New Hanji a Korean Paper Tradition Re-Imagined
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New Hanji A Korean Paper Tradition Re-Imagined OCTOBER 9, 2015 - JANUARY 3, 2016 curated by Chelsea Holton and Rina Yoon 2 Foreword Chelsea Holton Paper changed everything. From humble origins, this product has allowed us to spread knowledge, record history, and express ourselves in myriad ways. Much as the digital revolution today is dramatically changing the speed and ways in which we communicate, so did the invention of paper almost 2,000 years ago. And yet, even as the use of paper disappears from our daily lives, the reaction to protect and honor the tradition of handmade paper seems natural. This exhibition: New Hanji: A Korean Paper Tradition Re-Imagined does just that. The birth of papermaking is murky, but most settle on the achievements of the Chi- nese court official, Ts’ai Lun, in the year 105CE, as a milestone in the development of fiber-based paper. Papyrus and parchment, among the precursors to paper, were difficult to make and not widely available. Ts’ai Lun created writing surfaces out of readily available raw materials such as bark and hemp. With the advent of an affordable, mass-producible product, the vast and rapid spread of ideas worldwide was inevitable. Papermaking made its way to Korea from China sometime before the 4th century CE and was firmly established throughout Korea by the 8th century CE. The trans- mission of papermaking technology to Korea was almost certainly linked to the spread of Buddhist teachings from China to Korea. A notable moment was the year 372 CE, when the Chinese monk, Shundao, visited the Goguryeo kingdom in the north of Korea. He brought with him a collection of Buddhist scriptures, which were transcribed onto paper. The possibilities of paper took hold and by the end of the Three Kingdoms Period in Korea (57 BCE–668 CE), all areas of the country were using paper to document official court proceedings and Buddhist texts were being copied and disseminated widely. The Hae’in temple in South Korea claims one of the earliest complete sets of over 80,000 woodblocks, which compose the entire 3 cannon of Buddhist scriptures known as the Tripitaka Koreana, dating from the mid- 13th century. Close to 163,000 sheets of paper were needed to print the full set of sutras. Korea also lays claim to the invention of movable metal type. The oldest book printed in this method is known as the Jikji, a guide to Buddhism, created in 1377CE—well ahead of the Gutenberg press. The surface strength of Korean hand- made paper is often cited as the reason metal type could succeed. Koreans adopted Chinese papermaking techniques and transformed the process into a uniquely Korean product referred to here as hanji (han = Korean, ji = pa- per). Early Korean handmade paper, like Chinese paper, was made from hemp and scraps of rags. Koreans, along with the Chinese eventually discovered that a superior paper could be made from the inner bark of paper mulberry trees called dak. The favorable climate conditions for growing paper mulberry trees in Korea has enabled hanji to retain its superiority in quality. The biggest difference between Korean hanji and Japanese paper (washi) is created during the sheet formation step of the papermaking process. When hanji is being formed, the master papermaker dips the single, flat mould and bamboo screen into a vat of pulp mixed with hibiscus root liquid. The screen is expertly moved in several directions to allow for the fibers to interlock and excess slurry to be cast off. With hanji, there is no dominant grain direction. Hanji is known to be strong and resilient because of the long, interlock- ing fibers. Traditionally in Japan, the mold used in sheet formation is a hinged double-mold called a sugeta, which has a frame surrounding the screen used for containing the water and fibers, allowing for the water to slowly drain. The mixture is rocked back and forth enabling a thin layer of fiber to form with a dominant grain direction. Korean papermaking reached such a degree of craftsmanship that it was greatly prized and sought after by Chinese artists and courtiers during the Chinese Song through Ming dynasties. The 12c Chinese poet, Hwang Tingjian, praised the qual- ities of hanji in his collection of poems noting, “It is durable like silk. If you write or paint on it, the spread of stick ink is great. There is no such paper in China. It is unique and unusual.”1 Hanji was often sent to Chinese and Japanese courts as tribute, and for use in the construction of sails for ships. The popular Korean saying, Silk lasts for only five hundred years, whereas hanji can survive for a thousand years, stems from the discovery of the world’s oldest extant woodblock print found in a sealed stupa dating from 751 CE. Discovered at Bul- guksa temple in Gyeongju, South Korea, in 1966, a paper scroll of the Pure Light Dharani Sutra was found within the stupa in good condition, the silk wrapping that had enclosed the scroll, however, was almost fully disintegrated. Clearly paper held an important place throughout Korea in regards to documenta- tion, but perhaps no other culture has embraced handmade paper as wholeheart- edly as the Koreans. From floor, wall and window coverings, to everyday objects 1 Kim, Byeong-gi. Hanji and Seoyea. Trans. Kim, Kyeong-seok. such as cups, pots, shoes, fans, sewing baskets, jewelry boxes, and hats, hanji was Seoul: Art Center Publishing ubiquitous in the traditional Korean home. Beyond useful objects for daily life, hanji Company, 2008. Print. was also incorporated into spiritual beliefs as paper talismans and handwritten wish- es that were eventually burned. 