메타수묵의 길, 생동하는 수묵의 새로운 출발 
​2021 전남국제수묵비엔날레  총감독 이건수

A "Meta-SUMUK": A New Beginning for Vibrant SUMUK Lee Gun Soo, Artistic director, 2021 Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale ​ As its "Splendor of Monochrome" theme indicates, the second Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale presents colorful contemporary SUMUK (ink wash) paintings. In the painting theory of yore, the color of ink was said to contain all the colors of the universe: red, white, black, blue, and yellow. In addition to conveying the idea that ink was a "complete" color, the theory also expressed ink's multiplicity and the way it varies as it is applied with different techniques and expressive styles, rather than remaining bound to any one color. The literal meaning of "monochrome" is "one color," but in the freer interpretation associated with SUMUK, the term represents SUMUK's minimal use of color and its spiritual world. While SUMUK itself is a Korean term that possesses strong associations with material properties, "monochrome" can be seen as another word for a more international version of SUMUK - one that transcends such limitations. Phrases such as "splendidly colorful monochrome" and "the brilliant hues of SUMUK" may seem like oxymorons, but the biennale's theme is an expression of an ironic, paradoxical desire to display SUMUK's dynamic force and vibrant vitality. In this sense, this year's biennale looks to move beyond the simplified "black-and-white" form of SUMUK and explore the transformative potential for a "colorful" SUMUK suited to the present. The traditional approaches of Korean painting are divided into "polychrome" (CHAESAEKHWA) and "ink wash" (SUMUK). Polychrome paintings belong to an era during which artists felt free to use color, chiefly in genres such as wall art and folk art. SUMUK paintings, in contrast, predominantly expressed the spiritual world of Confucian scholars (SEONBI) and nobles, brimming with the energy of books and the fragrance of script - as seen in MUNINHWA, or "literati painting." SUMUK paintings prioritized the values associated with ink over the effects of color, seeking to find spirituality rather than physicality. In a way, this year's biennale is an opportunity for rediscovering the full identity of Korean painting as a combination of polychrome and ink wash traditions while exploring new possibilities for contemporary SUMUK. This was the context behind the decision to adopt the paradoxical "Splendor of Monochrome" theme, with its connotations of "colorful SUMUK." If the first Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale presented the overall lay of the Korean SUMUK landscape today, then this second edition aims to promote the SUMUK genre and broaden its scope to transform its qualitative associations. trom my point of view, it is time for us to set aside the highbrow connotations and petty preconceptions that are typically associated with SUMUK. By this, I do not mean that we must simply adhere to a painting style steeped in the philosophy and ideas of bygone eras. Rather, we should seek concrete approaches to resurrect its spiritual legacy and help it to gain universal recognition from a contemporary perspective. SUMUK's perpetual relegatation to the margins of the art world, and the general disparagement and disregard with which the historical significance of traditional painting is viewed in policy, have been sources of great frustration and disappointment for all artists working to carry on traditional paintings lineage. To overcome this, we first need to create an environment in which SUMUK is widely consumed and circulated. We must resurrect "everyday SUMUK" to infuse a Korean aesthetic spirit into the essential parts of our lives, such as clothing, food, and shelter. The popularization of SUMUK can be achieved by gearing it to the public.  This means that many artworks that allow the public to recognize and appreciate the aesthetic value of SUMUK must be produced. Hence, we need to identify and promote star artists who possess a distinct identity. The internationalization of SUMUK," one of the biennale's focal points, is made possible by contemplating the basic identity of Korean art and practicing concretely with future oriented approaches. We need to specialize in Korea's regional character even more in a world art environment firmly defined by the logic of Western art history. We must establish a superior form of globalism, rediscovering a localist context in a globalist environment and proposing new avenues as we overcome the limits of uniform globalization. The Korean Wave, as exemplified by the K-pop music genre, has succeeded through differentiated forms and methods of globalization. With its aspirations toward achieving a "Korean Wave in art," the biennale should be an occasion for launching a SUMUK "brand" that explores and experiments with the extent to which Korea's unique traditional aesthetic sense can establish a universal aspect. My hope is to see SUMUK transform into a brand that is respected