Koreans like to hang calligraphies or other pictures in frames on the walls at home, in offices and in restaurants. Calligra- phies are written in Korean or Chinese letters. Many of the messages in such art pieces are highly relevant to Confucian teachings such as being generous to others or becoming a more trustworthy person. There are as many types of fonts and styles as there are different messages.
Calligraphers traditionally made the characters in brush strokes with black ink. The ink is produced from rubbing an ink stick against a flat stone ink pad mixed with water. The finished piece contains the stamp or seal of the calligrapher at one of the corners, usually at the bottom left. In the past, many Korean households would have a piece of folkloric art or ink wash painting on prominent display. The most popular motifs for ink wash paintings were the Four Gracious Plants, namely, plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo. Another popular theme was scenic nature including mountains and rivers portrayed with the change of seasons. The most striking aspect of Korean ink wash paint- ings is that the blanks are left as they are. Instead of filling up the entire canvas, artists would focus just on what should be portrayed and leave the remaining spaces blank to focus more meaning on the actual painting.
Folkloric paintings usually describe the lives of ordinary people, often with satire and humor. They would often make a mockery of the hierarchical society ruled by the nobility with comical and farcical depiction of tigers that symbolized the misuse of power and authority.
* 《쿨투라》 2018년 9월호(통권 51호) *
