▲ Artist Jang Myeong-soon

What makes her paint ‘brain’?
Artist Jang Myeong-soon is better known for her series work <Happy Brain>. What makes her paint ‘brain’? To answer this question, we need to look at her past a little. Her father had to have a brain surgery in Japan since Korea’s medical technique back then was far behind. Her mother had to work hard to earn the cost for the surgery while taking care of Jang at the same time. But her mother’s effort ended in vain when her father passed away. It was not only too much for her mother to accept the reality but also to the then 10 year old girl. “I decided to become a doctor but my mother couldn’t afford it alone. Yet I had to do something and the image of ‘brain’ has remained in my mind all these years ever since” says Jang. The reason Jang is painting brain is because she wants to deliver her message of happiness and health to the people. “Brain is the control tower of our body and I wanted to express the limitless vitality of the brain by using color contrast and abstract.” One might see in her works unique expressions and colors.

Selected for the Grand Art Exhibition for Korean People and beyond
Jang did not paint ‘brain’ from the very beginning but experimented with various styles and forms with various mediums including a stone and a fork in her early age. The only limitation was that she could not afford the materials she needed. Moreover, she had to endure her high school student son going through surgery a number of times. “To my surprise, it was him who cheered me more. Encouraged by this, I painted a picture for him. I never expected that this painting could be selected for the Grand Art Exhibition for Korean People in 1996.” She then worked harder and has won a number of better prizes including the grand prize at the Gyerim International Art Show China, Seoul mayor’s prize at the Land and Environment Art Exhibition, invitational prize at the Korea-China Invitational Artist Exhibition in Beijing, and an artist prize from the Traditional Crafts Promotion Association. An advisory committee member of the Korea Modern Art Association once commented about her works “Implicative expressions, crossing lines and surfaces, and vitalized realism are prevalent in Jang’s works. And I think they are good enough to draw attention from the viewers and communicate with them.” Jang says “I just want to deliver what I truly feel about things happening around us through my works so materials or styles or forms do not bother me much. In other words, being truthful is the best way to communicate with the viewers.”