Chapter 53

53

* * * *

In August 1501, three months after Michelangelo returned to Florence, a commission came to him from the Florentine city council. The commission was to sculpt a block of marble that had been abandoned in the middle of the workshop of the Florence Cathedral for 40 years.

This was an old and worn-out commission, as many people before Michelangelo had received it. For 40 years, numerous sculptors had been commissioned to carve a statue of David from this marble, including the famous Leonardo da Vinci. Most of the sculptors in Florence had likely received this commission at some point.

But why did this old commission finally reach Michelangelo after 40 years?

It was because everyone before him had either refused or given up.

Those who refused cited the poor quality of the marble's grain, saying it was obvious that a proper sculpture could not be made. Those who did not refuse started with great enthusiasm but only damaged the surface of the marble, eventually giving up, saying they could not sculpt it at all.

Thus, the marble, having failed to find a suitable sculptor, eventually made its way to Michelangelo.

The process by which the commission reached Michelangelo, a young sculptor of 26 at the time, was as follows.

Given that we can now see the statue of David, it is clear that Michelangelo did not refuse the commission.

Upon accepting the commission, he looked at the marble and said,

"I have found an angel inside. I will sculpt until I free it."

And so, for three and a half years, he worked on the rough, flawed marble, which still bore the marks of previous failures, and brought forth the masterpiece of his time, the statue of David.

The greatness of Michelangelo, who created this monumental work with only a hammer and chisel, is so evident that it is almost redundant to mention.

– Excerpt from a blog post recording a lecture by Yang Seon-gu, a first-generation sculptor and author of "Lessons with a Sculptor"

* * * *

A blue night.

In front of the Bloom Art Museum, bathed in yellow lighting, Kang Seok observed the old man, taking in the scent of the flowers being delivered. The old man, with a unique appearance that one wouldn't easily see anywhere, seemed familiar. This dual sense of familiarity made Kang Seok rack his brain.

It was an appearance he wouldn't forget if he had seen it anywhere. Narrowing his eyes, Kang Seok looked at the old man.

Then,

"…Are you lost?"

The old man looked at Kang Seok, wondering if he was making an unnecessary comment. If he had caused any trouble, he was ready to disappear quickly.

Kang Seok hesitated to answer. He had a map on his phone, so he wasn't lost, but he wasn't exactly on the right path either. What should he say? Feeling that holding him up for too long would be impolite, Kang Seok lifted his head to speak.

"I'm not lost."

At that moment,

The electronic billboard behind the old man lit up brightly. On the billboard, a person with the same face as the old man in front of him was looking up at the sky.

Now I remember.

It was Yang Seon-gu, the sculptor.

Kang Seok recalled. Yang Seon-gu, one of the first-generation sculptors and a patriarch of the Korean sculpture community.

"Yang… Seon-gu?"

Kang Seok muttered without realizing he had spoken his thoughts aloud, still staring at the billboard.

Yang Seon-gu, with wide eyes, asked in return,

"Do you know me, young man?"

He was over eighty. Given the significant age difference between a first-generation sculptor like Yang Seon-gu and a young man, it was surprising that Kang Seok knew him.

Of course, that was just Yang Seon-gu's thought.

Kang Seok, with his ears turning red, turned his head. He was grateful that the darkness hid his blushing ears.

"If you're a sculptor, you would know."

This wasn't a compliment to make Yang Seon-gu feel good. It was the truth.

In the 20th century, the world of sculpture underwent a significant change.

Breaking away from the past, where inspiration was almost exclusively drawn from human forms, a new era began where the essence of materials was explored.

Wood is wood, iron is iron, and stone is stone.

Led by Brancusi and his followers, this movement emphasized creating sculptures that captured the inherent characteristics of each material.

As the sculpture community began to embrace abstraction, to the point where they needed to print explanations to describe their works, people naturally found it difficult to intuitively appreciate sculptures. When people started passing by numerous sculptures on the streets without giving them a second glance,

Yang Seon-gu appeared.

He was an artist who directly confronted abstraction.

"Abstraction? It's a joke. Don't they know that something that looks good is also good to eat?"

Intuition.

This was the path of sculpture that Yang Seon-gu pursued.

He walked against the tide, creating representational sculptures instead of abstract ones. His work, inspired by human forms, resembled that of medieval sculptors.

In a space where everyone was shouting for abstraction, creating representational sculptures was a remarkable feat.

"Young man, you're quite the flatterer."

Yang Seon-gu joked, wondering what good it would do to praise a fading master.

Kang Seok shook his head. He knew about Yang Seon-gu not just because he was famous.

"No, I can't not know. He was the teacher of Mr. Jeong Byung-gwon."

Jeong Byung-gwon's teacher was Yang Seon-gu.

This was a well-known fact among the sculpture majors at Cheonghua High School.

Jeong Byung-gwon, at a young age, was hired as a regular faculty member while his peers, like Son Dong-wook and Lim Woo-hyun, were working as part-time lecturers at the same university. This was often attributed to Yang Seon-gu.

