2009.1.22
A person praying or making a wish under a full moon would not make an unusual sight in Korea. The moon has been long part of the Korean spiritual tradition and a symbol of abundance and fortune.
Perhaps with the hope of pulling the moon closer, Korean ancestors made "moon jars" out of white porcelain. The jar's mystical moon-like features, implication of abundance, and the painstaking process of making one continues to inspire many artists today.
Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, has gathered moon jar-themed works of many artists for the exhibition "Artists and Moon Jars," which is currently running at the gallery.
"As it is the beginning of the year, we wanted to start with something very Korean," said Sung Eun-jin, curator of the exhibition, to The Korea Herald.
"Moreover, since the moon jars mean richness, we thought it could give hope that we can overcome the current global economic crisis."
Paintings, photographs and actual moon jars of 16 artists are displayed at the exhibition. Works by famous Korean artists such as Koo Bohn Chang, To Sang Bong, Kim Whanki and Kang Ik-Joong are found there.
Moon jars and paintings stand here and there in the somewhat empty-looking rooms.
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"The gallery space is deliberately made to seem rather empty so that viewers can feel the beauty of the void and simplicity, just like the characteristics of the moon jars," said Sung.
While the completed version may seem simple, it is actually very difficult to make a moon jar. One moon jar is made from two ceramic hemispheres glued together.
"So many hemispheres break in the process of making a single jar," said Sung, pointing to a faint line where the top and bottom meets, at one of the jars.
"But once it survives through the rough process and succeeds in becoming a moon jar, it gives off a well-bred, smart look. At the same time, it is filled with mysteries."
One of the many charms about moon jars is the mysterious color. From one angle it looks white but from another, it looks pale pink, similar to the color of human skin. No wonder Koreans compliment ladies with smooth and rosy skin that she has "skin like ceramic."
The glamorous ceramic seems to have inspired artists from long ago.
"Everything about my art comes from white porcelain jars of the Joseon dynasty," the late artist To Sang Bong was often quoted as saying.
Moon jars hold flowers or stand side by side with other objects in his paintings, imbuing a wishful spirit into them.
Kim Whanki, another renowned artist, is well-known to have said that he learned about figurative arts, beauty and his people through ceramics and that "ceramics might be his textbook."
As if to honor the art of ceramics, he included moon jars many times in his paintings -- with flowers, women or even landscapes.
"Foreigners are becoming more and more interested in moon jars, because it is unique, and is so Korean," said Sung. The British Museum in Britain and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in the United States, currently possesses sculptor Park Young Sook's moon jars. Park's works are also included in this exhibition.
"Moon jars can be considered as one of the art pieces that express Korean style or thoughts the most intensively."
The exhibition runs through Feb. 10 at Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space in southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 519-0800 or visit www.galleryhyundai.com
By Park Min-young
(claire@heraldm.com)
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