Written by Kim Nam Soo / Art Critic

  As the westernization, which had been uncritically accepted, has faded, the emphasis on Korea's unique aesthetics is now greater than ever. A senior artist Kim Yeong Tae, who has adhered to figurative art and preserved it as a last stronghold, consistently argues that the proper and ultimate purpose of art is to materialize the ideal beauty on a limited space given like a fate. To use his words, “Human history is created as an extension of space and time. Today's modern art is significant, in that it coexists with tradition, but modern art will also be pushed into the class of tradition or classics as soon as it deviates from space and time of today.” He also expressed his thoughts, “The immutable truths that art should be beautiful and eternal in essence still make sense. Altamira Cave paintings, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Picasso's Guernica, Rembrandt's self-portraits and Gogh's Sunflower have been recognized as a masterpiece, but it is ironical that all of them are classics and take the form of figurative art. Therefore, I am confident that the permanent terminal of the beauty is figurative art.” Notably, he also suggested that installation and performance of modern art are not fitting for Korean sentiment, and he granted just a simple meaning to them because they are going against the eternity of art, due to their transitory and vulnerable characteristics. Kim Yeong Tae, in his university years, learned all about oil paintings from his advising professor Kim Bo Hyeon and he also studied impressionism paintings under a renowned impressionist painter Oh Ji Ho, who published a book on color theory for the first time in Korea. Kim Yeong Tae argued that his teacher's insistence on aesthetics of light and color until the last day represented the concept of formative art that eternal beauty of art should be preserved. Maybe he respects and admire his teacher because of the noble artistic spirit. It was a common denominator for realist painters preoccupied with naturalism of the past to realize providence and nature through real life experiences and to create a new concept of beauty by reconstructing what they learned into a formative mode. In the middle of the 20th century, however, the emergence of modern art advocating abstract expressionism meant the academic realism, which dominated one era, came to a close, and impressionist painting style of figurative mode has coexisted with abstract art so far.


Western Painting Artist - Kim, Young Tae

  Artist Kim Yeong Tae pointed out that it is wrong to identify tradition and modernism by a simple expression mode or an ism. He argued, “The logic that figurative art and realism are conservative and old-fashioned is nothing but a prejudice, and the argument that abstract art with a modern perspective seeking new ways through experimental methods is forward-looking and advanced can turn into a fallacy of self-righteousness. Objective evaluation of the outcomes of expression is much more important than setting a concept of expression mode. From the perspective of art history, I do not deny the dialectic logic that the existing order gives way to a new art trend and the newly emerging concept of the beauty replaces the old one, but the grounds of this logic can be validated only with a general logic excluding creating activities. At least in the world of creation, fine arts can prosper and come closer to the desirable essence of art when the old and modern art coexist and develop by checking and complementing each another. Nowadays, younger artists positively accept and pursue modernized methods of tradition because they have the spirit of inquiry to seek global art styles by which they can find Korea's unique characteristics even in the oil paintings using a western medium. The existence of even relatively modern art would be meaningless if it just remains to be a follower or an imitator of western concept.” In some respects, his argument that presented a way to develop Korea's fine arts is very convincing. Senior painter Kim Yeong Tae began his early study period with realism. At this time around, he honed his drawing skills by reproducing materials of nature. Yet, he was hovering around impressionist painting style in the middle. The subject matter was still nature, but he thought the quintessence of the art can be fully enjoyed by impressionist style, which can express endless changes in line with painter's originality, views, images and inspiration, and their formative interpretation can greatly vary. He wrote his opinions on the beauty in his work note, “Impressionist painting style underlies all forms of paintings. The leading composite art of today is impressionist paintings, and now is the blossom season of impressionist painting style.” This argument represented his concept of formative art as his conviction. Lately however, he recalled as follows: “I am skeptical about whether it is desirable to put a mode of art produced by creating activities into a specific ism or a painting style. Painters can label their work as neo-naturalism, neo figurative art or their new unique style, and I feel the meaning of creation is undermined by sticking to forms of terminology.” It would be appropriate to think that his art came to maturity after his 70th birthday.


