Episode 51: Generational Change
Interview for Ryu Joonhee’s Large-Scale Solo Exhibition at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).
As usual, Ryu Joonhee was being showered with camera flashes.
‘If a painter has come, they should just look at the paintings. Why do they keep shoving cameras in the artist’s face…?’
No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn’t get used to this scene.
The sound of shutter clicks only made his eyes sting.
But the journalists always liked him.
How peculiar it was for the youngest son of a chaebol family to live so freely.
Moreover, Ryu Joonhee’s androgynous appearance also played a part in attracting attention.
Blonde hair down to his shoulders, a thin and long neck, a delicate and pale impression…
On top of that, his way of speaking was also quite rogue.
There was no one better for garnering views.
Sure enough, as soon as the microphone was passed to a journalist, they eagerly asked a question.
“The Campanula painting that was exhibited at your solo show in Chelsea Gallery in Manhattan, New York, was auctioned at Christie’s for 80 million won yesterday. What are your thoughts on that?”
With a look that said it wasn’t worth answering, Ryu Joonhee lazily took the microphone.
He found it annoying that the level of questions never changed year after year.
“As you all know, I was born rich, so I’m not interested in such matters. Please ask questions only about my work.”
As the flashes went off excitedly at his sharp answer, Hong Aram clenched her fist toward Ryu Joonhee.
It was a signal to answer properly.
Ryu Joonhee gave a slight reassuring smile to Hong Aram.
However, another question that couldn’t be answered gently came pouring in.
“Then let me ask about your work. Why do you always paint flowers? You have a very feminine image; are you subtly revealing a different gender identity? What is your relationship with the fashion designer John Matthew, with whom you are collaborating this time?”
He couldn’t believe he was getting such foolish questions…
Ryu Joonhee burst into a laugh and answered.
“Puhaha. That’s ‘byung-meok-geum’!”
“What does that mean?”
“It means ‘Do not feed the idiot’?”
As he spoke, the flashes went off crazily again.
He pretended to clean his ear with his pinky finger as if he had heard something unpleasant and stood up.
Journalists captured his arrogant attitude frame by frame.
“You damn fool! How can I face the director now! He was so happy to see you back in Korea!”
Hong Aram glared at Ryu Joonhee while checking the articles being uploaded in real-time.
She worried about how disappointing Ryu Miyeon would find her for not managing him properly.
At this rate, she wanted to wash her hands of all exhibition planning involving Ryu Joonhee.
Ryu Joonhee apologized in a small voice, conscious of Hong Aram.
“Sorry.”
“Couldn’t you just say you’re not gay when they ask? Why do you have to provoke them like that?”
“If I say no, the article would come out like I’m disrespecting sexual minorities. ‘Ryu Joonhee expresses discomfort at being perceived as gay. I am not a mere gay!’ That’s how the headline would go.”
“That would be better, you idiot.”
“No, it wouldn’t. I have to collaborate with John Matthew right now, and such an article would be problematic. Imagine him saying, ‘Oh, Joonhee, I didn’t know you had such a narrow-minded perspective.’ Wouldn’t that be unpleasant to hear? It would also make it hard to collaborate with luxury designers in the future.”
“Oh, so you do think about things?”
“Of course.”
“Then don’t cry over hate comments later!”
“Why, are there many?”
“Yes, I suggest you don’t look.”
Ignoring Hong Aram’s words, Ryu Joonhee immediately opened his phone.
He accessed a portal site, searched for his name, and clicked on the article with the most comments.
[Ryu Joonhee curses at a journalist. ‘I am rich, so mind your own business.’]
Best comments:
He’s always showing off.
Haha, where did this late-born child come from? Is he even a legitimate son?
But Jeil Group usually avoids media exposure, so why is he acting like a showoff? He’s a disgrace to the family…
Why do his eyes look so glazed? Did he do drugs?
Many artists are drug addicts.
Ryu Joonhee’s hands trembled with anger as he typed a comment.
- If you’re just jealous, say so.
Hong Aram smacked Ryu Joonhee’s back hard and said,
“Shouldn’t you log out before commenting?”
