Page 10 - 이진자 초대전 2022. 9. 28 – 10. 3 갤러리라메르

Hymn of Light and Sound

Su-Kyung Sin (Art Historian, Research Professor in foundation as a sculptor and hone different methods of
Chungnam University) plastic arts under the two teachers. But as all the other
female sculptors face in Korea, working on art work and
Music and art are similar in that both of them purify our raising a baby while having a regular job wasn’t easy. After
minds and enrich our lives. But music doesn’t have a 10 years in school as an art teacher, she quit her job to be
shape like art which shows the artist’s thoughts and a full-time sculptor, taking heavy burdens off her plate.
styles in a certain way. Despite this difference, many
artists are trying various methods to express the abstract In her late 40’s, Jin-Ja Lee held her first personal
idea of sound into a matter with shape. The beautiful exhibition in 2004. It was a chance to show all the
harmony and melody that music contains is an ideal and sculptures she painstakingly made, carved and engraved
a goal artists pursue. Jin-Ja Lee has been committing to for the past 25 years. Art of both figurative and abstractive
transferring the invisible sound into the visible matter for design made out of various materials from bronze, sand
a long time. In this exhibition, not only ‘sound,’ but ‘light’ stone, white marble, and black marble were exhibited.
which was mostly used in paintings are to be presented as Her teacher’s influences were reflected in an abstractive
an element of art. work that simplified the human form under the theme of
a couple in love and in a sculpture that depicted a mother
Let’s take a look at the path she took until this exhibition and son. However, she gave lyrical titles for rough and
<Hymn of Light and Sound>. In 1977 when she entered solid stones, delivering her own story with most of her
university, she was taught by Young-Ja Yoon, a first works deeply based on her life.
generation female sculptor. As if it was the norm, By the time her name received more and more
sculpting was centered around men. It was after the acknowledgement as a sculptor after her first exhibition,
division that female sculptors started showing up and she once more felt it was time for a change. After
getting acknowledgement in the Korean art world. completing her duty as a Director of Yesan Cultural
Young-Ja Yoon entered Hongik University as one of Center, she was elected as the 5th member of the Yesan-
the first students majoring in sculpting since it was the gun assembly in 2006, being active in parliamentary
year of establishing the art major. She took on a pioneer politics. In her second personal exhibition held in 2009,
role in the sculpting world which had been untouched we could peek at her thoughts and beliefs she developed
by women before, and was appointed as a professor at during her time in parliamentary politics through the
Mokwon University with the department of art education artwork <The World Through Listening>. Shaped as a
newly established in 1973. She settled in Daejeon where human ear and sousaphone that can spread the sound
sculpture had not been introduced at all, training many to the far distance via a wide bell, it showed her will to
students. And one of those students is Jin-Ja Lee. want to carefully listen to and communicate with county
residents. This work gave us a clue as to where her
Considered to be a second generation female sculptor, interest in sound comes from.
Jin-Ja Lee also worked as a teacher for 10 years after
graduating from the same university as her teacher. As for musical instruments that <Hopeful Song> and
While working as a teacher, she stayed as a member of <Yul> displayed in this exhibition were inspired by, it all
The Korean Figurative Sculpture Association for more started from the artist’s hope towards communication.
than 20 years. The person who supported and guided While <The World Through Listening> was trying to say
her to keep doing her art work through 《The Korean directly and narratively that dispute and conflict brought
Figurative Sculpture Association Exhibition》 was sculptor by miscommunication can be resolved through listening
Gwan-Wook Kang who was at the forefront of developing/ carefully with a humble attitude, the sequel <Shouting of
inheriting traditional stone art by embodying Koreans’ Sound> describes the similarity of how human’s different
lives and spririts in sculptures. Jin-Ja Lee mastered emotions are delivered via sound to how sound is collected
molding and sculpting from Young-Ja Yoon and Gwan- in an instrument and spread out. <Shouting of Sound>
Wook Kang. It was fortunate for her to get to build her can be read as a message about social participation but

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