이만익 "휴머니즘 예찬" 전시 리뷰

Artist voices humanism through paintings

 

Lee Man-ik poses in front of his work. [Gallery Hyundai]

Veteran Korean painter Lee Man-ik greeted the press in his studio at a recent conference, surrounded by pictures far taller than him.

The 71-year-old artist, although suffering from asthma and a sore ankle, displayed the enthusiasm of a 20-year-old when he talked about his solo exhibition "Homage to Humanism," which is currently underway at Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space in central Seoul.

The exhibition presents about 60 of Lee's latest works as well as representative ones, which all show off the artist's significant style of bold, simple outlines, vivid, folksy colors and out-of-perspective figures.

Looking around his studio, there were some familiar paintings.

Lee, the former 1988 Seoul Olympic Art Director, painted the posters for the hit musicals "The Last Empress" and "Dancing Shadows."

And it was not difficult to find what his works had in common, other than the significant brushwork: Humanism.

"We can no longer find humanism in paintings. Human beings have been unmasked too much until they became degraded. They show too much murder and too many surgery scenes. Today's contemporary art is not for people's sake but for art's sake. If this continues, the world will become too brutal," said Lee.

"I don't like cruel, nasty or bloody things. I don't draw things dying or getting sick. Some things just should be hidden while good things are shown. That's the role of art," Lee said.

Lee was quite an art prodigy at childhood.

He started painting at age 8 and his work was accepted at "Kuk seon," the old national art competition, in his senior year in middle school. He later won the Special Selection Award three years in a row while he was attending the college of fine arts at Seoul National University.

After teaching in high school for 10 years, he suddenly flew off to France, wanting to become a great artist like the Western masters. Ironically, he returned home as an artist with a very Korean style of painting.

"When I saw the actual masterpieces right in front of my eyes, I found out that each of the artists had their own significant styles. If they turned aside a little bit, people would immediately point out whose style they had copied. The artist would be denoted as an imitator then," Lee said.

After years of painting and erasing, he finally created his own style in 1978. People started to recognize his works without even looking at the signature. The subject was usually Korean people and tales, as Lee figured those are the concepts that he could better express than any other western masters.

During the past 30 years, however, his themes became more diverse - from Jesus and Buddha to characters to novels. Yet they still show a warm regard toward people.

"I know I cannot be a brand new person at this age, but I am trying to at least expand the themes all the while keeping my basic style," Lee said.

A tip to better enjoy Lee's works: Try to guess who the main character might be and search for hidden meanings.

For instance, a young man talking with a lady on a beach in one of his paintings is Jesus. Lee did not have any religious intentions in painting it but just needed a character that could best express the scene in his favorite music, "Stranger on the Shore."

In another painting, a curly haired young man with an agonized look is Hamlet, although he looks Asian. Lee had reflected himself into the character.

"I used to be very good looking when I was young," Lee said, jokingly.

Lee seemed very excited to explain the stories behind his works. After eagerly telling how the box a hoary headed old man - who is supposed to be the character from Lee Yuk-sa's 1946 poem "Gwangya" - is holding in one painting is actually a computer, he even recited a couple of poems that inspired him.

"See, the artist does have intentions and meanings for everything he draws and every color he selects. People hardly stand a couple seconds in front of paintings these days. If only they would stand long enough and ask me the meanings!" he said.

The exhibition runs through Dec. 20 at Gallery Hyundai Gangnam Space in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. For more information, call (02) 519-0800 or visit www.galleryhyundai.com

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young