Nikolai Shin
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Shin was an Uzbekistani painter of Korean descent
, sometimes referred to by Korean newspapers as the "Picasso of Asia".
along with all other ethnic Koreans in the Russian Far East
. After the deportations, his family stayed in the Kazakh SSR
for a few years before eventually settling in Tashkent
, Uzbek SSR
(now Uzbekistan
) in 1940. His sister became infected with malaria
and died at the age of 16, leaving Shin as sole breadwinner for his mother and grandmother; Shin spoke of his memories of tilling the rocky soil with his bare hands, trying to eke out a living. Eventually, unable to care for his grandmother, he sent her to live with relatives in the Kazakh SSR
, where she too died.
In 1949, Shin graduated from Tashkent's Benkov Art School, and began his career in painting, first receiving acclaim for his work in 1957, when he won the grand prize at the International Youth Festival in Moscow and the second prize in the Republican Festival of Young Artists of Uzbekistan. In 1960, he graduated from Atropsky Art College, also in Tashkent; after his graduation, he began work on his painting Requiem, which would take him until 1982 to complete. Requiem, painted on a canvas three metres tall and forty-four metres wide in primary colors, depicts people without eyes, noses, or mouths; Shin has stated that this was meant to represent the sense of enslavement and namelessness felt by the Koryo-saram
as a result of the deportations. Following his completion of Requiem, Shin would go on to paint other works on the theme of the deportations and of Korean culture in Central Asia; he began to become well-known in the West with his solo exhibition in Moscow in 1990, and another in Tashkent in 1991. Eventually, his art attracted the attention of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund, who offered him financial support, enabling him to hold further exhibitions. His work was recognised by the Korean government in 1997, when they awarded him with the Order of Culture Merit (문화훈장); he then donated Requiem to the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Aside from his own artwork, Shin also took up a teaching post at his alma mater, the Benkov Art School, despite the low salary; he became a mentor to his student Elena Lee, another Uzbekistani painter of Korean descent, whose work was featured in 2004 at an exhibition in Almaty
, Kazakhstan
. He died August 18, 2006 in Tashkent
, Uzbekistan
. He is survived by a wife and three sons.
, local distributors remained uninterested in the film. Sky-Blue Hometown would go on to be invited to several international film festivals in 2001, including the Asian American International Film Festival
in New York, the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
in Japan, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and the International Festival of Audio-visual Programs in Paris. In November of the following year, it won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema prize at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival. However, it was not shown in cinemas in Korea until 2003.
Gyopo
The Korean diaspora consists of roughly seven million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean peninsula, as well as more recent emigres from Korea. Nearly four-fifths of expatriate Koreans live in just three countries: China, the United States, and Japan...
, sometimes referred to by Korean newspapers as the "Picasso of Asia".
Early life
Shin's childhood was filled with hardships. His father died at the age of 21, when Shin was only 4; his mother remarried the following year, sending he and his sister to live with his grandmother. In 1937, he and his family were deported to Central AsiaDeportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union
Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, originally conceived in 1926, initiated in 1930, and carried through in 1937, was the first mass transfer of an entire nationality based on their ethnicity to be committed by the Soviet Union...
along with all other ethnic Koreans in the Russian Far East
Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. Approximately 500,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia , the...
. After the deportations, his family stayed in the Kazakh SSR
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
for a few years before eventually settling in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbek SSR
Uzbek SSR
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Uzbek SSR for short, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union since its creation in 1924...
(now Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
) in 1940. His sister became infected with malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and died at the age of 16, leaving Shin as sole breadwinner for his mother and grandmother; Shin spoke of his memories of tilling the rocky soil with his bare hands, trying to eke out a living. Eventually, unable to care for his grandmother, he sent her to live with relatives in the Kazakh SSR
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
, where she too died.
