KOREA FOUNDATION

1. Please briefly introduce yourself.

Hello, I’m Jeon Mihyang, and I majored in pottery in college. While I was teaching as a professor, I happened to stay in the US for a short while and was charmed by Joseon-era paintings there. My mind was occupied by minhwa(Korean folk paintings) and from then on, I devoted myself to creating art that highlights the excellence of decorative court paintings and minhwa, while also making them appeal to contemporary tastes.

2. Was that the first time you took an interest in minhwa ?

I grew familiar with minhwaas a collegian while gathering materials for my pottery. Due to a career change, I forgot about pottery and minhwa. While in the States, I suffered from a health problem and returned to Korea for treatment. Later, I began to paint auspicious minhwaand court paintings to express gratitude and love to those who helped me during difficult times. It was exciting to begin minhwaanew and revive my affinity for it that I had developed in my college days. Now, I’m working on minhwawith a sense of mission and philosophy about promoting Korean art.

3. What is the appeal of minhwaand decorative court paintings?

Minhwais attractive for its own excellence and gets more appealing as its modernity goes well with contemporary art. Decorative court paintings may not be as free-spirited as minhwabut they are considerably delicate, elegant, and gorgeous. Minhwaand decorative court paintings deliver auspicious messages carrying wishes for long life, happiness, wealth, and prosperity. Minhwais more than the simple paintings people look at; they are completed as artworks as their painters mature spiritually through self-cultivation in the process of working on them, harnessing their minds, and keeping inner peace. This is what I consider minhwa’s special appeal.

4. In promoting minhwaand decorative court paintings abroad, you are also pushing the five traditional colors called obangsaek. Please explain this.

Among Korea’s traditional colors are obangsaek, the five-color scheme of black, white, blue, red, and yellow. If we mix two sets of obangsaek, we come by 10 colors of sangsaenggansaek,, or “mutual generation,” and of sanggeukgansaek, or “mutual overcoming.” Adding more colors to the mix enables the production of countless colors. By systematically organizing the colors, we can create a hue circle, and by applying it to our work, we can come up with our—or my—own colors, and this is linked to my world of painting. I am trying to adopt free methods of expression and purity painted in our colors as in minhwa, not confined or limited by form or shape. Fine arts today are oriented largely to meet Western standards, and ours often fail to garner a great response on the global stage. I will focus my efforts on bringing the artistic genre of decorative court paintings to the outside world by delivering my art. Please look forward to the day when the beauty of Korea gets global recognition.

5. In addition to works related to obangsaek, what have you done to shine the global spotlight on minhwaand decorative court paintings?

The traditional subjects painted in minhwaare as important as the traditional colors used to paint them. If our reinterpretation of the simple yet powerful subjects in minhwacorresponds to contemporary aesthetic sensibilities, global audiences could understand the genre. For these efforts, I plan to hold exhibitions of traditional Korean paintings born of reinterpretation in the US, Japan, and France. An exhibition in France is scheduled this year and many exchange shows are slated with Japan.

6. Minhwaand decorative court paintings seem to have been left behind in global art trends. What do you think are the reasons for this?

Minhwahas apparently failed to gain recognition because of the notion that such works are simply copies of Joseon-era paintings that do not embody the thoughts and creativity of the times. Yet, many minhwaartists including myself are creating a new minhwaworld with the goal of establishing the genre as a global standard, combining the characteristics and methods of traditional folk paintings with modern elements. My focus is on expressing beauty with indigenous Korean colors totally different from those of the West. For decorative court paintings, far classier and elegant colors than the usually known traditional colors are used. Obangsaek forms the standard but is just one part. I think of creating and using lots of our colors for our expression. Another crucial thing is freely expressing ideas while maintaining and utilizing thoughts in minhwa, something that suits today’s art world.

7. What does the Korean Traditional Art Studio, which you run, do?

We search for materials deemed useful to assess the excellence of court paintings. We also strive to recreate kings’ portraits as part of efforts to maintain our traditions. We are troubled by a constant lack of materials and go anywhere where we can find them. Our studio has many artists who create works. They recreate traditional minhwaor produce new creative versions. Each of them strives to produce soulful paintings rich in stories and exhibit their works together or individually.

8. What are your plans and goals?

I am preparing for an invitational exhibition in Busan early next year. I am trying to produce works that are not only recognized by artists but are understood by all. I plan to exhibit my works in several countries, including the US. I would also like to join one of the American art associations and promote Korean court paintings to a wider audience.