Rhythm of the Five Color Luster 1302

Chung Haecho Korean

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These five vessels relate to the traditional color spectrum obangsaek (오방색). The colors are connected to the cardinal directions and the five elements that are the basis of East Asian cosmology: white (west, metal), black (north, water), yellow (center, earth), red (south, fire), and blue (east, wood). Since lacquer is naturally a deep reddish brown, it cannot be rendered white; in this piece Chung Haecho substituted green.

Rhythm of the Five Color Luster 1302, Chung Haecho (Korean, born 1945), Ottchil lacquer and hemp, Korea

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