Episode 81: Mixed In
Seoyeon walked, fastening her camel-colored coat.
Time always flows quickly, and today it was finally December.
Although the sunlight at 2 PM was quite warm, the wind had become chilly.
Bzzzz-
When her phone vibrated, she put her white hand into her pocket.
The touch phone developed by Jeil Group, one step ahead, appeared.
“Gasp, why is he calling?”
Seoyeon was a bit flustered by the call instead of a message.
Clearing her throat unnecessarily, she pressed the call button.
“Hello?”
[It’s me.]
A soft and low voice, it was Kang Lim.
“Why did you call?”
[I was wondering if we could meet at Heyum today. Around 3 PM?]
“Oh~ I’m actually on my way there. I have something to show you.”
[What is it?]
“Check the catalog I made. There are some I did and some by the planning team.”
[I’m interested in Seoyeon’s work.]
“Um… that sounds a bit ambiguous?”
[Huh. I didn’t mean it that way, but it seems you did.]
Seoyeon was so surprised that she covered her mouth.
Her cheeks blushed, perhaps because of the cold.
From the other end of the line, she heard laughter.
[Hahaha, you stopped walking because you’re embarrassed, didn’t you?]
“No, I didn’t? You always joke around… it’s ridiculous.”
[Then I’ll be serious when we meet and tell you how to display the works.]
“Oh! But there’s a bit of a problem with the installation…”
[Why?]
Seoyeon said with a darkened expression.
“While photographing the works for the catalog, I had to piece them together by chapter, but the exhibition hall is quite short on space… How about hanging the rest in the annex? It’s in Yongsan-gu, so the location is a bit remote…”
[No, it’s actually better. There’s no need to hang them in the annex.]
“Huh?”
[I’ll explain when we meet. We’re planning to do a performance for the audience.]
“Oh… got it!”
After ending the call, Seoyeon tilted her head in confusion.
He always takes time to understand.
Although he’s a bit eccentric, he’s a person with a deep soul.
The writing in his artist notes was so profound that she had to read it several times.
The words were so precious that she wanted to include them all in the preface.
It was too difficult to extract only the phrases that matched the works.
‘He might be a bit like a poet.’
Seoyeon smiled softly as she walked.
Passing by the Baekyeon Gallery, she saw people still lining up.
It’s truly amazing. In an era overflowing with images, to capture someone’s attention with paintings.
‘Combining opposites harmoniously and innovatively is Kang Lim’s signature, but always involving people is also his signature.’
Seoyeon wanted to clearly showcase Kang Lim’s second signature as well.
The heart that always wants to be with the audience…
“Hey, isn’t this leaflet design too pretty?”
“The exhibition design also perfectly matches the works. Let’s post it on our blog!”
People took pictures in front of the exhibition hall with happy expressions.
Click- Along with the sound, a good idea came to Seoyeon’s mind.
Kang Lim compared the two catalogs.
He didn’t expect both the planning team and Seoyeon to separately create the catalogs, considering how long it takes to make one.
He felt Ryu Miyeon’s consideration by giving multiple options.
‘But it seems just Seoyeon would have been enough.’
Without bias, Seoyeon’s catalog was much better.
The planning team’s catalog was too conventional.
‘Usually, a long exhibition period is only for famous artists. This format is common in museums for such cases.’
When famous artists come to Korea for exhibitions, the duration is very long, always over three months.
Since there are many things to handle, including insurance, they exhibit multiple works while they’re at it.
The works are large and numerous, so the catalogs also become larger.
If large works are included in a small book, the detailed parts can’t be seen.
‘It’s good to see them big, like keeping them as treasures… But if it’s this big, it’s too heavy and expensive. With a price of 80,000 won, you’d really have to be determined to buy it…’
In contrast, Seoyeon’s catalog was slightly smaller.
Instead, the format was unique.
It was just like an oriental painting album.
‘The most important feature of an album is that there’s no distinction between the front and back.’
When you turn the front cover, a landscape chapter is displayed on one page.
When you turn it, the next chapter appears, and if you unfold the book like an accordion, chapters 1 to 10 are shown.
When you flip it over and turn the back cover, chapter 11 appears.
If you turn it again, the next chapter appears, and if you unfold it like an accordion again, chapters 11 to 20 are shown.
Drawings were included on both sides.