and consumed as something of great value not only in the Korean art world, but in all environments of our lives. I want the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale to be a banquet of art where we can rediscover the excellence of the Korean aesthetic and enable it to survive even among the various aesthetic achievements around us. In late September 2020, a special exhibition titled VROOM VROOM SUMUK GO GO! was held at the first Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale, An urban renewal effort that brought young local artists together to collaborate, it ran for about a month, primarily on the "modern cultural heritage streets" of Mokpo. Despite its short duration, it communicated many messages. To begin with, a great deal of effoxt went into overcoming the various potential obesacles of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters such as typhoons and flooding. The lack of exhibition spaces that could accommodate contemporary art temains an issue to be addressed by Although many of the partidy ating artists came from an Korean painting background, quite a few visitors were visibly taken aback at the absence of traditional SUMUK painting. This is one of the reasons I wish to underscore the need for us to understand how much contemporary SUMUK has changed in its expressive styles and communicative approaches. We need a new attitude, one that views SUMUK from the perspective of the now. To be sure, we must understand the development and methods of Korean traditional painting to understand contemporary SUMUK, but we also need to know about the current status of contemporary art and its structural system. As home bases for Korean traditional art, the city of Mokpo and island of Jindo in Jeollanam-do selected SUMUK as a form of content. The decision to use the term SUMUK rather than SUMUKHWA (literally meaning "SUMUK painting) in the biennale's title appears to have been the right call in terms of fueling the evolution of contemporary SUMUK rather than confining it to traditional painting methods. Instead of simply carrying on the highbrow tradition of old SUMUK paintings, which center on landscape art and the traditional materials of "paper, brush, and ink" (JI-PIL-MUK in Korean), the name expresses a strong desire to transcend the limits of those materials and embrace all contemporary art forms that can embody the SUMUK spirit. By "SUMUK spirit," I am referring to an artistic will with a historical and philosophical background that is clearly different from the narrative of Western art history; within this spirit, we can discover an identity and creativity that are unique to Korean art. To carry out a contemporary international art event such as a biennale, there must be an existing foundation of traditional regional art to help to sustain a balance. We must recognize that the correct approach is not one of discovering human cultural heritage with which to carry on recreating and retreading the traditional, cementing bygone values in place. It is one that shows the ways in which SUMUK continues to progress, with the historical SUMUK of the past acting as a shared foundational value that maintains its own originality. The right direction for the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale is also one that discovers the future potential within the genre, introducing a new element of vitality to SUMUK. The biennale can be seen as having truly fulfilled its role when it becomes a venue for artistic communication where an "old future" and "new past" coexist and intersect. In general, biennales are organized around three axes: eras, art forms, and regions. Its place is defined where those three intersect: traditional/contemporary, expertise/popular appeal, and global/local. With this year's biennale, we aim to distinguish the event as one characterized by a modernity that restores the value of tradition; a universal artistic language that transcends "expertise"; and a simultaneous global sensibility and local character. It goes without saying that SUMUK is central to all of these qualities. For a biennale to be more than just a festival for a select few artists- for it to be an event accessible to members of the public who are not familiar with art-it requires time, preparations, and a proper artistic environment. In truth, neither Mokpo nor Jindo has much, if anything, in the way of exhibition spaces where contemporary artworks can be displayed freely in ways tailored to their underlying concepts. Under such constraints, the success of this biennale can be said to hinge that cannot be had at other events. on the authenticity of its exhibition content and the distinct experience it provides One of the biennales key perspectives relates to questions of how Korean SUMUK culture can be infused into people's everyday lives. New alternatives for the culture that surrounds our clothing, food, and shelter — areas that have reached the limits of uniformity - can emerge when we embody a traditional Korean aesthetic and spirit of design