Shin Hak-chul - Knowledge (XXG)

277:, 민중문화운동) which encompassed fields of history, aesthetics, philosophy, humanities, religion, media, and education, but the visual arts was the most powerful and pragmatic means to navigating the direction of the cultural movement. The movement saw the Korean public or masses as the protagonists of history and was focused on studying the social value and lives of labourers, farmers, the urban poor, with the ultimate goal of developing and strengthening the collective struggle against the social elite and to achieve political and cultural resistance. 343:(1941-2022), known for his active political and cultural resistance against dictatorship from the 1960s. Though Park Kyongni is one of the most well-known and revered author in South Korea to this day, in Shin Hak-chul's painting, she is depicted as a mother, caring and struggling to protect the ‘son,’ Kim Chi-ha. Maternal love, devotion, and dedication for the minjung movement by the nurturing of resistant ‘warriors’ was a common theme in not only minjung art but also 253:

direct messages of criticism. However, unlike the majority of minjung artists, Shin employed Western painting styles and photography in his works, which was criticised by the majority of his contemporaries. In experimenting with more conventional styles used in minjung art, Shin drew inspiration from the kitsch and photorealist paintings hung up on barber shops and painted

380:. In Modern Korean History, human bodies, animals, and machinery are jumbled in a space consumed by different times, growing into a grotesque biomass. The surreal scene presents a distorted view of past, present, and future that amplify the horrors brought by the historic injustice and repression of the colonial period and the Korean War, as well as 320:

Though Shin Hak-chul advocated for the socially neglected and weak, his works have also been subject to criticism in light of his use of women in his painting subjects and in his patriarchical interpretations of progress and resistance. The deep-rooted minjung affiliation to the mother and maternal

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Like the majority of minjung artists, Shin also particularly criticized capitalism and the dangers it posed as an American neo-imperialist force in Korean society. Mass production and consumption on a national and international scale, the greed and monopoly of international conglomerates, and the

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From the democratic movements of the 1980s, Shin focused on creating works that directly addressed history as experienced by the Korean masses and criticize imperialism, political repression, military dictatorship, exploitation of labourers, corruption, capitalism, consumerism, industrialisation,

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from the 1990s, the obsession to accumulate wealth, exploit and repress, as well as invade the subconsciousness of the masses still endanger Korean society and ordinary people. Shin's composition transitioned from vertical to horizontal as he progressed from Modern Korean History to Contemporary

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that were neglected from mainstream social, political, and economic developments and decision-making. Like many other minjung artists, Shin recognized the importance of visual imagery in mass media as a vessel of communication with the masses and collaged images from women's magazines to deliver

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was exhibited in a group exhibition titled, 'Tongil Misuljeon' (통일미술전, Reunification Art Exhibition, 1987), hosted by Korean People's Artists Association (민족미술협의회, 民族美術協議會, 1985–1995). On the upper half is a scene where farmers joyfully commence in collective labour against a backdrop of the

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Compared to some minjung artists who produced pragmatic works used for actual demonstrations and other real-life events related to social movementes, Shin Hak-chul was commercially successful and is professionally acclaimed as a representative artist of the minjung art movement.

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perception of women as supplementary devices in minjung art of the 1980s. Moreover, his series, Modern Korean History has been accused of fetishization of the female body and phallic representations used to express associations of masculine energy with resistance and heroism.

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economy was fused with a people-centric nationalistic ideology to enforce an autonomous identity of the South Korean masses. The demonization of capitalism, industrialization, and consumerism can be spotted in the majority of Shin's work throughout his career.

206:, montage, and collage using commercial images from advertisements and journalistic photographs in formulating his style of history paintings to raise awareness on what he considered to be the evils of Korean society from the 1980s. His series, 296:. In his series, Modern Korean History and Contemporary Korean History, Shin used vivid, realistic visual images to portray the explicit reality of Korean society in which American products and fetishism has overtaken the minds of the Korean ' 247:

There was a sharp divide in the Korean art scene from the 1970s to the 1980s; on one side were Korean abstract artists and on the other, minjung artists. Shin employed realism in his artworks to raise awareness on the injustice lived by the

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and photographs from the Korean War, resulting in a visual tapestry of the major historical events that explain the struggle of the Korean masses and the interplay between past and present events, morphing into a monstrous creature.