‘The book size was reduced, but since it’s an unfolding format, the size of the included drawings is larger than the planning team’s. It doesn’t lose out in detail at all.’
Kang Lim nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Very well done. I like it.”
Seoyeon beamed immediately upon receiving the compliment.
Her round eyes folded cutely.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Seoyeon explained her intention with sparkling eyes.
“I deliberately made it so there’s no distinction between the front and back! The exhibition hall is round, and the theme of your works captures the flow of nature. It’s like showing your cyclical worldview.”
“Wow, it’s perfect, even including the meaning.”
“I also thought of a great idea for the leaflet design!”
“What is it?”
Seoyeon took out her phone and searched for Baekyeon Gallery.
She showed Kang Lim the blog and Facebook reviews that filled the website.
“The exhibition at Baekyeon Gallery ends this week, but there are still a lot of people. I think it’s because your work is so good that it spread by word of mouth.”
“Right. Many people posted after visiting.”
“Exactly. Usually, exhibitions get a lot of promotion only at the opening, and later there aren’t many people. It’s really rare for there to be a lot of people even at the end. So I want to use this.”
“How?”
“Take random shots of pieces of your work and make them into leaflets like postcards!”
“Not the whole drawing, just a piece?”
“Yes! People will come and match the leaflet they have with the actual work at the exhibition. Because of the puzzle-like certification shots, more reviews will be posted!”
Kang Lim burst into laughter at the brilliant idea.
It was a pity that only Facebook was active at this time.
If this was used on Instagram, it would be perfect for SNS marketing.
“Are you a genius? Thinking of such a thing at this time.”
“What are you talking about, you’re the genius.”
“Haha. Anyway, all we need to do is write the exhibition title and the opening reception date in small letters on the back.”
“Right, now we just need to decide on the layout. Explain how you’re going to arrange the 20 chapters.”
Kang Lim pointed to the empty entrance of the exhibition hall with both hands.
There were two entrances.
One was the main entrance of the exhibition hall, and the other was the elevator door.
“First, block the elevator inside the exhibition hall. I think it would be good to block it with the white partition we used in the last exhibition.”
“To block people who come up using that?”
“Yeah.”
“But don’t you want to avoid restricting the movement?”
“I won’t restrict them once they’re inside, but I want to restrict them until they come in.”
“Well… There are plenty of elevators near the main entrance, and Heyum has a ramp, so it’s not difficult to come up. But why do you want to do that?”
“The first impression of the work is important.”
Kang Lim drew a round exhibition hall in Seoyeon’s notebook.
He drew pieces of the drawing densely on the wall while explaining.
“I’ll write down the order of the mixed pieces for the next five months. They will keep changing even when I’m not in Korea.”
Professors with authority in Western painting, sculpture, and Korean painting gathered.
The Korean Art Exhibition is notorious for its corruption, but it still needs to maintain appearances.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty auditorium.
Looking at the densely displayed works, they selected the award-winning pieces.
When they spotted an eye-catching work, they found the artist listed on the document and read the artist’s intention.
The number of works was so large that it resembled an art fair.
Thanks to this, they even rented the empty KINTEX exhibition hall…
The judges couldn’t help but sigh.
The only one smiling was the secretary.
She was definitely wearing a courteous smile.
Following the president of the Korean Art Association, she eloquently praised the overflowing passion in Korean art, which seemed impressive.
That’s also a job that requires professional dedication.
The president opened his mouth before entering the last auditorium.
“Most of the awards are decided now. Except for the grand prize.”
The judges nodded, glancing at each other.
This year, there was an exception, specifically that grand prize.
The originally predetermined person was the son of Kim Sunbong, a famous professor and artist participating in the Venice Biennale.
However, with Kim Sunbong’s sex crimes becoming an issue, it was canceled.
The Korean Art Exhibition is already criticized for being a private party.
The president wasn’t a fool, so he decided to lay low this year.
With the public criticizing Kim Sunbong, there was nothing good about getting involved.
“As always, we will choose a skillful artist’s painting this year. You’ve seen 3,000 works so far… Is there a piece you like?”
The claim that they always chose based on skill was laughable, but no one laughed.
The judges still glanced at each other.
Perhaps frustrated by this, a sculpture professor spoke first.
A sturdy impression, a face that seemed principled.
“Sculpture works are only 500 pieces, so I’ve already reviewed them all. There’s no piece worthy of the grand prize. The depiction was excellent, but there was no work that showed the artist’s imagination and individuality.”
