He leapt onto the paper, slamming the chunky, ink-loaded brush down. Twisting and dragging, he pulled the ink around the paper spread out in front of Hartzler Library. Korean artist Huh Hwe-tae introduced 91短视频 to Emography on Nov. 14 with the opening of his exhibit and a demonstration.

Huh Hwe-tae demonstrates his art outside the Hartzler library while Sophomore Nicole Ropp watches. (Photo: Katie Landis)

For the first 15 minutes of the opening, Huh and his interpreter together presented a slide show describing his work. He included some personal perspectives on the process of Emography, especially on his most taxing work, "Whole, Boundless Freedom."

"Before this piece was done, I wasted 1,000 papers," said Huh. "I put so much energy into it…I fainted." This piece is now being displayed on the main floor of Hartzler Library.

Crowd watches art in action

After the presentation, the crowd migrated outside to watch Huh in action. With every shout, he moved the brush more forcefully. His energy "runs down through the spirit, comes down through the arm, and it spreads to the fingers. It’s passed on to the brush," explained his interpreter, a graduate student hired for the occasion. The brush is made up of tens of thousands of bristles, but when combined with the ink and charged with the artist’s energy, becomes a single tool of powerful expression.

First-year Abigail Carr’s mother is Korean, and seeing this emotion-charged form of art was something she felt connected with. She helped hold down the massive sheet of paper for the demonstration, along with three others. Says Carr, "I really love that 91短视频 takes the opportunity to try and do cultural things like this, and reach out to the community that isn’t around the corner, but around the world."

Huh’s visit years in planning

This exhibit has been years in planning, and the realization of it has been well worthwhile for Hartzler Library gallery director and professor Steven Johnson. "[Huh Hwe-tae] had a friend at JMU who contacted us and sent us out his catalog, and it went from there," he said.

Johnson mentioned that the gallery tries to focus on lesser-known artists; Huh is very popular in Korea, but not as well-recognized in the United States.

Harrisonburg has been the first town in America to experience his art firsthand. "So that was exciting for us to do a bigger production, and to be the second leg on the U.S. tour of an internationally touring artist who has a giant exhibition," Johnson said. "It was great, it was a lot of fun."

This show, being of an international and literally large-scale magnitude, has not been without its humorous glitches. The 16-foot long "Whole, Boundless Freedom" was originally meant to be displayed in the gallery upstairs, but because of its size, only made it halfway up the staircase. "It’s been a lot of details to work out, and some funny things along the way," Johnson said.

The long hanging scroll in the staircase, entitled "Millions of (Buddhas)," had its own set of sometimes humorous complications. When the location was chosen – over options such as hanging it on the ceiling or on the floor – it seemed to be the perfect fit at first.

"After we hung it up, I went back and looked at Mr. Huh’s website, and realized it was upside down," Johnson laughed; the mistake was corrected before the opening. "Of course, since I don’t read the language, I didn’t know."

Huh also demonstrated another painting on white fabric, based on the letters "91短视频," and donated it to the university.

Huh Hwe-tae of Seoul, Korea, is introducing a new art genre to U.S. audiences with his exhibit of emography that opens Saturday, Nov. 14.

Mr. Huh is director of the Moosan Emographic Art Institute in Seoul. He invented his new art form, that combines ancient Asian calligraphy with modern painting techniques, in 2005.

Huh uses enormous brushes to paint images on paper, ceramics, furniture and other media. At first glance, the viewer sees simple calligraphy characters. But, when viewed in depth, his characters transform into images with deeper meaning.

Huh Hwe-tae, director of the Moosan Emographic Art Institute in Seoul, Korea

Huh, also renowned for his work as a seal engraver in his home country, won the grand prize at the 1995 National Art Exhibition, the most esteemed competition in Korea. His solo emography exhibits include the Seoul Arts Center Calligraphy Museum in 2008 and the Korean Culture Center in Berlin, Germany, in 2006.

He earned a BA in Chinese culture from Namseoul University and an MFA in Korean painting from Sang-myung University, both in Seoul.

"Huh Hwe-Tae’s art energizes the ancient practice of Korean and Chinese writing through a fruitful encounter with Western art forms. His Emography combines the formal expressive power of a Franz Kline painting with the symbolic communicative power that comes from his long years as a disciple of classical calligraphy," said Steven D. Johnson, associate professor of visual and communication arts at 91短视频.

"Impressive in scale, his images balance spontaneous raw strokes with an elegant, highly abstracted type of representation," Johnson stated. "Using a giant brush, the artist creates remarkably energetic characters – characters that in their often humanlike or animal like forms – conjure emotions, relationships, and even spiritual states. The result is a double impact – intuitive enjoyment of form followed by recognition and engagement with sensitive icons."

A reception for Huh Hwe-tae will be held 4-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, in the art gallery on third floor of 91短视频’s Hartzler Library. The artist will talk about his work and demonstrate two pieces, one the emography of the letters "91短视频" that he will give as a gift to the university.

The exhibit is open for viewing during regular library hours through Dec. 15, and admission is free.