The Artist Down the Hall

The art teacher at Youngil is a 60-year-old Korean named Yi Cheong-gi; it is usually him I hear in the hallway smacking his students when they come to class without their sketchbooks. I am not one to use corporal punishment, as I don't think it works; OTOH, I am not one to tell other teachers how to run their classrooms. Unless they ask.




His studio at school (seen above) is actually the faculty room on our floor; it also is the only place on campus where smoking is "allowed". While having a cup of coffee and a smoke together, he is the one that usually introduces me to new Korean words. We also share a love for old movies. But mainly, he is an incredible artist. The photos below show a couple samples of the two styles he seems to be working in currently. First is a primitive technique showing country people in traditional dances, wrestling contests and the like. The third one is unfinished.




But mostly he is working on these huge, super-realism paintings of roots exposed by stream downcutting in the mountains. In fact, during exam week, when I had to show up and putz around in my classroom, he went to the interior of China and hiked a couple of mountains taking photos to be converted into new canvases.



Do click on these for the full size version.