in our wardrobe; when we instill philosophies that differ from those of Western cuisine in our tableware; and when our furniture and homes respect the "blank margins occupied by objects and spaces. One of the underlying aims of this biennale is to seek out ways of reviving Korean tradition in our contemporary lives amid a resurgence in SUMUK art. The reason the rhythms of Brazil's bossa nova and Argentina's tango resonate so universally around the world is because they incorporate the universal instruments of the jazz trio - piano, bass, and drums — allowing them to be performed by musicians around the world. In this sense, I am certain that we can achieve the globalization, popularization, and branding of Korean SUMUK once we succeed in instilling the unique nuances of SUMUK tradition into structures with a universal reach. Although it unfortunately could not be shown at the biennale this year, if I were asked to name the artwork that best represents the event's spirit, it would be WHERE, IN WHAT FORM, SHALL WE MEET AGAIN by Whanki Kim. It is a true example of a contemporary SUMUK painting that embodies the spirit of SUMUK. It proves that Korean contemporary art is not some derivative product introduced from outside the peninsula after the developments of Western art history, but something formed from accumulated, condensed textures and emotions amid the longstanding currents of a unique aesthetic tradition. When the film PARASITE became a global hit, many talked about a quote attributed to Martin Scorsese: "The most personal is the most global" While we may ask whether there really is such a thing as global. "completely Korean," Whanki Kim once said, "The most Korean is the most The fragrance of ink emanating from this event ripples through connections that span the entire Jeollanam-do region. In addition to the main exhibitions in Mokpo and Jindo, there are four special exhibitions including ones at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju and the Cho Heeryong Art Museum in Sinan) and other commemorative exhibitions in nine different cities and counties. I'll limit my overview to the exhibitions listed in this catalogue. In Exhibition Pavilion 1, the concept is "Contemporary SUMUK," as "Western" like Eastern painting and Eastern-like Western painting" is presented in an exploration of the ways in which SUMUK has transcended eras and boundaries to mix with and leave marks on other genres over the course of its evolution. In Exhibition Pavilion 2, the concept is "Context of Namdo SUMUK," with an exhibition showing the inclusivenessm, Korean painting achieved through the combination of SUMUK and polychrs of this intings that incorporate motifs from the SUMUK tradition, In Exhibition Pavilion 3, the concept is "Spirit of SUMUK," with an exhibition featuring Korean and overseas artists whose work embodies how the spirit of SUMUK is realized in ways that transcend the original techniques and materials of "paper, brush, and ink" This exhibition is also presented in video form on a large screen as an alternative approach for the COVID-19 exa that represents an effort to overcome both temporal and spatial constraints. Also in Exhibition Pavilion 3 is "New Generation Shangri-La," a section by younger artists from the postmodern post-1990s generation in which they communicate an intimate sensibility through personal, everyday storytelling. Exhibition Pavilions 4 and 5 focus on "Design SUMUK in Daily Life," taking place primarily around Ullimsanbang in Jindo. While they explore the ways in which the spirit of SUMUK can be incorporated into clothing, food, and shelter, their focus is not simply on direct ezpressions of design, but on the art form's pure spirit as a potential source for such designs. Exhibition Pavilion 6 features a Korea-Hong Kong international exchange exhibition that shares stories of shared growth and harmony between artists from Hong Kong and the Jeonnam region through SUMUK. One of the biennale's special exhibitions, HO• HO • HO, is held at the Asia Culture Center and offers an opportunity to trace the lineage of the Southern School of painting, dating back to the times of Sochi Heo Ryeon. SUMUK is painting written in water. It is script painted in water, Water fluidly quivers between stillness and movement, free in its formation and transformation. It seeps into low places and moves to fill empty spaces. "Water control" is a form of civilization in which people seek to tame this utterly uncontrollable force of nature in meaningful ways. Through water control, we create paths, and those paths create peace. There is an old Chinese saying that reads, "ZHEN SHUI WU XIANG": True water has no scent." With all extraneous elements stripped away, SUMUK radiates a shining achromatic aura. Within its tarnished brilliance, the vulgarities and impurities of life are cleansed. Yet the grays of monochrome understand the splendor of all colors, occupying a site where such brilliance begins and ends. To water and ink, we ask the question: "Where does the path lie?"