February 22—March 31, 2011
Traditional Korean quilting, with its unique “nubi” line-stitching, is elevated to a high art under the masterful hands of award-winning artisan Haeja Kim. A designated holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property award by the Korean government for her efforts at preserving Korea’s artistic heritage, Kim meticulously line-stitches layers of batting and fabric into fine garments and coverings. The tiny stitches are employed over each article in a deceptively simple pattern, with smaller stitching highly valued and the mark of a true expert.
Nubi textiles are thought to have originated among Buddhist monks, who valued its strength, simplicity, and insulation against Korea’s frigid winters. Lay people employed it for traditional dress and soldiers for defense against the cold and added physical protection. However, the hand-craft of nubi largely disappeared in modern times with the introduction of the sewing machine.
The items selected for this special showing are grouped in three parts:
Children’s Clothing—February 22–March 4
Adult Clothing—March 7–18
Children’s Ceremonial Clothing—March 21–31
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Master Kim has been breathing new life into the art ever since she surprised visitors to the Korea Annual Traditional Art Exhibition two decades ago with 3mm-5mm nubi stitchwork—a feat, not seen for a century, that won the Prime Minister’s Award. Today, she is much sought after as a teacher and master of the form. In her humble and elegant rural studio, surrounded by attentive student apprentices, she displays a unique dedication to craft, hand-processing her fabrics with natural dyes like indigo, safflower, and charcoal. Her work has been exhibited in Korea, Japan, China, and France. This exhibition at The Korea Society represents Kim’s first major U.S. showing.
On December 10, 2010, The Korea Society hosted a panel discussion at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta on the missionary experience in Korea. James T. Laney, former US ambassador to South Korea, led the panel, which included Donald Clark, professor of history at Trinity University, who gave an overview of the history of Christianity in Korea; William Brown, a son and grandson of Christan missionaries to Korea and China, who shared accounts written by missionaries in his family; and the Reverend George Wirth, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, who suggested that American Christians have much to learn from Korean Presbyterians about church growth, management, and missionary work. The program was part of The Korea Society’s Korea Days regional outreach program in Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us as Theresa Ki-ja Kim, professor emeritus of theater arts at SUNY Stony Brook, discusses how Korea’s unique tradition of masked dance-dramas masterfully blended fertility rite, social satire, and popular entertainment. Held in conjunction with the exhibition, Masks of Night: Faces from Traditional Korean Dance-Dramas, Kim’s gallery talk will introduce the masked dance-drama, a form of performance that included songs, dances, and dialogues that aimed to satirize the local nobility (yangban) and promote fertility. Her talk will also examine how masked dance-dramas performed at the Korean royal court and throughout the countryside evolved from ancient shamanic rituals into a form of popular theater that helped release the pent-up social frustration generated by the rigid Confucian norms of the Chosŏn kingdom (1392-1910).