The president stroked his chin and spoke.
He seemed to be in deep thought.
“Hmm… then let’s do this. Since the excellence and outstanding awards have both gone to Western paintings, the grand prize should go to a Korean painting. This is the Korean Art Exhibition, after all, so our art should win, don’t you think?”
The judges nodded.
Though there’s no corruption in this year’s grand prize, they expected the old-timers’ preferences would naturally be reflected.
The Western painting professor smiled and said.
Twisting his frail body, he flattered.
“Oh, that’s right. The awards for the Western paintings have already been given to deserving pieces.”
With tacit agreement, the association’s executives and judges moved to the last exhibition hall.
It was already almost sunset.
There were plenty of people who knew the president’s taste…
The Korean painting submissions were overwhelming.
To think that so many works would be crammed into Hall C…
It was as difficult as a camel passing through the eye of a needle to find a standout work here.
At this point, aiming for a lower award seemed better than the grand prize.
“Isn’t this the tiger from ‘The Magpie and the Tiger’? This tiger has a story too! I’ve never seen a picture of a tiger holding a baby tiger, it’s an innovative drawing!”
The secretary read the artist’s intention next to the president.
“Why doesn’t the tiger eat the person if given a rice cake? He could have eaten him, but he didn’t. Perhaps he had children too. This has been passed down from…”
The judges couldn’t believe their ears.
The work’s quality was low, but the thought behind it was even worse than a grade-schooler’s.
Usually, even if the artists’ words were flashy, this one lacked both.
“Haha. That’s right! Exactly!”
Only the clueless president was delighted, inspecting each piece closely.
If he continued to appreciate such dreadful paintings in detail, they would never finish the evaluation today.
There were quite a few fine works in Halls A and B.
Realistic paintings imbued with the artists’ efforts, works that explored various expression methods…
They were all worthy of awards without shame.
In contrast, Hall C was the worst.
It seemed that all they thought about was how to please the president.
The judges walked away from the president and scattered.
They wanted to find works that captured contemporary sentiments and carried on traditions with the artist’s unique creativity.
They needed to discover masterpieces that expanded the scope of creativity.
Only then would it be worthy of the grand prize in a competition representing Korea.
After a long walk, the judges stopped in front of one painting.
The professors were shocked by its unprecedented style.
The most surprised was the Korean painting professor.
He urgently called the president.
“Please, come here! We have found the grand prize winner.”
The color of the cold night sky.
It held the blue aura of dawn.
The whole world was covered in white snow.
Untouched, pristine snow.
If you ran across it right now, footprints would be left with a crunching sound.
A bamboo grove split into two paths.
Chilly moonlight shone through them.
When a strong winter wind blew, and the bamboo shoots swayed…
The heavy snow that had piled on the leaves fell with a thud.
The bamboo, boasting green leaves even in midwinter, stood out clearly.
“The value of literary painting. It’s a painting that reinterprets its aesthetics in a modern way. To express a junzi (virtuous man) like this shows a deep level of thought.”
At the Korean painting professor’s words, the judges nodded.
There was nothing to fault in the artist’s intention read by the secretary.
Everyone felt enlightened by encountering such a good work.
It was like having their eyes washed with clear, pure water.
“Do you like it?”
Unexpectedly, the only quiet one was the president.
They expected him to make a fuss and stammer, but he seemed subdued.
His unnatural demeanor and stiff posture.
With trembling hands, he lifted the painting and leaned it against the wall.
When the light shone from below, shadows fell between the bamboo groves.
Thanks to this, the bamboo shoots and protruding nodes became more distinct.
It seemed like the moonlight, obscured by clouds, was fully revealed.
The distant and nearby bamboo.
Even the swaying leaves were all at different heights.
How could a painting be made to stand out like this?
The president couldn’t comprehend it with his knowledge.
He swallowed hard.
Staring intently at the painting…
A faint shadow appeared between the branches.
He went to the end of the hall and turned off the lights.
The remaining light was only the twilight glow.
When strong light came in from the side of the window…
A starling hidden between the branches appeared.
The secret revealed by the thick layers of snow.
Shadows created by the exquisite angle of the light.
The starling flapped its wings, letting its long tail hang down.
A summer bird appeared in the winter forest.
He didn’t paint the bird, but he drew it out.
