Flower and butterfly
Jo Kwangsuk (Painting critic)
Where do we come from? And where are we going?
There, it is curious that she asked this question to a flower or to us. It seems to me that it is a question which is engraved in the collective
unconsciousness on the being itself or lyrical. Chung mi, the painter expresses this question through the flower and the butterfly. Korean painting
which is drawn by color and which penetrates into the paper through some kind of traditional technique, does not need to distinguish between the paper
and the flower. And the flower does not have an exact name. The clear pistils look like the apricot tree, but we do not know precisely the name of
this flower and there is no need to know it. The butterfly, which lands on this flower, still appears weak and seems attached to it, like a couple
to each other. The flower pattern brings the beauty of color and suppleness. The butterfly is a symbol of lightness and gentleness.
Since this is a traditional subject of the flower and the butterfly, I should say "Zhuangzi and the butterfly". The Butterfly Dream is a well-known
story for Zhuangzi who went through an ecstasy to the point that one could not distinguish between being and thing.
Zhuangzi once dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly that fluttered around, happy with himself and doing what he pleased. He didn't know he
was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up, and he stood there, an unmistakable and massive Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was the Zhuangzi who dreamed
he was a butterfly, or a butterfly who dreamed he was Zhuangzi. From there, the revelation as the being of Zhuangzi could confirm the existence of
oneself and understand the providence of nature through the butterfly in his dream.
There is no difference between the painter Chungmi's questions that "where do we come from?" and where are we going? ". We didn't know if he was this
man who dreamed he was a butterfly, or if he was this butterfly who dreamed he was a man.
The flower and the butterfly were drawn as a thing of human-identical value possible of mutual compatibility in Chungmi's work. The butterfly hatched
from an egg that went through a cycle of metamorphoses like a caterpillar and a cocoon before becoming the butterfly. This period was looked down upon
because of the ugly appearance. The butterfly describes life through beauty and the figure to be gently flown. And also it becomes like a limitless
symbol of freedom and love to people. However, the butterfly did not show off spontaneously and landed on the flower before returning to nature. The
butterfly, which flies freely, at the same time, crosses the boundary of reality, regarded the flower as a sweet and pleasant thing.
The butterfly makes a comparison with the flower, the butterfly is a subject that communicates with the unknown world by flying. The flower and the
butterfly could be compared to the Yi and Yang theory which has maintained constant life in Korean cultural tradition. The flower that obtains energy
from the earth is effeminate. On the other hand, the figure of the butterfly could symbolize the virility which freely rises to the sky by the collection
of all energies.
The butterfly attracts attention as a subject of love on the Ying and Yang Harmony Coast. This suggests that the harmony between the static and the dynamic
of those crossing the line is representative of bisexuality. A figure mingling with the fabulous flower and the butterfly was enough to express the Ying
and yang order. We understand the imagination of our ancestor who represents the order of the complex world through simplicity.
