Episode 19: Exhibition Preparation
After class, Yoonhyun called Kang Lim aside.
“I saw the painting you did today. The assignment you submitted was excellent. You’re utilizing everything you’ve learned from me… You seem to like anatomy?”
“Yes, of course. The human body is fascinating and fun. I’ve read a lot of books since I was young.”
“Ah, I see…”
“But the medical illustration work is so extensive… How much do you want me to draw?”
Yoonhyun burst into laughter at Kang Lim’s words.
It sounded as if he was asking whether he should draw even the blood vessels, lymph nodes, and organs if required.
Medical illustration work involves drawings included in textbooks for medical students.
But it’s unlikely that a non-medical student would memorize that vast amount of information.
Yoonhyun had graduated from Y University’s graduate school and came here as an anatomy professor.
“Hahaha. You only need to draw the bones and muscles I taught you. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Ah, I see.”
“As I mentioned earlier, the pay is 150,000 won per cut.”
Kang Lim felt a bit disappointed. If it’s 150,000 won per cut, he wanted to draw everything.
“Take a look at this.”
On the professor’s laptop were various photos.
A model in an archery stance, a model with their chin lifted, a model doing a deadlift…
“If you send me the photos with partial zoom-ins and full-body shots, Kang Lim, you can draw the bones and muscles as per the composition and send them to me. Draw the bones with lines only, and the muscles with colors.”
“Ah, yes, yes. But they’re all Asians?”
With a sharp question, Yoonhyun’s shoulders rose proudly.
His eyebrows curved like seagulls as he smiled proudly.
“That’s right! Exactly. Most anatomy books on the market are based on Westerners. This time, we’re making a practical book featuring only Asians.”
“Oh. That’s really great, professor.”
It was meaningful work. It would also help medical students.
“Ah, and if you have more time, I might give you another task.”
“What is it?”
“I’m writing another book… This one is an anatomy book for artists.”
“Oh. Is it also 150,000 won per cut?”
“Hahaha. Yes, it is. This one involves looking at famous paintings and explaining how the human body was transformed to convey certain feelings. Of course, I’ll write the interpretations.”
Yoonhyun opened a new folder on his laptop.
When he clicked on a photo, Édouard Manet’s famous “Olympia” appeared.
“As you know, lying in a half-raised position like this isn’t comfortable. But the reason this painting looks comfortable is that the sternum and ribs are raised without showing the indentations. I plan to make a book comparing the poses in famous paintings with actual model photos.”
“Wow. This is also incredibly interesting. I’d love to buy and read it when it comes out.”
“Hahaha. Right?”
Yoonhyun excitedly showed another photo.
This time, Amedeo Modigliani’s “Jeanne Hébuterne” series appeared.
“If this model’s trapezius muscle were actually raised…”
Ah, Kang Lim felt an intuition.
‘If this professor continues, he’ll explain all the photos in this folder…’
Professors often have this side effect when they meet someone they can talk to.
“Ah, professor, I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
“Actually, Professor Koo Haeyoung asked me to come after this class… I need to go.”
“What? Oh dear. It’s an important appointment. You should go quickly.”
Koo Haeyoung was a prominent professor at the school and also respected by Yoonhyun.
So he could happily send the student off like this!
“Yes, thank you. If you send the photos to my email, I’ll work hard on them.”
“Sure, sure. Sounds good.”
Kang Lim wrote down his email on a memo and handed it to Yoonhyun before quickly leaving the classroom.
Watching him leave, Yoonhyun licked his dry lips.
Koo Haeyoung didn’t call just anyone to his lab.
‘A student already favored by such a top professor…’
Seeing that he would get busier in the future, Yoonhyun felt a bit regretful.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Kang Lim entered, looking much more nervous than before.
Koo Haeyoung had an overwhelming presence just by being there.
“Have you had dinner?”
Noticing the atmosphere, he asked a light question.
“Ah, no. Not yet… You should eat too. Did I come too late?”
“It’s okay. I usually don’t eat dinner.”
How… How does he maintain that much hair at his age without eating dinner?
While wondering, he noticed a black soybean milk on the desk.
That must be his dinner.
“The reason I called you today is simple. I want you to participate in the Ian Gallery exhibition.”
“Yes…?”
“It’s a special exhibition. The posters and leaflets are out. The catalog will be made after the exhibition, so there’s no rush.”
Kang Lim politely accepted the exhibition materials handed by Koo Haeyoung.
Ian Gallery…
It might be nothing special to the professor, but for a rookie like Kang Lim, it was an incredible opportunity.
“Since you’ll be using oil paints in the materials class anyway, you can submit the work you make then… Is that okay?”
Today, the anatomy homework would be part-time work…
The oil painting assignment would be for an exhibition…
This was truly a day of killing two birds with one stone…
It was an unbelievable day.
“Wow. Of course. Thank you so much. I’ll do my best.”
“Haha. Good. Visit the gallery soon.”
“Yes! I’ll go tomorrow. I’d go now, but it’s probably closed.”
“Good. Then enjoy your dinner.”
Kang Lim bowed and turned around, trying to suppress his joyful smile.
The next day.
Kang Lim went to Ian Gallery early in the morning.
He arrived at Anguk Station early because he had morning classes.
A large gallery could be seen not far from the entrance of Insadong.
There was a lot of foot traffic because of the nearby Ssamziegil.
