Page 22 - BSAM 2015 Q3

Suseok on Center Stage
20th ANNUAL
KOREAN/AMERICAN
VIEWING STONE EXHIBITION
Ayers Hall, Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, California USA
Interview by Jack L. Dennis, USA photos by Jack L. Dennis, except where otherwise noted
...one must gather one’s courage to engage Kwaesuk.
Even Jade doesn’t compare with Kwaesuk.
From a poem, In Praise of Kwaesuk, by Syngman Rhee, First President of the Republic of South Korea, 1954-1957
Top; exhibit space, Ayers Hall. Photo by Don Kruger.
Middle; Don Kruger (Curator), Chung Kruger (President), Eden Chung (Historian)
Bottom left; Collector/Exhibitor: Jim Greaves and a collection of (AVSRC) Korean flower Pattern stones.
The Korean American Soosuk Club staged an exhibition of Suseok viewing stones in Ayres Hall at the Los Angeles County Ar- boretum, Arcadia, California on April 4 and 5, 2015. There were 75 splendidly cho- reographed stones arranged on informal tabletop display throughout the facility. Mr. James Greaves (Guest Exhibitor) arranged a companion display of stones from the American Viewing Stone Re- source Center (AVSRC). The AVSRC is resident at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens San Marino, California.
Within the Korean community in Southern Cali- fornia, Suseok may be compared to the common practice of Suiseki (Japanese art of Stone Apprecia- tion) or Gongshi (Chinese art of Stone Apprecia- tion). Some believe that the advent of the art made its way from China to Japan by way of Korea. The art was refined in each ensuing country to be in line with the culture of each in its turn. Every exhibition rewards us with a learning opportunity and as justi- fication for a lifetime of fascination with stones and this particular exhibition was premier to that end.
GENERAL METHODS OF VIEWING STONE PRACTICE
Gongshi has been imported throughout the world for generations. Gongshi has been defined by Westerners as Scholars Rocks. The relatively recent series of books written by Kemin Hu of Newton Massachusetts and the advent of the urbane schol- arly work, Worlds within Worlds, published by Harvard University art Museums, has paved the way toward greater understanding of the Chinese method of appreciation in the USA. Gongshi is a common practice of decorative viewing stone art by many but it is still an enigma to most western practitioners and collectors alike beyond the novice approach in decorating their home.
Suseok is believed to have been introduced to Korea from China but the origin of stone appreciation in Korea is lost in ancient history and the connection remains unclear. Further, it is known that the Kore- ans most certainly brought stones to Japan no later than the last half of the 7th century, during Empress Suiko’s reign. Actually, Korean Baekje aristocracy began migration to Japan, (including importation
20 | BCI | July/August/September 2015