〈2009 Mask of Hypocrisy Series〉(2009) is Kim’s project conducted with his students at the Theater Institute of the Korea National University of Arts. Photos were taken after dressing students up with masks from Kim’s collection and carefully dried leaves of plants. A bizarre image of a masked figure with open eyes and mouth against a dark background is presented as staring at the viewer. In South Korea, a mask is a static object made of straw or wood, but it is also a dynamic object that played an important role in complex rituals consisting of dance, spells, and rites. The series reflects Kim’s interest in masks while navigating inner and outer human problems, just as the title implies.
Kim Young Soo (1946-2011) founded the Korean Photographer Association (Minjok Sajinga Hyeopoe) in 1999 and served as the president from 2003 to 2011. He held solo exhibitions including 《Hyeon-Joen》 (Duck Soo Art Gallery, Seoul, 1981), 《Human: Standee》 (Duson Gallery, Seoul; Hyunhwarang, Daegu, 1987), 《Human: ID Card》 (Batangol Museum of Art, Seoul, 1987), 《Floating Island》 (Gana Forum Space, Seoul, 2004), and 《Gwangdae》 (Gong Gallery, Seoul, 2007). He participated in various group exhibitions such as 《Seoul Spring》 (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, 1993), 《The 15 Years of Korean Minjoong Arts: 1980-1994》 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art [MMCA], Gwacheon, 1994), 《Art toward the Society: Realism in Korean Art 1945-2005》 (The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum and other museums, Niigata and other cities, Japan, 2007), and 《Re-viewing on Photography》 (Gallery Lux, Seoul, 2010). He received the Seoul Mayor’s plaque of appreciation in 1996 and a Korea Entertainment Award in 1999.
Kim Young Soo encountered photography first through local photographers in Daejeon and later learned photography by himself through studying foreign photographic magazines. Coming back to Seoul, Kim interacted with photographers such as Lim Eung-sik and Joo Myung Duck, and spent three years working on his craft in Kim Jung Man’s darkroom. In the 1980s, Kim Young Soo socialized with Minjung artists and worked tirelessly to enhance the status of photography in South Korea. For instance, he formed a photography division within the Korean People’s Artist Federation (Minjok Yesulga Chongyeonhap) in 1987 and founded the Korean Photographer Association (Minjok Sajinga Hyeopoe) in 1999, shedding light on Korean photographers through the 〈Rediscovery of Korean Photography series〉, and continued lectures and group exhibitions at the Korean Photographer Association. In addition, the portrait photography project for the underprivileged elderly, which he conducted with members of the Korean Photographer Association from the late 1990s, was another example of his social concerns and participation through photography. Kim Young Soo built his own unique world of photography by highlighting technical and aesthetic characteristics of photography as well as keenly facing real problems in society.
