Apr 18, 2006
From Matiere to Etchings
The oil paintings acquired by the museum all date back to the 1960s. Two Seated Men is from 1965, the year of ParkĄ¯s death. The two men, seen from the back, reflect the matiere that Park had perfected as if his own, which he often used to depict figures. Of the few still lives that Park had painted, the museum is home to Dried Croakers (1962). There are a handful of other works that include fish, but this is the only work in which simply drawn dried fish, piled atop each other, is the subject matter. It is not even clear on what the fish are placed, but the fish are masterfully depicted from a perspective that allows them to be seen in the best possible light.
Though the matiere technique is not evident, The Empty Cart, thought to have been painted in 1960, arguably expresses the serene spirit that suffuses ParkĄ¯s creations better than any of his other works. Sharply pointed shapes are scratched into the rough patches of color, evoking a sense of the exhaustion of everyday life, which is accentuated by the empty cart, depicted with lines alone. As is the case with his works in other media, ParkĄ¯s watercolors feature commonplace subjects and themes. Aside from an occasional landscape, he painted mostly still lives of everyday items, such as a childĄ¯s book bag, childrenĄ¯s shoes, pencils and erasers, paints, or an ordinary vase, arranged in the most simple compositions. The still life Paint Colors is a realistic portrayal of a round case with 12 colors of paint, of the former few CosmosĄ¯s brand, and 2 paintbrushes, without the use of a background or perspective.
Although Park was not formally trained in engraving, he was so devoted to the medium that he became a founding member of the Korean Engravers Association in 1958, and produced notable engravings during his career. The museum has succeeded in acquiring nearly all of ParkĄ¯s 17 original engravings. Moreover, the museum also maintains three of the original engraving plates. Although there is an unwritten rule that the plates should be discarded after a certain number of prints have been produced, the original plates of some of ParkĄ¯s smaller works have been preserved. They were likely used to print the New YearĄ¯s cards that he sent to friends and acquaintances. These include engravings of his oil paintings Oil Trader, Tree and Two Women, FarmersĄ¯ Music, Lying Cow and On the Road. Of note, the engraving Tiger depicts a dynamic subject, which is rarely seen in his oeuvre.
Diverse Collection of Drawings
Drawings account for a majority of the works housed in the museum. There has long been a tendency to regard drawings as mainly preliminary sketches for more complete works. Although there is validity to this view, since the 1980s the Korean arts scene has come to recognize the intrinsic value of drawings as expressions of the artistĄ¯s improvisational creativity and inspiration, and thus as legitimate works of art in their own right. The many traces of erased and redrawn lines that are apparent in many of ParkĄ¯s drawings are firm and deliberate strokes rather than tentative sketching. Many of the drawings are similar to his oil paintings, and they are mostly drawn with pencil that could be easily erased. So, does this suggest that Park regarded these drawings merely as preliminary drafts for his oil paintings? Above all, when seen from the context of his production process, the traces of frequent redrawing and erasures in his drawings reveal a detailed and meticulous dedication to his craft. The more distinct lines provide highlight and nuance to the objects of his drawings. In addition, considering ParkĄ¯s background of poverty and rural environment, it would have been difficult for him to utilize a wide variety of painting utensils, so it was natural for him to save the stubs of used pencils.
Furthermore, he had long suffered from cataracts and lost the sight of one eye in 1963. As such, his failing vision made it exceedingly difficult to transmit his impressions quickly to paper. In light of this, it would be unreasonable to simply dismiss his drawings as only preliminary sketches that just happened to survive. Although it is true that prolific artists leave behind countless sketches that are just drafts or childlike scribbling, ParkĄ¯s drawings can be seen as an authentic component of his body of work.The museum also maintains works that Park created for his children, as well as his illustrations in the childrenĄ¯s books that his wife Kim Bok-soon wrote and illustrations that appeared in journals, such as World of Cosmetics, Korea Electricity, Transport, and Mining Gazette in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Park compiled these works into a volume entitled Park Soo-KeunĄ¯s Illustrations.
By Kwon Sung-ah
Curator
Park Soo-KeunĄ¯s Museum