Startled, Ryu Joonhee deleted the comment and logged out of the portal site.
“Wow, that was close. Almost made a fool of myself.”
“I seriously want to hit you…”
“By the way, do you know?”
“Know what?”
“I hate comments from fans the most.”
Ryu Joonhee showed the last best comment.
- Joonhee oppa, I always love you no matter what. Joonhee, Matthew. This love. Always cheering for you.
Hong Aram couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Haha! They say they love you for who you are. Just understand.”
“Are they really fans? It feels more like a provocative anti-fan… It really pisses me off…”
“No, they are probably real fans. It’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Sigh, I’m tired of these misunderstandings. Let’s just get married.”
“Stop your nonsense.”
“…So blunt. But if we keep going like this, we’ll hit forty soon. Then it will be too late.”
Hong Aram bit her lower lip and squinted her eyes.
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t get married until the Korean Pavilion wins the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.”
“So, you mean never?”
Hong Aram sighed at Ryu Joonhee’s words.
Because it wasn’t wrong.
Even the group exhibition at the Korean Pavilion next year was already facing difficulties.
An excellent artist… They had a dirty person involved.
Sensing that something was wrong, Ryu Joonhee asked.
One of his eyebrows was raised.
“Why, is the preparation for next year’s Biennale not going well? Is there someone on the exhibition planning team you don’t like?”
“No. Haven’t you heard? It’s already a famous rumor around here.”
“I don’t know?”
“Artist Kim Sunbong is on trial for habitual sexual harassment of students. He hasn’t left anyone alone, from assistants to freshmen. He was dismissed from his professorship yesterday, and thanks to that, a spot in the Biennale group exhibition is now vacant…”
“Wow, big news. My scandal will soon be overshadowed by this.”
“…Is this funny to you? The exhibition planning team is in an emergency right now.”
Ryu Joonhee sighed and said,
“Sigh. We need to replace such trash with young blood… Honestly, how many Korean professors are actually doing proper work? They should all break their brushes and become farmers. They need to purify their minds in the countryside.”
“There are quite a few professors who aren’t like that. Anyway… We’re in an emergency about whether to go with three people for the group exhibition or to select one more person.”
“That makes sense. The exhibition hall is spacious, so we need one more person.”
Ryu Joonhee thought about the Korean artists he knew.
Most of the decent ones had already participated in previous Biennales, making them hard to recommend.
Eventually, his thoughts turned to his alma mater.
That’s the kind of school that produces artists needed in times like these.
“Hey, Aram, contact Professor Koo Haeyoung. Ask if there’s a hidden young student.”
“Are you suggesting we recommend a college student for the Venice Biennale? As one of the five Korean representatives?”
“Why not? Hanye University was established for that purpose. If they’re a genius student, even the Ministry of Culture could give them some recognition. The younger, the better.”
“You’re talking nonsense. They’ll probably be cut off during the document screening for lacking experience. They should have had several solo exhibitions in major galleries. Even if Professor Koo Haeyoung recommends them, it’s impossible.”
Ryu Joonhee shook his head and said,
“This country’s obsession with reputation. Nothing has changed since the Joseon Dynasty.”
“Idiot, I’d also want to pick a young person if they’re talented. But the team leader is the problem.”
“Can’t we just create the experience for them? It’s not like there are no talented people. Just bring them over.”
“You can use Heyum Art Museum as your room and create experience as you like.”
“True.”
“Ugh, forget it. Let’s stop talking.”
“Okay! Let’s stop here. I have to go anyway. My sister told me to come quickly today.”
“What? All of a sudden.”
“I don’t know, it seemed urgent. There might be a good person among the artists we’re selecting for sponsorship.”
“Oh? Who is it? If their work is good, introduce them to me. If they’re your sponsored artist, they’re trustworthy. They must be at least a mid-career artist.”
“Let’s see when I get there. Then I’m off. Bye.”
Ryu Joonhee suddenly winked and ran off.
He was always someone who moved suddenly like this.
Always making people bewildered.
While Seoyeon was having dinner with Kang Lim.
All the original photos they took were being saved on Kang Lim’s computer.
