Introductory Source
Exploring North Korean Arts by Call Number: N7370 .E97 2011Publication Date: 2012 ( Nürnberg : Verlag für moderne Kunst)The relationship between North Korean art and ideology is examined, how modern and traditional values are dealt with, and the commercial nature of the arts, as well as insights into the ways of working and environmental conditions in which art at the interface of the specifics of the local political system is created. [The authors] discuss the artists and their role, function and status in their society [and their training]. It also considers how a country's art is received abroad, together with the difficulties faced by curators if they want to show this work outside the country's borders. The concept of art is explored through the field of fine art (oil and brush painting), stamp design, book illustrations, wall mosaics, literature and music.
Art
- Art Works(Works best in Firefox). Naenara web site. Traditional landscape paintings, oil paintings, ancient paintings, "powdered jewel pictures" and more.
- North Korean Propaganda PostersAn exhibit at U.C. San Diego of 60 propaganda posters. Each one also has English title and explanation.
- Huffington Post on North Korean Arts Scene"North Korea’s Arts Scene Is Just As Mysterious As The Nation Itself." This is a 9/9/2015 article on art in the DPRK and the Mansudae Art Studio.
- North Korean Art Gallery (Mansudae Art Studio)Mansudae Art Studio was founded in 1959. "With a labor force of approximately 4000 people, about 800 of which artists, and an area of over 120,000 square meters, 80,000 of which indoor, it is probably the largest art production center in the world." Purchases of art can be made but is very difficult to have anything shipped to U.S. The "Works" tab has a description of Techniques which include Korean Painting, Oil, Woodcut, Jewel Painting [powder painting], Embroidery.
- North Korean Defector Sun Mu Is Turning Propaganda Art on Its HeadInterview with artist Sun Mu, defector from North Korea . His exhibit (link is in the interview), Upside-Down Propaganda: The Art of North Korean Defector Sun Mu, took place at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles, 2019.
North Korean Art: Paradoxical Realism by Call Number: ND1070 .M86 2018 +Publication Date: 2018 (Irvine, CA : Seoul Selection USA, Inc)Exhibition of North Korean art at Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, South Korea, 2018. Unique development of Chosonhwa in North Korea (art for employing soft brushes with black ink or color pigments on rice paper.) Types of paintings (collaborative, propaganda, favorite North Korean themes, landscapes, "literati" painting) . Comments and descriptions.
North Korean Art: the Enigmatic World of Chosonwa by Publication Date: 2019 (Seoul, Korea : Seoul Selection)"(The author) looked to uncover any evidence for the political, humanistic, and geopolitical influence of four countries— the Soviet Union/Russia, China, South Korea, and North Korea— on chosonhwa. By delving into the available historical record, (he) sought to further establish the interrelation among the art of those four countries. The natural humility and restrained boldness embedded in North Korean art are human aspects that can be found throughout the culture of everyday people in the Chosonhwa is a stunning drama, rich with humanity; it is the heart of North Korean art. deeply DPRK."
Printed in North Korea: the Art of Everyday Life in the DPRK by Call Number: NE773.7 .B66 2019 +Publication Date: 2019 (London : Phaidon Press Limited)This incredible collection of prints dating from the 1950s to the twenty-first century is the only one of its kind in or outside North Korea. Depicting the everyday lives of the country's train conductors, steelworkers, weavers, farmers, scientists, and fishermen, these unique linocut and woodblock prints are a fascinating way to explore the culture of [the DPRK].
Made in North Korea: Graphics from Everyday Life in the DPRK by Call Number: NC 998.6 K59 B66 2017Publication Date: 2017 (London : Phaidon Press Limited)Bonner has been running tours into North Korea for over twenty years, and along the way collecting graphic ephemera. He has amassed thousands of items, including food, candy, beer and cigarette labels; stamps; postcards, pins and badges; school notebooks; luggage tags and other items from Air Koryo; hotel guides, tickets to various events; comic book pages; and more. Includes essays on life in modern DPRK
Art Under Control in North Korea by Call Number: N 7370 P67 2005 (Fine Arts Library)Publication Date: 2005 (London: Reaktion)[This book] is the first Western publication to explore the state-controlled role of art in North Korea. It places North Korean art in its historical, political, and social contexts, with a discussion on the state system of cultivating and promoting artists and an examination of the range of art produced, from painting and calligraphy to architecture and applied art. The author also examines the ways in which archaeology has been employed for political ends to legitimize the present regime. [The book] explores the creation of art under totalitarian rule and the ways art can subvert a dictatorial regime.
North Korea's Public Face: 20th-century Propaganda Posters from the Zellweger Collection by Call Number: NC 1807 K6 N67 2017 +Publication Date: 2017 (Hong Kong : University Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Hong Kong)[Exhibition at Hong Kong University Museum & Art Gallery, Nov. 2017-Jan. 2018] . "..Beyond their overtly ideological character, the posters confer messages related to practical agricultural, industrial and social developments, while portraying a distinctly human picture of the varied urban and rural communities."
North Korean Posters: the David Heather Collection by Call Number: NC 1833 K72 H42 2008Publication Date: 2008 (Munich, New York: Prestel,cop.)".this book [presents] a vision of the country as promoted by its regime and depicted by its state sponsored artists. Seldom seen by the outside world, North Korea's propaganda art colors the cities and countryside with vibrant images of brave soldiers, happy and well-fed peasants, and a heroic and compassionate leader. More than 250 of these posters are collected here for the first time, showing the wide range of North Korean propaganda art. These posters display the latest political slogans that are repeated in newspaper editorials, government declarations, and compulsory study sessions throughout the country.
Art AsiaPacific Almanac by Call Number: + N 7260 A7831Publication Date: Library has vol. 1, 2005 to most currentPeriodical; issues contain coverage of individual countries' art situation; North Korea is included.
평양 미술 / P'yŏngyang misul 조선화 너 는 누구냐 / Chosŏnhwa nŏ nŭn nugunya by Call Number: ND 1070 M86 2018 +Publication Date: 2018 (Sŏul-si : Sŏul Selleksyŏn)(In Korean) Description and analysis of painting in 20th c.; social realism in art. Text in Korean with color illustrations & reproductions.
The Kims on Art
(see also items on Literature page)
- On Creating Revolutionary Literature and Art byCall Number: Pamphlet HX Korea 9Publication Date: 1972 (Pyongyang, Foreign Languages Pub. House)Subtitle: "Speech to workers in the field of literature and art, November 7, 1964"