Korean Ink Wash Painting Workshop

This coming Saturday, June 6th, the members of the combined MultiCultural Council of New York and Asian Pacific American Council of Educators are proud to sponsor a workshop. It will be held at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. We will also take the time to celebrate the rich contributions of the AAPINH communities

in the U.S. as well as mark the 250th birthday of our nation.

Featured Events:

Bae Jimin Art Exhibition & Workshop:

Discover the beauty of traditional Korean art forms.

Professor Jimin Bae wrote the following,

"An Urban Anthem in SUMUK

My work is a sensory record of the urban landscapes I have personally traversed. It is not a cold observation aimed at mere reproduction, but a process of capturing the warm, irregular pulse of human emotion and the fleeting moments encountered within a space.

I seek to translate the diverse sounds hidden behind the monotonous noise of the city, and the dynamic rhythms created by the intersection of light and dark, into the "music of Muk." Following the spirit of Walt Whitman—who discovered divinity in the mundane and celebrated the interconnectedness of all living things—my brushstrokes become a musical score that sings of the city’s vitality.

1. Living Beings: The City in Organic Relationship with Nature

For me, the city truly awakens when it encounters the raw elements of nature—rain, wind, and snow. These are not merely weather phenomena; they are the breath of the earth that transforms static urban structures into dynamic, pulsing organisms. Just as Whitman embraced all elements of nature in his poetry, I capture these atmospheric shifts to portray the city’s life force as it enters into an organic relationship with the natural world. Rain-soaked streets and wind-swept alleys become stages where the natural and the artificial meet in a vibrant, ever-changing harmony.

2. The Alchemy of Muk and the Rhythm of Collage

The core of my practice lies in the transformative encounter between Muk, water, Hanji (traditional paper), and fabric collage.

• Rhythm Beyond Representation: I move away from rigid description toward a fluid expression of the self. In particular, the process of layering and adhering Hanji and fabric imparts a three-dimensional cadence to the flat surface, rhythmically visualizing the complex strata of the city and the energy flowing through them.

• The Flow of Emotion: The monochromatic variations of black and white represent the infinite complexity of human feeling. The way the Muk spreads and seeps, and the way materials of different textures clash and harmonize, mirror the unpredictability of life. In these material encounters, I find the most honest reflection of my internal state—a visual "free verse" that captures the raw energy of the city, liberated from formal constraints.

3. A Visual "Song of Myself"

Whitman once sang, "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." My urban Muk-wash paintings are an invitation to view the city as a shared, poetic experience. By stripping away the distraction of color and focusing on the essential touch of the brush and material, I aim to reveal the hidden pulse of the city and the human spirit dwelling within. It is an anthem to the tenacious vitality found in all of us—a life force continuously invigorated by the natural elements that surround us."