Wandang, Kim Jung Hee (1786-1856) was a master of a bibliographical study as well as one of the most influential poet and calligrapher with a high degree of mastery in "poem, writing and painting" in the later part of Chosun Dynasty.
The purpose of ...
Wandang, Kim Jung Hee (1786-1856) was a master of a bibliographical study as well as one of the most influential poet and calligrapher with a high degree of mastery in "poem, writing and painting" in the later part of Chosun Dynasty.
The purpose of this study is, first, to explore his life with ups and downs and social circumstances, ideological and mental background before looking deeper into his paintings in the literary artist's style, because art is a product of history and age coupled with an individula's personal experiences.
Secondly, this paper also tries to investigate into the commonalities and discrepancies in his "poem, writing and painting" reflecting his difficult times of detention and dismissal from offices, which were almost his destiny in life as an artist.
Thirdly, art which is represented by a man tends to have a lot in common with his life. Therefore, this study can spot the common factors in his works of poem, writing and painting completed during his detention in Jeju Island.
The fourth purpose of this study is to survey the characteristics of his works of poem, writing and painting during his detention in Jeju and find out the implications of 'Wandang Fever" he posed to the circle of writing and painting in the later period of Chosun and the generation that followed.
This study was conducted centering around the works among others, which are know when they were created based on other publications. Most of his works gives no clues when they were created, which makes it difficult to identify the period.
Second approach is to have an comprehensive view over the three axis of his art, namely poem, writing and painting, to feel the true meaning and beauty of his works. Therefore this study is conducted on that basis.
Thirdly, the ideological background is divided into Confucianism, Practical Study, and Buddhism's Zen, yet in the study these ideas are not clearly distinctive. For the purpose of this study, his ideology was divided into Confucian poetry world on the one hand and meditation's Zen world on the other.
Forth, it needs to be emphasized that though I have gone through a lot of studies and publications to choose his works and connections, it has a lot of limit in exploring his three kinds of work at the same time in terms of expertise and periodic distinction.
In the modern world, the concept of "A painting in the literary artist's style' has become one with a lot of extensive meanings, breaking free from regional division like "South-North Initiative Dispute" or social class that paintings are only for the high and rich.
It was revealed in this study that the true value of "A painting in the literary artist's style' does not lies not in the surface of the works. AS Deung Xi Chang from Meng Dynasty pointed out "If you do not read 10 thousand books and walk 10 thousand miles, you would not get what you want even if you become a flower or a bird." He emphasized what it takes to be a painter and a calligrapher. "A painting in the literary artist's style' is not just a combination of the three factors but a harmony of the three making it a live organism. Such an idea is very well reflected in his masterpiece of "Burisunnan" or "Sehando,”which have their foundation in his profound philosophy.
To briefly describe his view of art and spiritual ideology, his mental state during his detention helped overcome sadness, loneliness, destitute, suffering from ailment caused by separation from his family using his attitude of a recluse. It can be easily seen that his value of art lies in "scent of letters," "energy of books" and "learning from the past and innovating the present."
He reached a state of calligraphy where there were no uniformity and artificiality and but only "letting everything be." In art, he was indulged in the idea of "study and art is one," inspired by Practical Study's sense of beauty and Southern "A painting in the literary artist's style.' He also tried to seek the very source of everything from epigraph. His pursuit of "scent of letters," "energy of books" and "learning from the past and innovating the present." in an attempt to foster harmony between study and personality was blended as unique order in his works.
To summarize his properties during his detention in Jeju island, the forms created there are different but the meaning under them are the same. Each area communicates with one another and unfolds unique and harmonious his own "painting in the literary artist's style.' In other words, among the "poet, writing and paining," poet and writing have content in common while writing and painting shows a perfect match in their forms. Poet and painting forms a uniformity by mediation of writing. Poet and painting, moreover, possess a common deep meaning through writing, thus leading the three entities to become a perfect one in perfect harmony.
The common factors that underpin the feeling of beauty are "Gozolmi," "Keumseokki," Chunghwami," "Scent of Letters," "Energy of Books" and "Learning from the Past and Innovating the Present." Gozolmi is the beauty of no artificial concoct, which Kim Jung Hee sought. He acquired the beauty from continuous diligence in study and seamless endeavor. His moderate, nature-following and natural works can be attributed to his pursuit of this value.
"Keumseokki" is based on strong and sublime beauty, which modeled up China's Northern Tombstone. His unique handwriting is inspired by this beauty, which evokes linearity and simplicity. Additionally, Chunghwami is to give human beings and art the beauty of proportions and order and let them the principle of the nature. His such unique style of cleanness, mildness and simplicity were acquired through persistent study and practice and become more fine-tuned to give birth to his unique writing style called "Chusache" and "Sehando"
To add up his mentality and ideas found from this study is as follows. Kim Jung Hee enhanced his personality and scholarship through continuos reading and worked out energy of books. His indulge in the study of Zen could lead him to have an mental ability to represent salvation and, at the end, drew "the picture of black orchid." He finally reached his own technique of harmony between physical resemblance and portrait to create a true value as a painting in the literary artist's style.
Kim and his colleagues generated a unique wave of painting in the literary artist's style of Southern China's type in the circle of painters in later Chosun Dynasty and contributed to forming a mainstream in our the traditional paintings as its successor. His impact on the modern art includes his inspiration toward to drive for creativity trough his mentality instead of his technique.
Consequently, just like Kim Jung Hee pioneered a world of Learning from the Past and Innovating the Present, this researcher will reach a stage where I will pursue a forward-looking mentality, view and beauty in his heart and turn them into a original painting style, based on enough study and experience, to a new level of poet, writing and painting.