Artistic career
Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. Approximately 500,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia , the...
as a result of the deportations. Following his completion of Requiem, Shin would go on to paint other works on the theme of the deportations and of Korean culture in Central Asia; he began to become well-known in the West with his solo exhibition in Moscow in 1990, and another in Tashkent in 1991. Eventually, his art attracted the attention of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund, who offered him financial support, enabling him to hold further exhibitions. His work was recognised by the Korean government in 1997, when they awarded him with the Order of Culture Merit (문화훈장); he then donated Requiem to the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Aside from his own artwork, Shin also took up a teaching post at his alma mater, the Benkov Art School, despite the low salary; he became a mentor to his student Elena Lee, another Uzbekistani painter of Korean descent, whose work was featured in 2004 at an exhibition in Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. He died August 18, 2006 in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. He is survived by a wife and three sons.
Documentary
In 2001, Shin's life story was made into a documentary film Sky-Blue Hometown, directed by Kim So-young. Kim stated that she was inspired to tell Shin's story after seeing Requiem displayed at the National Museum of Contemporary Art and reading articles in the domestic press about Koreans in Uzbekistan. Through the film, she hoped "to convey the earnest wishes and lost dreams of the victims, rather than render a bleak ambiance of the hurt and resentment endured by Koreans as a minority race in the former Soviet Union and Central Asia at the present time." After completing the film, she was disappointed by the initial lack of domestic interest; though it won grand prize at the Seoul International Documentary and Film Festival and was honoured as the best Korean documentary at the Pusan International Film FestivalPusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
, local distributors remained uninterested in the film. Sky-Blue Hometown would go on to be invited to several international film festivals in 2001, including the Asian American International Film Festival
Asian American International Film Festival
The Asian American International Film Festival is an international film festival held annually during the summer in New York City to showcase the works of both emerging and experienced Asian and Asian American filmmakers and media artists across a diverse range of genres and...
in New York, the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
in Japan, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and the International Festival of Audio-visual Programs in Paris. In November of the following year, it won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema prize at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival. However, it was not shown in cinemas in Korea until 2003.
Credits
- Director: Kim So-young
- Production: Cine-Maya
- Screenplay: Kim So-young
- Photography: Nikolay Gerasimov
- Editing: Kim So-young
- Sound: Won-jong Soh
- Music: Duck Hyun, Jun-sung Kim, Young-jo Lee
- World Sales: Cine-Maya
- Screening copy: Korean Film Commission
Exhibitions
- 1990: Trechakopskaya Art Gallery, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- 1991: National Museum of Art, TashkentTashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
- 1995: National Museum of Art, TashkentTashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
- 1997: Korean National Museum of Contemporary Art, SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
- 2006: Korean Culture Day, TashkentTashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
Paintings
| Title (Hangul and RR Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... ) |
Translation | Year of completion | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 어머니와 딸 (Eomeoniwa Ddal) |
Mother and daughter | 1980 | Unknown | |
| 레퀴엠 (Rekuiem) |
Requiem | 1982 | 44×3 metres | |
| 장미색의 눈 (Jangmisaek'eui Nun) |
Rose-coloured snow | 1985 | Unknown | |
| 수콕 메달들 (Sukok Medaldeul) |
Sukok medals | 1987 | 240×170 cm | |
| 하늘색의 고향 (Haneulsaek'eui Gohyang) |
Sky-blue hometown | 1988 | 8×3 metres | 4 panels of 200×300 cm |
| 되살린 부채 (Toesallin Buchae) |
1989 | 80×100 cm | ||
| 또다른 세계로-천국에서의 신혼 (Ddodareun Segyero - Cheongukeso'eui Sinhon) |
To another world - newlywed in paradise | 1990 | 8×3 metres | 4 panels of 200×300 cm |
| 나와 아내 (Nawa Anae) |
Me and my wife | 1991 | Unknown | |
| 고려인 (Goryeoin) |
Koryo people | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 검은 용 (Geomeun Yong) |
Black dragon | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 전설 (Jeonseol) |
Legend | Unknown | 52×3 metres | 26 panels of 200×300 cm |
| 자화상 (Jahwajang) |
Self-portrait | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 나와 나의 신부 (Nawa Na'eui Shinbu) |
Me and my bride | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 수코크의 아이들 (Sukokeu'eui Aideul) |
The children of Sukok | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 울음 (Uleum) |
Tears | Unknown | Unknown | |
External links
- Sky-Blue Hometown
- Online gallery of Shin's work hosted by the Chosun Ilbo