India Sketch - 2000

  Kim Yeong Tae received the critical acclaim that as his world of art work gets mature, they get more refreshed with innocence preserved, thanks to his mindset of searching for the truths and his conception of aesthetic formative art to materialize humanism, the basic element of art. If we look at some of the characteristics of his works, he said that the given space is absolute, that the biggest task for him is to figure out how to maximize the desirable beauty in the limited space, and that absolute liberation from materials is necessary. Moreover, just photo-like description is insignificant because it's a simple reproduction. In other words, it is the wish and goal of Kim Yeong Tae to ensure moderation on the canvass through an omission and a reduction of brush strokes and a simplification of a subject matter, and to create the best beauty in the limited absolute space. He is a veteran artist who has argued that the painting should look beautiful, even when upside down. Moreover, he thinks that the best way to extract the beauty is through the aesthetics of color. Nuance, harmony, coloration and contrast of colors are crucial elements in creating color space. The shape of an object is not significant in his art world where his works are reflected through color art. Rather, the harmony of colors created by the tone of the canvass transcending physical image of an object is more important. For example, it is his unique characteristics that he colors blue sky in yellow or red and he realizes his own aesthetics of color which varies by background space, clothes colors, and objects. To borrow his argument, only comprehensive basic training can create atypical variation and truly extraordinary works can be created when painters start from the strong foundation of images or art informal. His devotion to one drawing of a statue for six years in his early days of work has been a driving force behind what he is today. He traveled across the nation to draw rivers and mountains often enough to develop the habit of wandering about and he produced many sketches by traveling countries around the world more than 100 times. In particular, one of his characteristics is the mysterious ability to produce tens of drawings in some cases where he could find diverse matters to draw through changes in angles or moving point of views on one spot, such as Maryeong port in Gangjin, pine trees or forest with a cemetery, or the scenery in spring or the greenery of summer. His works are so focusing on the essence of expression that they look closer to image paintings than realist ones with strong colors as well as deep and thick mattered, and he makes it a rule over the last 50 years to draw a picturesque place with the open field in the rural areas for several years, to paint a port or coastal area with scenic beauty when mesmerized by deep blue color and spicy breeze of sea, or to climb mountains for 10 years to draw mountains when fascinated by majestic and quiet mystique of mountains.

  Recently, he returned to the habit of going to the sea on a more frequent basis because he felt blocked to see a grand, bulky and closed mountain, while he felt relieved to see the open horizon in the boundless expanse of water and he found it more pleasant to listen to the roar of the huge waves and the sound of the sea from a turban shell, maybe due to his old age, he said. In a writing that he contributed to a magazine, he said, “I've been to Beopseong Port for the last 40 years, but I couldn't create anything. In fact, I couldn't find anything to draw. It was five years ago in fall when I produced two paintings there and even put my signature to them. Since then, I frequented this place and realized the port is filled with a good subject matter including an ally or a hill. I muttered to myself that this place hadn't dramatically changed, then how come there were so many things to draw unlike the past. The answer is that my thoughts and views have changed. Everything that we see, hear, eat, and feel in our lives can vary from viewer to viewer. For example, the food that I didn't like in childhood can taste the best now and I found a limitless zest of Korean traditional music in Pansori that I felt bored in the past.” In this writing, it can be said that people can find great illumination for themselves and they can reach the point of sudden enlightenment as they get older. If we describe the 80 years of his art and life in a word, he is a beauty supremacist. He thinks that the true and the good in the world will be of no use without the beauty. He is a living witness and example of our time as he has been leading an innocent and noble life as an artist. He entered and graduated from the university with top honors and after giving a lecture at a university, he decided to focus only on painting to preserve the purity of art and has taken a single path of producing art works. He has expanded the scope of formative art such as landscape of places around the world, flower and a woman. He covered a wide range, so even the question was raised of what is the subject matter he has never painted or what is the art mode that he cannot deal with. His art gets younger and refreshed and his management of the canvass, such as expression mode or techniques and methodology, has moved in a more progressive direction, with the accumulation of experiences over the 60 years of working. In particular, he has been recognized as the best veteran painter, who can infuse a new model and morals into the aesthetics of colors with Korea's fantastic five cardinal colors as a handler and magician of colors.