“Wow. It’s really hard for rookies to exhibit in a white cube.”
A gallery with clean, good space is called a white cube.
It’s difficult for rookies with no experience to hold exhibitions in such pristine spaces, hence the nickname.
Unless they win a special competition, most of them end up exhibiting in old, shabby galleries, or in corners where no one sees them.
“Moreover, it’s on the first floor. Exhibiting on the first floor in Insadong costs a lot of money…”
Compared to Gangnam galleries, Insadong’s exhibition fees aren’t expensive.
But that’s only in comparison to Gangnam; Insadong was still expensive for Kang Lim.
The rental fee for a week’s exhibition here is about 5 million won.
Of course, 5 million won is for the 5th floor.
The lower the floor, the easier it is for visitors to access, so the rental fees become exponentially higher.
For a gallery with a good location like Ian Gallery, it’s easy to expose works, so the first floor would cost over 15 million won.
“Professor is really the best. I should try other competitions during the vacation.”
Galleries hold annual competitions to support solo exhibitions for artists.
If you have a portfolio, you can apply according to the competition schedule.
Click, click.
A woman who appeared to be a gallery staff member ran over and opened the door.
Seeing her on tiptoes trying to find the keyhole, Kang Lim approached to help.
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Are you the curator of Ian Gallery?”
“Yes, that’s right. But who are you?”
“Ah. I’m a student recommended by Professor Koo Haeyoung.”
“Oh! You must be Kang Lim?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Come in. I was really curious. Professor Koo Haeyoung never recommends anyone.”
“Haha…”
They entered after opening the door.
“Please sit in the meeting room.”
The curator turned on the exhibition hall lights, adjusted the indoor temperature, and then entered the internal meeting room.
“You saw the poster, right?”
Kang Lim took out the shiny poster from his bag and smiled.
“Oh, yes. Haha, that’s the one. I designed it.”
Curators have a tough job because they have to make everything from catalogs, posters, banners, to name tags for works.
Usually, people think there’s an in-house designer, but that’s only in big company museums. In galleries like this, the curator handles everything.
“It’s nice. It must have been hard to make such a good poster… The typography also matches the theme well. It seems you put a lot of effort into the font as well.”
Having memories of working as a designer in his past life, Kang Lim knew how hard this work was.
“Wow… Thank you for appreciating the poster. Most people just look at the opening date and time. Haha.”
“By the way, who are the other artists participating with me?”
“Oh, it’s a group exhibition with 10 people. Most of them are artists who’ve worked in the field for a long time. They are older and have a deep artistic worldview.”
Usually, for themed exhibitions, the curator sets a theme and posts a call for submissions, selecting artists who fit the theme.
Simply put, if it’s a summer-themed exhibition, they might invite a painter who only paints watermelons.
“Since you’re still a student, it might be a bit challenging. The theme is quite heavy, you know.”
Kang Lim found the theme of this exhibition intriguing.
[Great Villains]
Villains being great? The exhibition keyword itself seemed to draw curiosity from people.
“Haha- The exhibition title is meant to stand out, right? It’s a sarcastic take on ‘great’.”
“Yes, I know.”
This curator was good. Her tone was gentle.
Gallery exhibitions are often called a league of their own because they’re so boring and uninteresting that only people from the same field come to congratulate each other.
But this exhibition seemed like it would attract a lot of people if promoted well.
The location was also good.
“I like the theme. I’ll make sure not to disappoint.”
“Haha- Reliable. Of course, it’s someone recommended by Professor Koo!”
“When is the shooting date for the works?”
“Hmm- The photo shoot is in 4 weeks! I need to coordinate the exact time with the photographer. I’ll let you know then.”
“Okay. And with 10 people in this space, I guess… A size of about 100 ho would be fine?”
“Wow. You guessed the size right away? Haha. People might think you’ve done many exhibitions.”
He had seen a lot of space layouts while working in design. This was basic.
“It doesn’t have to be exactly 100 ho, so if it’s too burdensome, you can make it smaller.”
“No, I’ll prepare something around 100 ho.”
“Great. Just, don’t stress too much and prepare like you usually do. If Professor Koo Haeyoung praised you, you’ll do well naturally.”
What is this… She was telling him not to stress while giving him pressure.
Noticing Kang Lim’s thoughts, the curator chuckled and said.
“Really! Actually, one of the participants is a senior from your school! You’re not the only student. Don’t feel intimidated by the experienced artists. I don’t expect you to match the level of those who’ve studied the theme for a long time.”
“Oh. Another senior from our school?”
“Yes. Haven’t you heard? Do you know Lee Sehee?”
Lee Sehee…? Who is that?
He frowned, trying to recall.
It was his nature not to remember things he wasn’t interested in.
Click, click, click.
Just then, the sound echoed from the quiet gallery floor.
As the sound grew louder, the meeting room door burst open.
“Curator! How can you accept another person just 4 weeks before the shoot? Can you really do this? It’s so frustrating.”
“Oh. Speak of the devil…”
“Is it her?”
The curator nodded, and Lee Sehee glared at Kang Lim.
Her face was about to explode with dissatisfaction.
“I submitted my portfolio to get in, but how can he just come in through a recommendation?”
Kang Lim looked closely at Lee Sehee’s face.
He knew the face, even if he didn’t know the name.