325:(대지, 1984), Shin depicts a mother with a determined look on her face, carrying her young son on her back as if she is sprouting from the fertile soil, while the title refers to the idea of 'Mother Earth.' Here, the mother is 308:

subsequent subordination of smaller and weaker economies to the developed Western powers were perceived by minjung artists as the greatest threat to the Korean people, and Shin Hak-chul was in favour of constructing a

456:(2002) that stretched over 20 meters was a continuation of Shin's rhetoric on remnant problems faced in a democratized Korea and a macroscopic visual overview of Korean history and the struggles of the masses. The 546:

stretching across time and space. Shin continues to create highly political paintings that frequently criticize the conservative party and administrations, and has addressed controversial events such as the

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In the series Modern Korean History of the 1980s, Shin calls out the corruption, commercial decadence, and the depravity of ethics in Korean society and warns of the forthcoming annihilation of

238:) in 1982, was invited to participate in Seoul Arts Center's group exhibition series, 'Critical Artists' (문제작가, 1981–1984), and was selected the first recipient of the Art Journalist Award ( 514:

identity, while a tired farmer in the lower half is pushing garbage consisting of various Westsern commodities out into the ocean. The painting expresses a desire for an autonomous

430:), a sub-group of works from the Contemporary Korean History series was focused on exposing the fraudulence of South Korean post-war agendas to correct and settle past history ( 300:' (민족, 民族, nation, people) and transformed society into an inferno. Shin Hak-chul traces the origin of these threats to South Korean governance tainted by the travesty of the 436:). For instance, Shin attempted to reinvigorate the images of individuals that led the Gwangju Democratic Movement that had become ‘monumentalized’ as selfless protectors of 1217: 1207: 292:. He was particularly critical of the American influence in South Koreans and regarded global companies and mass-produced commodities as an embodiment of economic 280:

Shin Hak-chul had supple knowledge on Western modern and contemporary art and socio-political issues and incorporated this to his critiques on the prevalent

542:(Great Kantō Earthquake, 관동대지진, 2012). In this image, bodies and victims of not only the 1923 massacre but those of the Gwangju Uprising are spread out in 1212: 1202: 936:

Yoo Hyejong, "Shin Hak-chul’s 'History of Contemporary Korea-Invocation of the Spirits of the Dead' series (1994-5) and Making ‘May Gwangju’ Alive,"

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painting laid out scenes from the 1960s to the 2010s, and included contemporary themes of Korean conglomerates and mass ‘candle demonstrations’ (

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Park, Seo-yeon and Ha, Joon-soo, "A Study on the Grotesque Aesthetics of Korean Popular Arts in 1980s -Focused on Shin Hak-Chul's Paintings,"

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Hyun-Hwa Park, "A Study on the Masculinity Represented in Minjung Art – the dual form of sexual politics of Narcissism and Fetishism -,"

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Korean History, and the focus shifted from the collective masses to specific events and memories of individuals who composed the masses.

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Kim Jae-won, "1970-nyeondae Hanguk ui sahoe bipanjeok misul hyeonsang: Hyeonsil Dongin eseo Hyeonsil Gwa Baleon hyeongseong ggagji," in

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Lee Jae-hyeon, "Pyohyeon ui jayu eokap haneun gong-anjeok sangsangryeok: Shin Hak-chul hwabaek ui Monaegi neun ijeok pyohyeonmul?,"

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bottles and cigaretts. A frame is painted into the scene, similar to the format of Korean ‘barbershop paintings.’ The painting was

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Kim Ui-yeon, "Shin Hak-chul gwa Yun Suk-nam ui jakpum sok e jaehyeon doen eomeonisang: Minjung misul sigi reul jungsim euro," in

