Starving children, collapsing nuclearplants, a leader wearing sunglasses and ajump suit -- when it comes to NorthKorea, the choice of imagery in the pressis limited. Several coffee table books,illustrated travel accounts and even agraphic novel present impressions ofempty boulevards, monumental statues,workers with a smile on their face andthe colorful Arirang Mass Games.
But what about the image North Korea
draws of itself? Recently a catalogue ofpropaganda posters presents a rathergrim face with slogans ranging from"Death to US imperialists, our swornenemy!" to "Let's extensively raise goatsin all families!"
The exhibition "Art from Pyongyang,"currently on display at the Art CenterBerlin, shows different pictures: the"Hermit Kingdom" appears lessindustrialized and militarized, but ratheridyllic. No wonder -- for it is the first timeNorth Korea's Ministry of Cultureofficially held an exhibition abroad.
This is one of the few opportunities tocatch a gl impse of North Koreanpaintings in the Western world. And it isalso an opportunity for art afficionadoswilling to pay: Most of the works are upfor sale, with prices ranging from 300euros for prints to 10,000 euros for theink drawings like "Sentiment of Autumn"by People's Artist (the highest merit inthe DPRK) Jong Chang-mo.
There certainly is a market for this ratherunexplored region of the global artmarket. When British collector DavidHeather showed a number of works in aLondon gallery earlier this year, peoplewere standing in line for hand-paintedpropaganda posters. In China, however,North Korean paintings can be bought inlocal galleries without much difficulty.
That is where Choi Sang-kyun, initiator ofthe exhibition and middleman for theNorth Korean officials, comes into play.Since he visited North Korea for the firsttime in 1990 (carrying an Americanpassport), he got interested into the artproduction of what he calls "the northernpart of my mother-country." Will fine artfrom North Korea be the "next bigthing"?
"I certainly hope so," Choi says.
In cooperation with the German-Koreanentrepreneur Inhee Chu-Mauer, he runsthe Gallery Pyongyang that sells works byNorth Korean artists without a detourthrough China. Until now, this galleryexisted "only in virtual reality," but forsome weeks it found a temporary home atthe Art Center. The International DelphicCouncil, a non-profit organisation thatreintroduced the artistic equivalent to theOlympic Games (the Delphic Games) inthe 90s, gave the initiative for this event,in the hope of a peaceful dialogue withthe world's most secluded country.
So much for the complicated backgroundof the exhibition. But what can weactually see there? Large ink drawings,many of them in color, show mostlylandscapes, animals or plants: Torrents,canyons, mountain lakes, cherryblossoms, eagles and a swarm of shrimps.In fact, these light subjects were"allowed" by Kim Jong-il only in the 70s.
Some pictures feature traditional EastAsian drawing techniques that can befound in historical and contemporaryworks from Japan, China and -- of course-- Korea. These are bordering onabstractionism, while other paintings arereminiscent of the dramatic cliffs andglowing skies depicted by romanticistpainters like Caspar David Friedrich orpostcardish impressionism, a few evenlook like hyperrealistic computeranimations -- images from a non-existentplace?
Whether or not these pictures representNorth Korean reality is obviously not thequestion here. It is rather our ownexpectations that come to the fore:Where are the children, the peasants, theworkers and the soldiers? Where is theSocialist realism? Where are the traitorsof the people and the "Mi-je," theAmerican imperialists?
Is this really purely decorative art -- "Artwithout Kim," as a leading Germannewspaper called it? For a number ofreasons, I do not think so.
First, many of the seemingly apoliticalsubjects have specific ideologicalimplications. For example, MountBaekdu, the worshipped site of Korea'smythical foundation, can be seen innumerous pictures, in varying styles andfrom different perspectives. According tohis official biography, however, MountBaekdu is also the birthplace of Kim Jong-il.
In this context a splendidly depictedlandscape turns into an indirectcelebration of the "Dear Leader." Even
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some innocent plants hail to the glory oft h e K i m s : C h o W o n D u d e p i c t s"Kimilsungia" and "Kimiljongia,"elevating these cultivated hybrids to theranks of the classical subjects for flowerdrawing.
"Kimjongilia" and "Kimilsungia" by Cho Won-du,2008
Second, the paintings are representativeof the production process, which in turnis embedded in the social system of theJuche state. In North Korea artists areprimarily workers: Their ateliers arelocated in factory-like workshops,complete with monthly salaries andoutput-quotas, and if the employer -- thatis the state -- is not satisfied, correctionshave to be made.
