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From the Land of the Morning Calm: Korean Art at the Brooklyn Museum

DATES October 16, 1987 through January 04, 1988
ORGANIZING DEPARTMENT Asian Art
COLLECTIONS Asian Art
  • October 16, 1987 From the Land of Morning Calm: Korean Art at The Brooklyn Museum, an exhibition of 100 of the finest objects from the Museum’s comprehensive collection of Korean art, will be on view in the Robert E. Blum Gallery, located on the first floor, from October 16 through January 4, 1988. The exhibition comprises all periods of Korean cultural history from the Bronze-Iron Age (circa 350 B.C. to the birth of Christ) to the mid-20th century, and includes a large group of Korean folk art, which is seldom seen outside Korea. The works represent nearly every important category of Korean art, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, metalwork, furniture and embroidery.

    The exhibition was made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the New York State Council on the Arts. It also received generous support from Republic New York Corporation, The Daewoo Corporation and LUCKY-GOLDSTAR.

    Korean art is rich and diverse, but one with which few Westerners are familiar. The official art in Korea, that is, the art of the royal court, the powerful Buddhist monasteries and the scholar bureaucrats, has been influenced in a major way by Chinese art, partly because of the geographic proximity of Korea to China. However, there is an indigenous form of artistic expression that is distinct from the “correct” or official art and its Chinese influence. This indigenous Korean artistic expression can be found in the folk art of the country and is characterized by such qualities as directness, ruggedness and unpretentiousness.

    Some of the more notable works on view are a ewer with lid, dating from the first half of the 12th century, a magnificent example of Koryo Dynasty celadon porcelain and the most famous Korean work in The Brooklyn Museum’s holdings; a six-panel screen painting, dating from the Yi Dynasty, 19th century, one of the finest examples of large-scale Korean court painting; a storage jar, Yi Dynasty, 17th century, in ivory-white porcelain with an iron-brown painted decoration of a “folk” dragon under a clear glaze, an example of the completely natural, direct and spontaneous qualities indigenous to Korea’s folk art tradition; and Mountain Landscape in Moonlight (1975), a painting by Korea’s best-known living artist, Kim Ki-chang (born 1914).

    From the Land of Morning Calm was selected and organized by Robert Moes, Curator of Oriental Art at The Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue written by Mr. Moes and published by Universe Books ($15.75).


    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1987, 097-98.
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  • November 1, 1987 A program of Korean folktales and music organized by The Brooklyn Museum’s School Youth and Family Programs Department in conjunction with the exhibition From the Land of the Morning Calm: Korean Art at The Brooklyn Museum will be presented on Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m.

    Against the backdrop of 5,000 years of Korean art in the Museum’s 1st floor Robert E. Blum gallery, Du-Yee Chang, actor, storyteller, playwright and dancer, will offer traditional folktales and music. The program, designed to capture the interest and imagination of children, as well as adult visitors, is free with Museum admission (suggested at $3 for adults, $1.50 for students and free for children 12 and younger).

    From the Land of the Morning Calm and its related programs were made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the New York State Council on the Arts. It also received generous support from Republic New York Corporation, The Daewoo Corporation and LUCKY-GOLDSTAR.

    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1987, 111.
    View Original