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Seo Yuri, "Comparative Research on Space and Quarterly Art (1978-1983): The Structural Shift of Korean Modern Artistic Field,"

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works on Korean modern and contemporary history and social injustice. Shin Hak-chul trained in oil painting and applied

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Though he was a member of AG, Shin was not completely absorbed with modernist styles, he was also drawn to works by

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and a peaceful life of the collective nation, free from external threats that are symbolised by commodites such as

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in 1968. In addition to his career as an artist, he taught painting in high schools from the 1970s to the 1980s.

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artist group, "AG", and took part in group exhibitions from 1969 to 1975. His early works of the 1970s such as

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Lee Seon-yeong, "Ddeugeopge sosa oreuneun uri sidae ui seosahwa: Shin Hak-chul jeon (5.1-11, Hakgojae),"

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through collage of dark and solemn images. The series loosely revolves around events from the end of the

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in 1989 by the South Korean government and kept in storage as it was interpreted as propaganda praising

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In the 2010s, Shin revisited historic memories of oppression and violence, such as in the case of the

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After the disbandment of AG in 1975 and his own departure from formal modernism, he freely utilised

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

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Sim Gwang-hyeon, "Hanguk geunhyeondaesa ui yeoksajeok teurauma wa hoehwajeok jeongsin bunseok," in

552: 365: 151: 103: 43: 511: 214:(한국현대사, 1988–1998) of the 1990s form the main branch of his works. Shin was heavily impacted by 600: 471: 413: 158: 63: 1222: 1053:

Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

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Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

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Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

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Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

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Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

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Han, Jaesub, "A Study on Shin Hak-chul’s The Series of Korean Modern·Contemporary History,"

266: 127: 1095:"Geomchal chang-go seo 29-nyeon...Shin Hak-chul 'Monaegi' geurim, sipja ro jeophyeo hweson" 754:

Lee Ju-heon, "Minjung misul ui munhwasajeok uimi: 'Minjung misul 15-nyeon' jeon eul bogo,"

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and faceless victims of a vague historic atrocity that have come to be experienced only in

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Shin Hak-chul and Park Chan-gyeong, "Shin Hak-chul: Seomin ui yeoksa reul geurinda,"

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Hyejong Yoo, "Shin Hak-Chul’s Formalistic Realism and Its Corporeal Monumentality,"

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Hyejong Yoo, "Shin Hak-Chul’s Formalistic Realism and Its Corporeal Monumentality,"

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Hyejong Yoo, "Shin Hak-Chul’s Formalistic Realism and Its Corporeal Monumentality,"

523: 470:) that began in the 2000s. Shin argued that despite feats in democratization, the ‘ 381: 331: 249: 199: 412:. In depicting dead bodies, Shin referred to documentary photographs of the 1923 257:(모내기, 1987, repainted in 1993) that formed part of Modern Korean History series. 527: 326: 165: 107: 409: 405: 377: 361: 340: 301: 203: 181: 675:, ed. Hanguk Hyeondae Misulsa Yeon-guhoe (Seoul: Hakyeon Munhwasa, 2004), 49. 448:

by depicting individual faces bloodied and dishevelled from real and violent

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that accompanied the rise of capitalism, consumerism, Industrialisation, and

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love also frequent appeared as the subject of Shin Hak-chul's works. In

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in the late 1970s. Shin held his first solo exhibition at Seoul Museum (

449: 344: 270: 229: 188: 177: 111: 392:, photorealist male and female body parts reminiscent of the style of 441: 369: 339:, 1969–1994), while the son on her back is her son-in-law and poet 457: 228:

that exposed the devastating reality faced by Korean peasants and

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Korean Culture and Arts Foundation and Hexa Communications,

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Misul segye pyeonjipbu, "Monaegi, geu jeongdok gwa odok,"

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25, no. 2 (2021): 123-125, 10.29330/jcas.2021.12.25.2.119

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