북한에서 체제 선전 작가로 활동하던 송벽 씨가 북한을 탈출한 지 10년만에 미국 워싱턴 시내 14가 선상의 전시공간 듄(The Dune, 1402 Meridian PL NW)에서 4월 9일부터 4월 30일까지 개인 전시회를 열고 있다.
한 미국인이 송벽 씨의 작품을 바라보고 있다.
아래는 워싱톤 포스트가 작년 말에 게재한 기사 이다.
Kim Jong Il depicted as Marilyn Monroe in former propaganda artist’s painting
Some like it hot, but Kim Jong Il in Marilyn Monroe’s fluttering dress is certainly not what most people have in mind when they think “hot.”
North Korean artist Song Byeok perfected his portraiture skills painting Kim Jong Il as a propaganda artist for his regime in the 1990s — a skill that he puts to use now as a satirical artist, painting the “Dear Leader” in embarrassing situations such as Monroe’s subway grate scene from “The Seven Year Itch.” He’s one of several artist-defectors whose careers have gotten a boost from the dictator’s death.
North Korean defector and artist Song Byeok paints next to another work of his, titled "Marilyn Monroe," which satirizes North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, at his atelier in Seoul, Dec. 23, 2011. (Kim Kyung-Hoon - Reuters)
Byeok works under a pseudonym, because he fears retaliation against relatives who remain in North Korea. He was selected at age 24 to become an official state propagandist, according to the biography on his Web site. He told Reuters that he was simply handed a sketch of whatever propaganda the state wanted illustrated that day, never meeting Kim Jong Il. He defected in 2002 and now lives in South Korea, where he paints propaganda-inspired works that mock the North Korean state and demonstrate his newfound freedom. He will exhibit his work in the U.S. at an Atlanta art center in February.
(Kim Kyung-Hoon - Reuters)
Byeok isn’t the only North Korean propaganda artist whose work is getting a second look after Kim Jong Il’s death. Another former propaganda artist who mocks Kim works under a pseudonym, Sun Mu. Both paint the “Dear Leader,” and they have another subject in common — the hollow-eyed children that are called “fluttering swallows” in North Korea.
But as a new leader takes over in North Korea, could Kim Jung Eun be the next to appear in embarrassing situations in Byeok’s art? He tells Reuters he’ll wait and see, but he has no plans to paint him yet.
(Kim Kyung-Hoon - Reuters)
(Wally Santana - AP)