[ Back of The Robe ]
[ Front of The Robe ]
75" x 52"
Fabric dyed, silk-screened
and
freehand
machine
embroidered calico robe
|
III.
"Becoming A Father"
Background Story
On
the morning of 29th December 1931 Prince Lee Un's wife gave birth to a
special baby boy whose powerful cry made the whole world wonder.
The Prince's wife had been through a long hard
labor and
so he thanked her. She replied, "It was my duty".
She cried
with happiness. The Prince was silently confused, both happy
and
unhappy. In his heart he felt that something was wrong.
The
500 years of purity in the Lee Dynasty was broken by the mixing of
their blood.
Description
The
birth of his son perplexed the Prince, and so the dragon on this robe
expresses this flood of emotions. The color of the dragon is
red to symbolize the Prince's power. White emphasizes the
dragon
shape and face, with strong black eyes looking directly out from the
robe. The gold Yoeujoo (a magic stone that bestows
omnipotence on
him who acquires it) symbolizes the birth. Still most Koreans
are
suffering under the Japanese dictatorship and they hug the shadows at
the bottom of the robe. The background remains in the same
black
and gray tones as the second robe. |
