Around the middle of September, printmaker Lee Chul-soo’s exhibition was held in several museum centers in Jeonju. He has been making prints for 30 years, having started to print by means of popular art in the earlier 1980s. He put rough, resistant messages into his early engravings, mirroring the harsh dictatorial social mood at the time. Even though his idioms have inescapably changed as time went by, his ideal that represents the public opinion, vox populi, has never changed. His work shows sympathy with many people in despair, wanting us to know that they are really in pain – these days Koreans have more difficulty to be happy than ever.

His engraving can be a little unfamiliar since there are few chances to view it. The prints, which have animated lines, whether they are soft or rough, have a particular appeal that other art doesn’t have; the portrayal of a field looks like a human fingerprint. This can imply that the human body does not differ essentially from the furrow of the field in some respects. There are honest prints about having a nature-friendly mindset, the sincere value of labor, and self-examination.

Artist’s Talk.

Luckily, I could meet the printmaker, Lee, on the night of the artist’s talk. He was a country gentleman and really looked that way. His face was genial and smiling. Everyone in the café sensed friendliness from him. About twenty adoring fans sat down with him as he explained his feelings, chronicled his life of thirty years of engraving and answered questions.

He confessed that he has translated a small daily thing into each work which helps people reflect on themselves. When he was questioned on where he got such a gripping inspiration, he briefly answered that it was the capacity for empathy. He said he simply feels others’ thoughts, pains and anguish behind their appearance because he also had the same feelings and common scars in his past, which was poor and humiliating.

The experiences he went through are his world and his motivation, through which he approaches the people, healing them and himself. He responds that vox populi, which is now thirty years old, is for pure consolation.