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Newly on view in Gallery 23
Korean Palaces of the Joseon Dynasty
Photographs From the Collection of the National Museum of Korea
July 14, 2009 – November 15, 2010
Some 38,000 photographs of Joseon dynasty palaces — most of which have never been exhibited in public — were taken between 1909 and 1945, and became part of the collection of the forerunner to the National Museum of Korea, Seoul. Two dozen examples of these photographs are on view in the Asian Art Museum’s Korea galleries through November 15, 2010. These gelatin dry plates were taken as part of a Japanese survey project on the historic relics, folk customs, architecture, and landscape of Korea. Among the many images, the series on Joseon dynasty palaces was the first to be published (2007). The works in this series serve as important documents of the palaces and their grounds during the first half of the twentieth century.
The royal family used these palaces for different functions at different times during its five-hundred-year reign. In these buildings royal family members resided until the death of Sunjong, Korea’s last king, in 1926. Many buildings were then dismantled and moved to other locations; some were (or had long since been) damaged or destroyed altogether. The land on which they had stood was converted into public parks.
The photographs on view were taken during this transitional time. Today restoration efforts — including the rebuilding of the main gates to the central palace — are being carried out by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. Although cameras that used film were available by this era, many professional photographers still preferred gelatin dry plates. These negatives were made by coating glass with a photosensitive emulsion and allowing it to dry before exposing it to light. The exposed plates’ resistance to changes in temperature and humidity made them long lasting, and the smoothness of the glass resulted in superior image quality.
The plates used to make the images are in remarkably good condition despite being some seventy to one hundred years old. Minor damage was caused by pressure from plates being stacked (this was how many of them had been stored) and peeling of the emulsion. Cracks and scratches attest to the plates’ frequent use, despite which no original prints survive. The contact prints on view here (made by laying the negative plates directly upon photosensitive paper and exposing them to light — more or less the way the original prints would have been done) were especially created by the National Museum of Korea for the purpose of donating them to the Asian Art Museum.
This installation is accompanied by a handsome illustrated brochure generously underwritten by the National Museum of Korea.
Preview select artworks.
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Because many works–particularly paintings and textiles–are light sensitive and can be displayed only for about six months every five years, works are regularly rotated from storage into the museum’s collection galleries on the second and third floors. While browsing in the galleries, look for the many artworks throughout the collection marked with a blue “Newly on view” circle on the label. There’s always something new to see at the Asian Art Museum.