Athour's Note

  ( 2nd Solo Exhibition, Busan Lotte Gallery, 2005.5 )

             Humans as the most beautiful and noble beings

The most beautiful and noble beings in the world we live in are humans. Of course, the natural environment in which people live must also become more beautiful and be given precious meaning. It is true that the more you look at the protagonist of a portrait work, depicting a unique aspect of life regardless of gender or age, the more beautiful and pious the person appears. I think this is because you cannot see the inner thoughts of a person, but can only read them from the face. If a great work of art is the only thing in this world, the facial expressions of each noble human being are enough to become the best work of art. Therefore, a portrait artist must be a person who treats his work with reverence as if he were a work of art. However, painters go through a variety of agonizing processes due to reasons such as finding materials, training and exploring techniques, or achieving a level of perfection that is difficult to achieve during the work process.

Leonardo da Vinci's work <Monariza> from the 15th century is a portrait of an ordinary woman painted on a small canvas No. 30 (53x77cm) at the order of her husband. Who would have guessed that it would become more famous than today's famous queen? Did you do it? An even more famous anecdote is that a painter who was single throughout his life painted it over a period of four years, but perhaps because of his insatiable perfection, he carried it with him for 16 years until his death and ended up leaving it unfinished.

Stephen Gjertson (a painter of Classical Realism), who is currently famous as an American portrait artist, said that portraits are not only difficult but also demanding work. Portrait artists must also have artistic and creative talent and adaptability to complex work. It is said that there must be persistent obsession as well as inclusiveness. Portrait works must have the likeness and identity of the person, but especially the unique impression of the person's appearance is considered to be as important as life. In other words, it is not only difficult to find the most beautiful impression in a person's appearance, but it is even more difficult to express it in a way that makes the viewer sympathize.

In the West, oil paintings have mainly been painted on the upper class since the 14th century, but in the 17th century, Dutch portrait artists such as Vermeer began to paint portraits widely of even the common people, and now about 80% of all art galleries in the West are devoted to the portrait genre. It is said to be occupied. In the past, our ancestors also painted mostly upper-class people while they were still alive, leaving behind many excellent portraits. Until now, portraits were unfamiliar to the general public and were not widely spread, but in the future, along with the trend of finding human value, it is expected that a large number of good painters and works will be produced.

  Lyricism and impressionism felt through the work

Terms that are relatively familiar to us are lyricism and impression. Lyricism refers to an emotional expression or expression of emotion, and impression refers to a clear impression or imprint on the mind. The feeling of emptiness we feel in our daily lives is often comforted through lyrical or impressive emotions because it serves as a catharsis that purifies our emotions and relieves stress. In landscape paintings, as in portraits, painters want to leave a unique lyricism and impression on viewers when they interact with the work. My hometown is Busan, so I always liked the sea, the distant horizon, the rolling waves, and the nearby mountains. When encountering unchanging, pure nature, the experience of feeling your heart pounding and falling into a lyrical abyss from a deep abyss seems to be something that everyone has, just as we sympathize with good works.

Herschel B. Chipp (1913-1992), an art professor at Berkeley University, wrote in Theories of Modern Art-A Source Book by Artists and Critics, “Complete art must be completed by putting everything together. It is said that when you look at a work of art called a painting, everything comes together in your head at once without even having to think. From this point of view, painting is the most beautiful of all arts, because it concentrates all the senses in the painting. At the same time, when you actually see an outstanding painting, it allows you to fall into the most profound appreciation of the sublime world of human spirit with just one viewing. ”. In this way, the strong lyricism and impressionism felt through works seem to be the most important life in painting. Recently, interest in well-being has been increasing across all fields. In other words, a healthy and enjoyable life (Being) must necessarily be accompanied by not only better material food, clothing, and shelter, but also a balanced mental life. They want to live in pure nature and hope for a life that is more beautiful and respectful of humans than in the past. To this end, it seems truly possible if Eastern and Western naturalism and humanistic ideas are combined. I think that finding such lyricism and impressions in the human heart and brain is also important in the pursuit of well-being that we seek these days.