Limb Eungsik, Portrait of Hyun Ilyeong, 1970, Gelatin silver print on paper, 33.2×25.8cm. MMCA collection
Hyun Ilyeong
* Source: MMCA
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Lee Hyungrok
Lee Hyungrok(1917-2011) is a renowned artist in the history of modern and contemporary Korean photography. Born in Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province, Lee graduated from Gangneung Agricultural High School. After graduation, he learned photography at a photo studio (which also served as a shop selling hardware related to photography) in Gangneung run by his eldest brother Lee Sangrok. In the mid-1930s, he joined the Gangneung Sauhoe, a photography club, and began to fully engage in photography. The Gangneung Sauhoe is an amateur photographer group organized by Limb Eungsik, a photographer who moved from Busan to Gangneung at the time. In 1937, Lee along with Lim and ten other members of the Gangneung Sauhoe prepared about fifty photographs and held the inaugural exhibition of the Gangneung Sauhoe. From 1937 onward, he repeatedly won honorable mentions at the Joseon Photography Exhibition [Joseon sajin jeollamhoe], a contest hosted by the Joseon Federation of Photography [Jeon joseon sajin yeonmaeng], establishing himself as an amateur photographer. After Korea’s liberation from Japan and the Korean War, he departed from the trend of salon or painterly photography and advocated for realistic photography that highlighted snapshots, recordability, and a documentary approach. Particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, Lee captured fatigued lives of ordinary people in the city and its outskirts in warm black-and-white language by photographing shoemakers, fishermen, street vendors, and children on the streets. He contributed to the development of Korean photography culture by advancing realist photography and exploring new modes of expression for modern photography, while forming photography groups and training the younger generation after Korea’s liberation. In particular, he played a leading role in the founding and activities of photography organizations in the 1950s and 1960s, including Sinseonhoe (established in 1956), Salon Ars (established in 1960), and the Modern Photography Society [Hyeondae sajin yeonguhoe] (established in 1960).
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Contemporary photography
Contemporary photography differs from a modernist approach to photography that highlighted the technical qualities of the image. Robert Frank’s photograph collection The American published in 1959, is considered a turning point in indicating a new style based on idiosyncratically cropped images and unusual focus. Contemporary photography became prevalent when conceptual art emerged between the 1960s and the 1970s. The New Wave of the Photography exhibition, which opened at the Walker Hill Art Center in Seoul on May 18th, 1988, is considered as marking the starting point of Korean contemporary photography. The Horizon of Korean Photography exhibition at the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Jangheung, Gyeonggi-do in November 1991 provided a further turning point. The founding of galleries specializing in photography, including the Timespace, Pine Hill Gallery, and Hanmadang Gallery, has also contributed greatly to the popularity of contemporary photography in Korea. Over the last 30 years, many foreign-educated photographers like Koo Bohnchang, Kim Daesoo, Lee Juyong, Lim Youngkyun, Han Okran, and Choi Kwangho have returned to Korea and released works reflecting new trends in the medium and further enhancing its national status as a contemporary art form.
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Portrait Photography Research Society of Seoul
Portrait Photography Research Society of Seoul [Seoul insang sajin yeonguhoe; PPRSS] is an organization of photographers founded in October 1946 in Seoul. Hyun Ilyeong served as its president, and other members include Lim Sukje, Han Sanghui, Kim Jinhae, Lee Changgyu, Kim Gwangbae, and Park Pilho. As the poor domestic supply of photographic materials led to great difficulty in photography production, the Korean Photography Formation Committee [Joseon sajin gyeolseong wiwonhoe, KPC], an organization that included reporters, salespeople, amateurs photographers, and material dealers, was established in September 1945 with the photographer Park Pilho as the chairman. After the establishment of the KPC, photographers in various fields founded an organization to rebuild and develop Korean photography. The Portrait Photography Research Society of Seoul was founded modeled after the Portrait Photography Research Society of Gyeongseong [Gyeongseong insang sajin yeonguhoe], a group of commercial photographers who operated photo studios before Korea’s liberation from Japan. The members of the PPRSS were also involved in the Joseon Art Photography Association [Joseon sajin yesul yeonguhoe] and the Korean Photography Alliance [Joseon sajin dongmaeng]. After Korea’s liberation from Japan, they sought not only to disseminate photographic materials and revitalize commercial photography, but also to explore channels and directions for photography in various fields.
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