Art Exhibition in Celebration of National Independence
"Art Exhibition for the Celebration of Independence", Sin Joseon, October 8, 1945

Art Exhibition in Celebration of National Independence

  • naver
  • kakao
  • facebook
  • twitter
An exhibition held in 1945 at the Seokjojeon in Deoksu Palace. It was held to celebrate Korea’s independence and welcome the advancing Allied forces. The event was organized by the Headquarters for Construction of Korean Art (Joseon misul geonseol bonbu), and the exhibition lasted from October 20 to October 30. The official title of the exhibition was the Art Exhibition in Celebration of National Independence. 132 works of 97 artists were featured in the exhibition, and 20,000 visitors came to see the exhibition in ten days. Kim Eunho, Lee Sangbeom, and Kim Kichang were not allowed to take part in the exhibition due to their willing collaboration with Japanese authorities during the colonial period. Lee Insung was also criticized by right-wing artists for the design of his posters for the exhibition, which read, “all rights to the people.” Another point of controversy was the fact that most artists featured works that they produced during the Japanese colonial era instead of new works. The exhibition served as an example of the state of the national art community at the time of the liberation, which was in disarray due to the process of attempting to exorcise the influential ideological and structural remnants of Japanese colonialism.
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service

Related

Find More