Together with the Young-Joong Kim (sculptor) of an alumnus - 1998

  Kim Yeong Tae advocated that humanism is reflected in art and the dearest wish and desire of art are to liberalize human being and to realize humanism. He is a very competent senior painter of the Korean painting circles, who is immersed in the Orientalism, and thinks Korean paintings stand a chance of success with global competitiveness when pursuing Korea's unique characteristics for a theme or idealism even though their medium or techniques are western. He is Korea's top senior painter, who earned as good reputation in Japan as in Korea, and his works equipped with global competitiveness has been in the limelight. Notably, the artist, who has earned quite foreign currencies, was invited by a magnate of a Japanese confectionery company to have a preview exhibition and he was fortunate to sell 120% of his exhibits. It would be nonsense for a Korean senior painter dominating the Korean art to fail to sell any of his work overseas but to keep enjoying a boom with his signature and seal only in Korea. Now we are undergoing a desperate cultural war where Korean culture and art should target overseas market to earn foreign currencies.




Visited to see me 井口保 artist at Gwangju, which has met the first 內野秀美 teacher in 1976.

  Artist Kim Yeong Tae was born in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province in 1927. He is a talented artist, who graduated with top honors from the prestigious Chosun University's College of Arts and Design in its inaugural year. He used to teach at his alma mater, but Kim Yeong Tae changed his mind and has been a professional artist to date. He has been participating in over 100 exhibitions at home and abroad, and had about 100 overseas sketch tours. Kim Yeong Tae served as a judge and member of a steering committee of the Korea Fine Arts Festival. He also acted as a judge on many occasions including provincial exhibitions and is currently an honorary president of Sunday Artists' Club in Gwangju. As an advising professor along with club members for a sketch and etc., he finds his life worth living by teaching the younger generation of artists.

  Kim Yeong Tae advocated that humanism is reflected in art and the dearest wish and desire of art are to liberalize human being and to realize humanism. He is a very competent senior painter of the Korean painting circles, who is immersed in the Orientalism, and thinks Korean paintings stand a chance of success with global competitiveness when pursuing Korea's unique characteristics for a theme or idealism even though their medium or techniques are western. He is Korea's top senior painter, who earned as good reputation in Japan as in Korea, and his works equipped with global competitiveness has been in the limelight. Notably, the artist, who has earned quite foreign currencies, was invited by a magnate of a Japanese confectionery company to have a preview exhibition and he was fortunate to sell 120% of his exhibits. It would be nonsense for a Korean senior painter dominating the Korean art to fail to sell any of his work overseas but to keep enjoying a boom with his signature and seal only in Korea. Now we are undergoing a desperate cultural war where Korean culture and art should target overseas market to earn foreign currencies.


Join me for the reception at Art Korea - 1996


Together with the Bo-Hyun Kim artist at Chosun university - 2000

  Artist Kim Yeong Tae was born in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province in 1927. He is a talented artist, who graduated with top honors from the prestigious Chosun University's College of Arts and Design in its inaugural year. He used to teach at his alma mater, but Kim Yeong Tae changed his mind and has been a professional artist to date. He has been participating in over 100 exhibitions at home and abroad, and had about 100 overseas sketch tours. Kim Yeong Tae served as a judge and member of a steering committee of the Korea Fine Arts Festival. He also acted as a judge on many occasions including provincial exhibitions and is currently an honorary president of Sunday Artists' Club in Gwangju. As an advising professor along with club members for a sketch and etc., he finds his life worth living by teaching the younger generation of artists.


Together with his wife at Pompeii - 1996