4 In this exhibition, the works of active Korean artists, Haemija Kim, Yang Bae Jeon, Kumgang Seunim, and the master papermakers themselves, illustrate the magnificent traditions of Korean paper crafts. Over the last decade, the interest in modern uses of hanji has increased in Korea as well as in the West, as evidenced by recent ex- hibitions of contemporary hanji works in New York: Hanji Metamorphoses (2012); Fullerton, California: Hanji: Contemporary Korean Paper Art (2014); and Washing- ton D.C.: Paper: Korean to American (2014). The increasing number of scientific studies of the properties of hanji, as well as the possible applications of this versatile material to fashion and space industries, is further confirmation of sincere interest in this ancient craft. The five Milwaukee-based artists represented in this exhibition, Marna Brauner, Christiane Grauert, Jessica Meuninck-Ganger, Nirmal Raja, and Rina Yoon, are among the new wave of Western artists who have discovered the beauty and versatility of hanji. All of these artists have traveled to Korea, learned the paper making process and various traditional craft techniques. In 2012 they exhibited their new works in hanji in Korea at the Gyodong Art Museum. The desire to continue to create in hanji and exhibit work in conversation with traditional Korean paper crafts has brought this group together once again for this exhibition at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Key Works Kim, Byeong-gi. Hanji and Seoyea. Trans. Kyeong-seok Kim. Seoul: Art Center Publishing Company, 2008. Print. Lee, Aimee. Hanji Unfurled: One Journey into Korean Papermaking. Ann Arbor: The Legacy Press, 2012. Print. Lee, Seung-chul. Hanji: Everything You Need To Know About Traditional Korean Paper. Seoul: Hyeonamsa Publishing Company, 2012. Print. Portal, Jane. Korea: Art and Archaeology. London: British Museum Press, 2000. Print. “The Invention of Paper.” Invention of Paper. Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking at Georgia Tech, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2015. Yum, Hyejung. “Traditional Korean Papermaking: analytical examination of historic Korean papers and research into history, materials and techniques of traditional papermaking of Korea.” Cornell University, 2003. Print. 5 1 2 3, 4 6 Takbon “To carry the life of these images 1,000 years…” For artists Kumgang Seunim and Jessica Mueninck-Ganger, making images from sources close to their everyday lives had an unintended result—the preservation of history. Kumgang’s work on exhibit, chosen out of thousands of images created by the artist over the past 20 years, represents his mastery of the Korean print technique, takbon. Kumgang, a Zen Buddhist Abbot, makes impressions of the bells, tiles, sculptures and rock carvings which adorn his beloved temple, Mihwangsa, situated high in the mountains of Haenam, South Korea. Ethereal images of Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, flowers, and Buddhist scriptures are common themes in his work. The gentle blotter-tapping of sumi ink on hanji is a form of meditation for the artist. 1. Kumgang Seunim As he works, Kumgang reflects on the passage of time, the effects of wind and rain From Sangwonsa Bell (725 CE), on his sources, and the transmission of history gifted from those who have come be- Pyongchang, South Korea fore. The selection of images, preparation of the hanji and determined application Takbon on hanji of the ink, for Kumgang, are all part of the creative process. 2. Kumgang Seunim “Three Buddhas”, from Sang- Kumgang has spent many years travelling throughout Korea to important historical wonsa Pagoda, Pyongchang, temples dating from the Silla to Koryeo dynasties, documenting the many Buddhist South Korea images at the temples in takbon. Upon hearing of the destruction of some of these Takbon on hanji temples years later, and witnessing the deteriorating conditions of others, Kumgang, 3. Kumgang Seunim as head of a temple, realized his works might play an important role in preserving From Bukwandaechup images lost to time and in his words, “carry the life of these images 1,000 years.”1 Monument, Hamgyungdo, North Korea Jessica Meuninck-Ganger refers to her multi-format images of community architecture Takbon on hanji as “portraits,” as this exhibition largely represents structures she passes on her daily 4.