Mansudae Art Studio

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Mansudae Art Studio has an international division, the Mansudae Overseas Project Group, which was established in 1970s. [5] This division is a thriving multimillion-dollar business that has created monuments, museums, stadiums, and palaces for several countries, including Algeria, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Malaysia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Senegal, the Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, and Zimbabwe. [5] According to Pier Luigi Cecioni, the success of this small cottage industry is due to Mansudae's "competence and experience to realize such huge projects, and it can send large teams of artists and workers to foreign countries for a long time." [5] Preliminary work is done at the Mansudae Art Studio, and designs are tested to determine resistance to natural disasters. Some believe that the group has "no competition worldwide," as one Mansudae sculptor told a German publication. [5]

Fairy Tale Fountain

Frankfurt's Fairy Tale Fountain Frankfurt Untermainanlage Marchenbrunnen.20130305.jpg
Frankfurt's Fairy Tale Fountain

In 2004, Klaus Klemp, deputy director of Frankfurt's Museum of Applied Art, discovered and was impressed by Mansudae's craftsmanship. Klemp convinced Frankfurt's officials to hire the Mansudae Overseas Project Group to reconstruct Fairy Tale Fountain  [ de ], an "art nouveau relic from 1910 that had been melted down for its metal during World War II" for which the original blueprints had gone missing. The Project Group was chosen for its early 1900s style, ability to recreate the fountain based on old photographs, and attractive prices. The fountain is the only commission that the group has won from a Western country. [5] [10]

African Renaissance Monument

Perhaps the group's most notable monument is also one of its most controversial: Senegal's African Renaissance Monument. Unveiled in 2010, it stands at 50 meters, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty and Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer, [5] and depicts a half-nude African family of three in a socialist-realist pose. [7] A former president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, hired the group because it was the only organization that he could afford. It took the work of around 150 Mansudae artists to complete. Senegalese unions protested about the foreign labour due to the 50 per cent unemployment rate at the time, the Muslim majority of the population was offended by the exposed breast of the mother figure, and Wade had to have the heads redone as they looked Korean rather than African. [5] [7]

Significance

Mansudae Art Studio may be the largest art factory in the world. The studio is extremely important in North Korea as it employs the best artists and is the only organization "officially sanctioned to portray the Kim family dynasty." [5] Positions at Mansudae are prestigious and desirable, especially as part of the Overseas Project Group. Mansudae workers sent overseas live under strict security, but they are fed regularly and earn better wages than most North Koreans. [5] Since its founding in 1959, Mansudae has reproduced, reflected, and shaped the country's aesthetic. North Korea "spends much of its budget on Kim family deification," which likely includes and thus funds Mansudae, as the studio produces propaganda ranging from monuments to the party to the Kim pins worn by all North Koreans. [5] Mansudae's propaganda output is essential to the North Korean government. According to Pier Luigi Cecioni, the studio is so important to the country and its government that it "has the status of a ministry [and] is not subject to the Ministry of Culture.” [5]

See also

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References

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  2. ↑ "North Korea's Arts Scene Is Just As Mysterious As The Nation Itself". The Huffington Post. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-18. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
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  4. ↑ "Paintings by DPRK's Mansudae Art Studio debut in Shenyang[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory". Bloomberg.com. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  6. 1 2 "ArtAsiaPacific: Hollow Monuments". artasiapacific.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Controversial Senegalese Monument Built by North Korean Propaganda Artists". Slate. 2014-08-04. ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
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  9. ↑ Ri Sung-ik (2017-01-31). "Civil servants show skills in annual games". The Pyongyang Times . Archived from the original on 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  10. 1 2 北朝鮮の芸術集団「万寿台創作社」世界唯一の美術館が北京に 万寿台作品は意外な場所にも. KoreaWorldTimes (in Japanese). 2019-09-21. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LONG LIVE MANSUDAE | 艺术界 LEAP". leapleapleap.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  12. ↑ "Mansudae Art Studio Gallery". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
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  14. ↑ "North Korean artists prepare for exhibition in Australia", YouTube, AP, July 23, 2015, archived from the original on 2016-03-10, retrieved 2015-12-08
  15. 1 2 "Australia Accused Of Censorship Over North Korean Art". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  16. 1 2 News, Hamish Macdonald for NK; network, part of the North Korea (3 November 2014). "North Korean embassy hosts art exhibition in London". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-12-08.{{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ "All official portraiture of North Korea's reigning Kim family is made by Mansudae Art Studio. | Looking at Art | Stories | COLORS Magazine". www.colorsmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  18. ↑ Abt, Felix (2014-08-12). A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN   9781462914104.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Mansudae Grand Monument - Lonely Planet". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  20. 1 2 3 "7 Most Ostentatious Monuments in North Korea". scribol.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  21. ↑ "Statue Makeover: North Korea Replaces Kim Jong-Il's Staid Overcoat With 'Revolutionary' Anorak". The Huffington Post UK. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
Mansudae Art Studio
Propaganda at Mansudae Art Studio.JPG
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Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Enter the Mansude Art Studio in Pyongyang, produced by Echo DPRK, state media, 2019
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