Theoretically, the concept of the painteras laborer is completely at odds with anynotions of artistic genius. This is notvisible, however, in the hanging and
labeling of the pictures that resemblecommon gallery standards. While thereare no solo exhibitions in North Korea,the most famous painters, several ofwhich are represented in Berlin, arehighly merited. Some even were allowedto travel abroad on the occasion of thisexhibition.
Third, the selection of pictures may telleven more about the current policy thanthe pictures themselves. Most of theartists featured have earned high titlesand have won prizes. It is not only thearts that rely on veterans in North Korea,a s i t u a t i o n n o t u n c o m m o n i nrevolutionary states' coming-of-age.
Neither is the strategy to present themore bucolic sides of the national artproduction to the outside world, whilesparing the more suggestive imagery forits own citizens. Still, the completeabsence of anti-American slogans isastonishing. In the light of an anticipatedregime-change on the other side of thePacific, maybe this is an indication of amore conciliatory attitude towards the"sworn enemy."
The few more explicitly political worksare shown in two cabinets and tend to berather mellow. There are two posters thatuse the style reserved for propaganda.One celebrates Kim Dae-jung's and KimJong-il's Joint Declaration of June 15,2000 with colorfully dressed children("We want to l ive in a re-unif iedfatherland"). The other one declares that"since the old days Dokdo belongs to ourterritory" -- more than a few SouthKoreans might agree.
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"Dokdo is our territory since the ancient time!" byKim Gwang-nam
A large-sized oil painting shows a nursevaccinating children in the countryside.Under her white lab coat she is wearingthe party's uniform. In the backgroundvillagers bid farewell to a tank. It lookslike Russian or Chinese illustrations ofrespective governmental programs in thestyle of Socialist Realism from the 60s or70s. However, the paint may still be wet,as Jong Myong-il finished his work onlylast year: it is dated "Juche 96," whichmeans 2007, counting from Kim Il-sung'sbirth in 1912. Art history is ticking slowlyin North Korea.
"The new looks of An-byon" by Ri Song-hak, Juche95 (= 2006)
The most interesting work, however, is"The new looks of An-byon" by Ri Song-hak, a panoramic view on harvestfestivities in a rural town. Dancers,musicians and acrobats, dressed incolorful costumes, join uniformedcommunists who give rice as a present tothe people. All over the place are bannersfeaturing, clearly legible, most of theclassical Juche slogans: "Long live theglorious Worker's Party of Korea!" "Tenmillion soldiers, united like a singleheart," "Rice equals Socialism."
Content-wise, traditional performancepractices and Communist Agitprop (aterm meaning revolutionary agitation andpropaganda) intermingle on the villagesquare. But the picture also combinesdifferent styles to a more or lessharmonious whole. The miniature peopleare drawn "realistically," while themountains and fields in the backgroundand especially the tree full of fruit thatcuts into the foreground are clearlyreminiscent of the "traditional" drawingmentioned earlier.
The Opening (left to right): Choi Sang-kyun(curator), Christian Kirsch (Int. Delphic Council),Hong Chang-li (ambassador DPRK), Inhee Chu-
Mauer (sponsor), Kim Dae-hi (Ministry of Culture,DPRK)
This may be an artistic representation ofthe combined Nat iona l i sm andCommunism that characterizes the art ofSocialist Realism as well as Jucheideology. It is rarely known that not onlyStalin and Mao coined this claim. Kim Il-sung, author of several treatises on thearts, also joined the chorus.
In summary, his exhibition definitely ishaunted by the Kims. And while the "DearLeader" makes himself scarce in real lifethese days, he was present at the openingceremony on Sept. 1, alongside his father-- as paintings on the wall. Next to themHong Chang-li, ambassador of the DPRKin Berlin, held a speech and Choi Sang-kyun, a trained opera singer, performed aNorth Korean song. The pictures of theKims were removed later, maybe as aninvitational gesture to the South Koreanambassador who did not attend.
This article appeared at OhmyNews onSeptember 25, 2008 and was posted atJapan Focus on September 27, 2008. Thewebsite of the Gallery Pyongyang isavailable here.
Jan Creutzenberg writes on Korean arts,literature and film for Ohmy News.
Notes
The exhibition is on display until Sept. 30, formore information see the Web site of the Art
An introduction to North Korean propagandaposters can be found here.
Jane Portal gives an overview on various aspectsof the artistic production in the DPRK in hermonograph "Art Under Control in North Korea",published by Reaktion Books in 2005.
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