a way that clashes with the outfit — while dressed formally in hanbok is a classic story of 'pretense.' The very nature of hanbok, with everything happening beneath the wide folds of the skirt hidden from view, naturally invites curiosity. I think it's the perfect garment to symbolize pretense. What's more, boiling ramen on a portable gas burner in an aluminum pot and eating straight from the lid feels more suited to camping than anything else. And by depicting someone carrying a luxury bag and sipping branded coffee while still making do with ramen for a meal, I also wanted to capture a kind of 'cultured pretense.' Luxury bags, when you analyze their utility, derive much of their value from the satisfaction of other people's gaze — and I thought that this pursuit of luxury goods, a phenomenon born of consciousness of others' eyes, has itself become an established form of cultural pretense."
That's why the series is called Naesoong Olympics. The Olympics is a competition that has evolved and transformed since ancient Greece and Rome. In Naesoong Olympics, that story is retold through the everyday exercise of 21st-century life. Typically, "naesoong" refers to capturing a static moment in a figure's daily life. Kim Hyun Jung, by contrast, wanted to expand her subject matter to capture events that could hold a figure's dynamic movement. She depicts naesoong through vigorous physical actions or feints of deception that would be difficult to pull off while wearing hanbok.
A New Discovery in Oriental Painting Technique
Kim Hyun Jung's cheeky gaze is rendered even fresher through meticulous craftsmanship. She paints the figure in the nude and then collages thin hanji she has made herself over it to capture the texture of hanbok fabric, grounding her practice firmly in orthodox Oriental painting technique. Constructing the jeogori (top) through collage and painting the skirt with ink wash so it becomes translucent guides the viewer toward insight into pretense — the sense that "you can see right through." The collage also brings out the rustling texture of hanbok fabric. These ideas, she says, stem from her personal fondness for hanbok.
"I've always thought the colors, textures, and accessories of hanbok are truly beautiful. Hanbok is a subject I have a real desire to express well through my work, capturing that beauty. I often wear hanbok even in everyday life whenever there's a special occasion, and I even have plans to pursue various collaborations with hanbok designers going forward."
The aspect Kim Hyun Jung values most in her work is realistic depiction. She invests considerable time and effort in rendering not just facial expressions but gestures and props with great care. This approach is wholly accepted as an effort to break the prejudice that Korean painting is stale and old-fashioned while upholding traditional technique and finding elements that fit contemporary art. And this may well be the very reason her work is so beloved by the public.
True to her generation, Kim Hyun Jung actively communicates with the public, listening to feedback on her work through social media. It's part of an effort to open up a genre she calls "Social Painting." Social Painting uses social networks to let the public and the artist discuss a work together, and even influence how the piece is completed.
"Until now, whenever I completed a work, I'd share it on social media with a short explanation, look through the comments to gauge interpretations and reactions, and use that to think through the next piece. This can be an extension of participatory art, and I think it can also offer everyone the experience of feeling they own a piece of the work."
Kim Hyun Jung is currently developing a new series for this year. It's called Naesoong Amusement Park. She plans to further expand the world of Naesoong Olympics by creating a space for everyday play meant only for adults. Kim Hyun Jung is preparing for yet another solo exhibition this summer.
Text | Kim Young-woo (Freelance) Photo | Kim Jeong-ah
[Photo Captions]
1. Kim Hyun Jung, looking as if she stepped straight out of her own work. 2. Miniature reproductions of the Naesoong Olympics series. 3. "Naesoong: Emptiness." 4. "Naesoong: Acha." 5. Kim Hyun Jung absorbed in her work. 6. "Naesoong: You, Who Move Me."