A List
1/12/09

Woodblock Prints From North Korea On Exhibition In SLU's Brush Gallery

CANTON - An exhibition titled "North Korean Images at Utopia's Edge" will be in the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery at St. Lawrence University from January 19 through March 12. The exhibition was organized by The Korea Society in New York City.

The prints in this exhibition are on loan from the collection of Nicholas Bonner, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and art collector who has been traveling to North Korea for the last 15 years. Bonner's film Crossing the Line (2006) will be screened at St. Lawrence on two Tuesdays, February 10 and 24, at 7 p.m. in Room 123 of the Griffiths Arts Center. This documentary examines the life of James Joseph Dresnok, the last living American defector to North Korea.

Woodblock printing on the Korean peninsula dates back to the very earliest uses of the technology and is deeply established within Korean tradition. Today, woodblock printing remains an outstanding form of artistic expression on both sides of the 38th Parallel. In North Korea, the simple and economical technique, employed extensively during the Korean War, is used to produce readily understandable and visually striking images.

The prints in the exhibition share similar characteristics. All the artists were trained at the highly competitive Pyongyang University of Fine Arts and employed either at the Mansudae Art Studio (Mansudae ch'angjaksa), the Literature and Art Press Centre or the Pyongyang City Art Studio. The artists depict a wide range of subjects and themes, within the constraints of the state-run system, to create a form of workaday beauty through the expert use of colored blocks, sharp lines and hard edges. These elements both enhance and transcend the ideological context of the prints.

For more information, or to arrange individual or group tours, contact the Brush Gallery at 315-229-5174.

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