{"id":47067,"date":"2024-12-20T13:39:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T04:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kiaf.org\/?post_type=insights&p=47067"},"modified":"2024-12-30T13:23:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T04:23:31","slug":"limb-eung-sik-ars-photographica","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/kiaf.org\/en\/insights\/47067","title":{"rendered":"Limb Eung Sik: Ars Photographica"},"content":{"rendered":"

Limb Eung Sik<\/p>\n

The Latin word ars and provides the etymological root of the English word art.<\/p>\n

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Installation view 1<\/em><\/p>\n

It is also the name that photographer Limb eung sik gave to his studio in Busan in 1946, then the capital for refugees during the Korean War. In the narrow sense of the word, art is the aesthetic expression born to the ceaseless training of human technique, and in its wider sense, all creative human endeavors. This word indeed captures the gist of Limb eung sik\u2019s life. His ars and his passion for photographica become more pronounced as we follow the history of his artistic career and life.<\/p>\n

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Installation view 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Limb eung sik experienced both the Japanese occupation and liberation, and saw the Korean War through both his eyes and his camera lens as a war correspondent. Such an experience led him to advocate for a style called \u2018everydaylife realism\u2019 that captures the essence of reality as it appears to us. \u2018Everydaylife realism\u2019 embraces his will to not only record \u2018reality\u2019 but also the \u2018everyday life\u2019 of the people amidst the historical and social turmoil. Bare Tree, a work introduced in Photography Annual in 1955, captures the gist of his philosophy of photography that \u201cits life comes from capturing the truth in the least expected moments. That is the power of photography. Photography must breathe with the epoch.\u201d The image of a seemingly impoverished boy standing alone between the bare trees exposes the destroyed, desolate post-war society. The choice of the title, Bare Tree, over \u2018Burnt Tree\u2019, however, shows the artist\u2019s hopeful perspective and longing for a better future in which the boy will grow up to be a man and the trees will sprout new leaves again.<\/p>\n

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Installation view 3<\/em><\/p>\n

A Photographic Artist, Not a Photographer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Limb eung sik lived in a time when photography was predominantly a profession, not art. Limb\u2019s passion for photography as art fueled him to organize the \u2018The Photo Artists Society of Korea\u2019 in 1952 and join the Federation of Artistic & Cultural Organization of Korea, overcoming prejudices and misunderstandings against photographic art. After 12 years of hard work and perseverance, Limb would finally see \u2018photography\u2019 recognized at the National Art Exhibition. He also exchanged correspondence with Edward Steichen, a legendary photographer of the United States, to organize and host The Family of Man at the Gyeongbokgung Palace Art Museum in 1957, which saw 300,000 visitors over the course of a month. This is a historic moment that elevated photography to the realm of art. His endeavor extended to academia where he helped universities open Photography majors, taught, and concurrently went on photoshoots every day as if he was \u201cin a marathon\u201d. Works like Myeongdong Landscape, which shows the 50 years of history of Myeongdong from the ruins of war to the capital of trend and fashion, Allure, a record of 150 major figures in his contemporary culture and art scene, and High Architecture of Korea that wished to introduce Korean architecture such as the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Jongmyo Shrine, and the Secret Garden (Piwon), will be forever remembered as the important milestone of Korean photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\uc784\uc751\uc2dd, \uad6c\uc9c1(\u6c42\u8077)(Job Hunting), gelatin silver print, 1953, \uc11c\uc6b8\uba85\ub3d9. \u00a9\uc784\uc751\uc2dd\uc544\uce74\uc774\ube0c<\/em><\/p>\n

70 Years of History in 5 Minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The aim of this exhibition is to convey the essence and the gist of Limb\u2019s life and career as a photographic artist, who began his journey as a photographer in 1931 and remained a photographic artist until he passed away in 2001. The 70 years of his life were full of ceaseless effort to pronounce the significance and artistry of photography.<\/p>\n

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\uc784\uc751\uc2dd, \uc2e0\ubb38\uc77d\ub294\ub0a8\uc790(A man reading newspaper), gelatin siver print, 1954, \ubd80\uc0b0 \uad11\ubcf5\ub3d9. \u00a9\uc784\uc751\uc2dd\uc544\uce74\uc774\ube0c<\/em><\/p>\n

Even if we collect all 80,000 photographs that Limb took over the course of 70 years, the time he spent to open the shutter and capture the moment is less than 5 minutes. However, this seemingly short period of time is the concentration of his righteous and warm perspective of the world in which he struggled to truthfully capture our existence and the life that lies beyond. Even when he took a photograph of a corner of a street, he wished to convey the story of the street; his photography of architecture was focused more on the narrative of tradition and history. A single photograph, to him, meant a coexistence of the beauty of raw, brute reality and the vibrant vitality underneath. Even several decades later, his photography moves us in the most profound sense.<\/p>\n

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\uc784\uc751\uc2dd, \uc544\uce68(Morning), gelatin siver print, 1946, \ubd80\uc0b0\uc11c\uba74. \u00a9\uc784\uc751\uc2dd\uc544\uce74\uc774\ube0c<\/em><\/p>\n

We cordially invite you to join us to feel the eternal trace of Limb eung sik, a marathoner photographer who ran alongside the rapidly changing modern history of Korea.<\/p>\n

GALLERY YEH
\n100, Changdeokgung-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, KR
\n+82 2 542 3624<\/p>\n

WEBSITE<\/a>\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0YOUTUBE<\/a>\u00a0ARTSY<\/a><\/p>\n

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