After Seoyeon left, Kang Lim checked the photos and arranged them in the order of their production years.
He cleanly cropped out the rooftop backgrounds and changed them to a black screen to create a focused portfolio.
‘They say the original photo is the most important, and there’s really nothing to retouch.’
When a studio isn’t available for shooting artworks, photos taken under natural light often come out closest to how the colors appear to the naked eye.
However, it’s still challenging to capture the colors well and restore the washed-out parts, but these photos came out so well that there was no need.
‘I guess it’s because it’s an expensive camera.’
Moreover, even the thin paint marks and tiny dust particles were visible.
The thickly applied paint’s rough texture is usually visible in photos, but it’s often hard to capture such delicate depth perfectly.
Kang Lim was very satisfied with the results as he retouched the photos.
‘I just need to fix the slight dust marks. I should have blown them off before shooting. I missed that.’
After completing the photos for the portfolio, he opened a Hangul file.
‘Now, I need to write the work notes…’
Work notes are as important as the portfolio submitted for a solo exhibition application.
It’s about why the artist created these paintings and their thoughts.
There is no set format, but since it’s a planned exhibition, it’s better to write with the exhibition theme in mind.
Many people are curious about the artist’s life and the stories embedded in the paintings.
If they love the painting itself, they enjoy it once, and then they want to know more about why it was painted.
In a word, this applies only to artists with outstanding works.
The artist explaining their life directly is meaningful for the viewers.
Once famous, critics, curators, and various scholars will swarm to research the artist and write essays.
However, rather than a series of difficult words interpreting the art history and historical significance, the artist’s own honest emotions written down tend to resonate more.
Curators are well aware of this sentiment, so when planning a retrospective exhibition, they often collect all the little notes the artist wrote and display them.
The curator’s job is to make the artist stand out and shorten the distance between the artist and the audience, not to highlight themselves.
Curators always work discreetly behind the scenes to help the artist.
‘The theme of this planned exhibition is fragments of memory. I applied because it seemed like a theme that suits me. I should write with that in mind.’
Kang Lim organized his thoughts and began to write.
[Memory is indeed subjective.
Even though I have the ability to remember every situation that has happened to me, I have never felt that my memory is objective.
I can recall events from ten years ago as if they just happened.
However, through that record, I cannot read the heart of the person who was in the same situation.
I can only infer their psychology by observing their actions and expressions.
Memory itself is already a small fragment that I, as an individual, have accepted…]
‘The fact that I experienced it already takes away the objectivity.’
[As someone with such a unique ability.
I was diagnosed as a future mental patient when I was six years old.
After that, I drew the suffering image of my mother.
This was a desperate attempt to understand my mother through the act of painting, but it might have been very painful for her.
What does it mean to understand a person?
Is it possible?
I believe it’s impossible for any human to fully understand another.
However, paradoxically.
I believe that a person who assumes they cannot understand others can come closest to understanding.
Because the premise that we cannot understand each other makes the approach to them more cautious.
A person who confidently believes they can understand you and sees the world as they wish.
Can never fully approach the other person.
These paintings depict the process by which my mother and I gradually came to understand each other.
The period when she accepted my talent, and I accepted my mother who had no choice but to hate my talent. It is a record of that time.]
Pressing the Enter key and finishing the note, Kang Lim found it amazing that words flowed so easily from him once again.
It was the same feeling he had when he wrote the fairy tale book before.
And, as Seoyeon said, he realized he was focusing on themes that had conflicts and clashes.
Even now, he was touching on the emotional gap that existed between humans who could not fully understand each other.
Knowing what he was focusing on,
Kang Lim suddenly felt proud that he had someone who understood him so deeply.
That person being Seoyeon…
In that heartwarming moment,
Suddenly, he heard a scream.
“Kyaaa!”
Surprised by his mother’s voice, Kang Lim ran out of the room.
“What happened!”
When he opened the door, Im Yoojin was smiling brightly.
“Kang Lim, you… made your literary debut!”
With those words, he saw the World Book Publishing website displayed on the laptop screen.
Oh. Today was the announcement day for the publishing company contest.
He had forgotten.
