고려흑자 재현하시는 김시영 도예가 인터뷰

Potter reproduces Goryeo black porcelain

 

"Cheongja," or "blue porcelain," would be one of the first things that pops into many Koreans' minds at the mention of Goryeo Dynasty's culture.

With its pale blue-green color, cheongja definitely placed Goryeo as the golden era of ceramics culture in Korean history.

Not many, however, would know that "Heukja," meaning "black porcelain," was also used during the dynasty. But being continuously overshadowed by cheongja, the unfortunate No. 2 pottery could not last for long.

"Heukja were considered too flamboyant and extravagant back then, and too black later in the Joseon dynasty. You know how white was considered virtuous in Joseon's Confusion society," potter Kim Si-young, 51, told The Korea Herald.

"So now, if there are 100 Goryeo porcelains in a museum, only two or three would be Heukja and the rest would be cheongja."

Ever since Kim first came upon a piece of heukja while mountain climbing near a slash-and-burn farmers village about 20 years ago, he has devoted himself to reproducing the pottery.

He mobilized all his skills and know-how he had accumulated while majoring in metal engineering at Yonsei University and also earning a masters degree in ceramics there.

To make sure that his heukja will not disappear like it did hundreds of years ago, Kim came up with an idea: to modernize them a little "like a chameleon."

Yes, Kim's heukja all do look similarly blackish from a distance. But taking a closer look, one can understand what his strategy is, and what he meant by calling them "extravagant."

The glossy surface breaks into numerous colors - green, purple, and even red, according to the angles.

"Just like how each one of a mother's babies is unique even though they are all born from the same belly, the colors of heukja also vary according to the temperature and ambience in the kiln," said Kim.

"White or blue porcelains only have one color so they have to rely on making various designs. But heukja has its kaleidoscopic colors as a strong competence as well as beautiful designs," pitched in his daughter Kim Ja-in, who had been sitting beside him during the interview.

Kim's two daughters, including Ja-in, are majoring in sculptures and potteries at university. Ja-in, the elder one, already started out to help her father at the studio.

So the question naturally rose, if it would be his daughters who will take over his studio and continue reproducing heukja in the future, or if Kim is taking any other apprentices to follow him.

"Good point. Yes, it is necessary that someday I teach someone so that heukja will not once again disappear into history. But honestly I think I am still young to be worrying about successors just yet," Kim said with a chuckle.

"I occasionally invite special school students over to the studio for art therapy, but otherwise I just concentrate on developing my skills," he said.

The ambitious artist, who was selected as a "Gyeonggi Euddeumi" - the title given to the best traditional artist in Gyeonggi Province - in 1999, holds many plans and hopes for the future.

Juries are examining him to be Gyeonggi Province's human cultural asset in the near future. Meanwhile Kim is preparing to start solo exhibitions overseas, starting from the one which will run in France early next year.

"My final goal is to be the god of fire. It would be the time when I can really handle fire perfectly and expertly produce heukja of various colors and designs like no one else," Kim said.

Kim's solo exhibition runs from Sep. 21 to Oct. 10 at Gallery Zein Xeno in Changseong-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (031) 584-2542.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young