ART

SUSHI OR JAIL?

the story of Ufan Lee and Hyong-Keun Yun

By Hannah Kim

A Korean Story

Once upon a time in Korea, there were two friends, Ufan Lee and Hyong-Keun Yun. They both wanted to be Artists. But even though they both got what they wanted – they are famous artists – one ended up in a fancy Sushi bar in Tokyo and the other in a Seoul prison. Here are two of their paintings...

Sushi or Jail

Jail or Sushi

Can you guess which one got tossed in jail and which one called out for another order of Sabu-Sabu? While you're thinking about this problem of perception, I'll introduce you to the life story of the two artists, but first a little bit about Korea herself.

In Korea, the 1970s was an era in which hope and despair coexisted. Through the Government modernization policy led by President Chung-hee Park(1963-1979), Korea achieved remarkable economic growth. But at the same time, those goals came at the expense of human rights. It was a time of rapid cultural change for Korean artists and the situation produced a vibrant mix of progressive politics, aesthetically radical positions, basically a lot of new ideas.

Chung-hee Park

Among the many new artistic movements, one of the most prominent was the monochromatic art movement, Dansaeckhwa. They focus on the repetitive physical acts rather than the physical properties of painting itself. Dansaekhwa can be defined in three words: tactility, spirit, and performance. And both Yun and Lee are recognized masters. But you’re still wondering which artist is which and so let’s learn a little more about both as you continue to ponder the question of sushi or jail.Yun was born in 1928 in Chengju. He entered Seoul National University Art school in 1947 to become an artist but was expelled after participating in a protest against the establishment of the Seoul National University, an administration backed by the U.S. military government.

Lee was born in 1936 in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province. During the Korean War, he also entered Seoul National University, but soon moved to Japan and graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Nihon University. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Lee’s biography is that in the summer of 1956, less than half a year after entering school, the 21-year-old Lee snuck into Japan while visiting an uncle who lived there. After graduating in 1961, Lee decided to become an artist and became involved in the development of the Dansaekhwa movement. He gained some amount of fame in the Japanese art world and a little later the global art one. Lee actively sought international exchanges and built ties between Korean Dansaekhwa artists. He was as cosmopolitan as an Artist can get and especially a Korean artist at that time.

Check out the hat

In contrast, immediately after the Korean War in 1950, Yun was dragged to the Press Federation for his many political protests and barely escaped being executed. In addition, Yun wasn’t allowed to return to Seoul National University. He transferred to the Western painting Department of Hongik University with the help of Artist Kim Whanki. After graduating, Yun became a teacher at Cheongju Girls' High School, but he was forced to resign after protesting against the Syngman Rhee's regime. In 1956, he served six months in Seodaemun Prison. In 1973, when the Yushin regime was in full swing, he protested against illegal school admissions. As a result, he was charged with violating "anti-communist law" under the pretext that his favorite beret resembled Lenin's hat. After these experiences, he began to paint in 1973 and at this point, you know which painter painted which canvas, right? Or maybe not.

Let's take a look at their artworks carefully. In Lee’s painting, lines are almost human, in that they find meaning in their overall harmony rather than as an individual image. He gives them the same thickness and shape, maintaining regular intervals between each stroke. As the line descends, the vivid blue gradually fades. He elicits communication and empathy in the relationship between heterogeneous objects.

Ufan Lee

Line, the fundamental element of the artwork, is the basis and starting point of eastern energy and vitality, so it can be said that Lee’s “From Line” is an attempt to approach a state of "무위자연 無爲自然, Muwijayeon" by repeating one-time actions. It is as if Lee is emptying the mind by drawing the same line. The term "爲自然然" refers to the ideal state of being and is a representative idea of life pursued by Laozi. Lee has been criticized for turning a blind eye to the political situation in the 70s. However, he argues that he never abandoned political reality and that this was the only way he could do it.

Can we really read the criticism of the times in his work? Some critics accuse Lee and those who gained cultural power in the Korean art world in the seventies as pseudo revolutionaries who like to believe that they were in opposition to the government. What is clear is that he has achieved a tremendous amount of success. In 2003, “From line, 1978” sold for 160 million won, the highest price of any Korean artist. No matter what, he does bring great attention to all Dansaekhwa artists. But the question of authenticity still hounds Lee; despite his success and the expensive Sushi dinners he can pay for, critiques of orientalism have also followed his work. One could say that people are just jealous, both of his painting and his lovely lifestyle, or is his obvious attraction to money a piece of evidence that says, “Sell out, of art, life, politics, Korea, and all of Asia”. It’s a difficult question with no clear-cut answers.

Among Dansaekhwa artists, Yun is the artist who is most free from such criticism. Yun has stated that the criteria that makes a person is also what makes an artist, ceaselessly reflecting on himself to parallel art and his life. Due to the continuous anger and hardships, his hair was covered with white and the painting was covered with black.

Hyong-Keun Yun

Yun uses a concentrated mixture of ultramarine and umber which gives the paintings an intense luminescent quality. Blue(ultramarine) is the color of the sky and umber is the color of the ground. That's why it's called Chenji(天地), the sky and the ground, and Mun(門), the door. The columns are reminiscent of an old tree or a huge rock wall, depending on the viewer. The unpainted, raw cotton fabric (Mapo) fills the space in the manner of any stroke of paint. By the way, he lets the paint dry and the flow of time is captured.

In particular, this painting was painted with anger during the Gwangju Democratization Movement, From May 18 to May 27, 1980. It was a movement in South Korea demanding the establishment of a democratic government and the resignation of military leaders, including security commander Doo-hwan Chun(1979-1980) as well as the abolition of martial law. The military suppressed the protests, brutally beat innocent citizens, committed sexual violence, illegally executed, and used guns against civilians. People were sick of the authoritarian government but didn’t have the power to challenge the status quo. It was a brutal slaughter. The pillars capture the pain of the times. Among Yun’s quotes, he said “ Living in the truth, betting life on the truth. That's the most beautiful thing about humans. Work is a trace of that person, so it is reflected as it is because it is an alter ego.” As we can see here, he was a social activist and artist, actively protesting and voicing the feelings of the oppressed. Lee has also stood by Yun’s work, stating "Neither the brush nor the paint are tools, but the means by which Yun can express the truth."

I’ve been prioritizing the political context of these two artists. It’s important to say, if we only emphasize that, we exclude other and possibly important artistic visions. We need to understand that art is never just political, but cultural, personal, and sometimes purely aesthetic. If the military dictatorship weren’t enough, these two artists lived in a Korea of great political and social change.The complexity of the lives and artworks of Hyong Keun Yun and Ufan Lee are beyond my imagination. Lee was more interested in connecting the world with artists as a cosmopolitan in an absurd world, while Yun directly opposes irrationality, and produces art of real resistance.

©Hannah Kim and the CCA Arts Review