Images of Children

I'm not a really serious art critic. I can't tell the difference between impressionistic and abstract paintings. I know that Reubens painted full-figured women (leading to the term "reubenesque"), and I know that Van Gogh cut off part of his ear; however, my appreciation of art is not based on a real knowledge of artists and art. My reaction to art is from the gut.

Lately, I've been trying to see more of Korea than the top of a bar pool table and the bottom of a beer glass, so I've been making an effort to see some "higher" culture. I've been to a number of museums and galleries around Seoul. Much of the art is interesting, but I sometimes feel that some of it is forced, perhaps even pretensious.

Last Saturday, I took a little time out from marking essays and went to an art exhibit called "The Dream of Modern Korea: Images of Children" at the National Museum of Art, Deoksugung. I highly recommend it.

The exhibit at Deoksu Palace was interesting. The styles of the paintings were quite varied. Most felt natural and comfortable. The subjects were, of course, mainly children, but also children with mothers, fathers, and families. All of the paintings were done within the last 100 years or so.