A supporting actor can change the world

KANG HYE-RAN
The author is a senior reporter on culture at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Everyone is the protagonist of own life. I recalled that obvious truth while visiting the special exhibition at the Korea University Museum. The retrospective exhibition of the late Lee Kyu-ho (1920-2013) — a painter devoted to drawing evening primroses — is being held by his family to mark the 10th anniversary of his passing.

It is rude to dismiss someone as “unknown” just because he is not famous. But Lee is an “ordinary” artist who is not mentioned in art textbooks, whose paintings are not actively traded on the auction market for large sums. I went to the exhibition because I wrote about him for the Heritage series in the JoongAng Plus. He was actually a supporting character in the article, and the protagonist was Kwon Jin-kyu (1922-73), the genius sculptor of a tragic fate.

Lee worked as a curator at the Korea University Museum from Aug. 31, 1962 to March 12, 1977, and made a great contribution to opening the contemporary art exhibition hall at the museum. When reviews of the contemporary artists were not sufficient, he actively linked the school with artistic circles and purchased many of its early works. He made the splendid collection including Park Su-keun (1914-1965), Lee Jung-seob (1916-1956), Kim Whan-ki (1913-1974), Jang Wook-jin (1917~1990) and Chun Kyung-ja (1924-2015) possible, surprising visitors to the university’s 50th-anniversary special exhibition. The article discussed how Kwon Jin-kyu’s notable works like “Madu,” “Self Portrait” and “Buddhist Nun” ended up in the university museum. In the articles, I compared Lee’ role to that of Theo Van Gogh, Vincent Van Gogh’s brother.

I was humbled while looking around the exhibition room. He started to draw paintings by focusing on the moon and evening primroses, transforming them from figurative to semi-figurative art and from earthy tones to vivid colors.

In the more than 90 works on display, Lee was neither Vincent nor Theo. He was not the curator who discovered Kwon Jin-kyu, but artist Lee Kyu-ho. I don’t have the talent to discuss the artistry and marketability of his works, but I could tell how sincere and honest his life had been.

The exhibition was made possible after the museum accepted the family’s wish to hold a retrospective show. His son said, “My father played a major role in keeping good works from disappearing and helping people enjoy at the time when Korea didn’t have many decent art museums.”

He said he arranged the exhibition with the hope that students would remember that education and culture can blossom thanks to someone’s dedication. Not being famous does not mean being nameless.

There are many “supporting actors” in society, playing nameless roles. The main actor can take the spotlight when supporting actors do well.

But I found out that when a supporting actor takes the lead, a completely new drama is possible.