Given the scarcity of sculpture majors, regular faculty positions were also rare. When the news of a regular position opening up at the top art high school in Korea spread, many people applied.

Considering that Jeong Byung-gwon, with relatively average talent, secured the position, it was natural to attribute it to Yang Seon-gu.

Anyway, there was Yang Seon-gu right in front of him.

"Hmm? Do you know Byung-gwon too?"

"Y-Yes."

Yang Seon-gu, looking surprised, observed Kang Seok. He noticed that the school uniform Kang Seok was wearing was from Cheonghua High School, which he had helped design. It was impossible not to recognize it.

Moreover, recognizing him and knowing that he was Jeong Byung-gwon's teacher was quite impressive. Yang Seon-gu stroked his beard.

There was only one type of person who would wear a Cheonghua High School uniform and act this way.

"Are you majoring in sculpture at Cheonghua High School?"

"Y-Yes, how did you know?"

"I have my ways."

Yang Seon-gu looked at Kang Seok with a warm gaze.

I wonder why you came to the Bloom Art Museum so late at night, but perhaps this is fate.

Yang Seon-gu nodded. His eyes moved to the name tag on Kang Seok's chest.

Kang Seok.

One character for the surname and one for the given name. Yang Seon-gu quietly repeated the name in his mouth.

I was already planning to attend the exhibition in three months, but perhaps there's someone else I should see.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Excuse me?"

"No, it's nothing. Since you don't seem lost, I'll take my leave."

Yang Seon-gu turned and walked away, heading towards his studio where his disciple was waiting.

He disappeared with a graceful step, as if walking in his own living room.

.

.

.

It was late at night.

The sky was now a heavy black rather than blue. Kang Seok, who had been checking various places while pulling his bicycle, had taken a bit of time.

But it didn't matter.

– "You can take your time. There's someone who wants to meet you, so just take your time."

Mr. Jeong Byung-gwon had told Kang Seok to take his time. Looking at the corridor he had circled to arrive, he could see the sign of the space he was heading to.

That must be the destination. Is this where I'll be using the workspace? Kang Seok's eyes narrowed. It was clear that this place was originally designed for exhibitions.

Can I really use this?

Considering that the Bloom Art Museum, operated by the Sanjeong Group, receives numerous exhibition requests and hosts several exhibitions a year, it was quite surprising to have secured a spot.

At that moment, someone came out of the exhibition space, which was presumed to be a studio. Even from a distance, the silhouette was clearly Mr. Jeong Byung-gwon.

"Mr. Jeong…!"

"Hmm? Ah, Seok!"

Jeong Byung-gwon walked over to Kang Seok with a welcoming smile. The echo in the exhibition hall corridor was loud, likely because it wasn't a busy time.

"You made it. I just finished explaining to Mr. Yang. The timing is perfect."

"…Mr. Yang?"

Jeong Byung-gwon is a teacher, but who is the other teacher? Kang Seok blinked. Jeong Byung-gwon, now leading Kang Seok to the front of the exhibition space, opened the door.

When the door first opened,

Kang Seok had one thought.

It's all white.

Not just the marble, but the exhibition space called a studio, the tools near the marble, the hammer and chisel, the table—everything was white.

Kang Seok closed his eyes as if they were stinging. For someone with a keen sense of color, the sight of multiple shades of white was quite intriguing.

Kang Seok entered the studio and blinked.

Compared to the corridor, it was darker here, and his eyes were adjusting, making everything seem to float. It would take some time to get used to it.

Then,

"Why is the young man here?"

"Uh? Mr. Yang?"

There stood Mr. Yang Seon-gu, dressed in a jade-colored silk outfit, looking at Kang Seok with a slightly surprised expression, then with a look of realization, and finally with a mix of curiosity and surprise at Jeong Byung-gwon.

"…You said you passed the marble to someone, but you passed it to your student, Byung-gwon?"

You gave that huge block of marble to a high school student, not a college student?

His expression was one of disbelief as he looked at Jeong Byung-gwon.

Are you passing it on because you're as lazy as I am, or because the student is that remarkable? Yang Seon-gu looked at Jeong Byung-gwon, expecting an answer.

"Seok, do you want to look around? I still have some things to discuss with Mr. Yang."

"Ah? Yes, I'll do that."

Worried that Kang Seok might overhear their conversation, Jeong Byung-gwon watched him move away.

Kang Seok walked to the table faster than Jeong Byung-gwon expected. He had been inspecting the marble and the table since he entered, showing a keen interest. Good. Jeong Byung-gwon nodded, waiting for Kang Seok to move further away before slowly turning his gaze.

"Why did you pass it on?"

He asked why he had given the marble to a high school student. From what he heard, it was given for free, which wouldn't happen unless the student was exceptionally talented.

And as Yang Seon-gu expected, Jeong Byung-gwon started by explaining how remarkable Kang Seok was.

"Mr. Yang, I passed it on because I think he's remarkable. Seok's three-dimensional modeling skills are exceptional."

"How exceptional?"

"I was planning to show you soon. When you see it, you'll agree. It's that remarkable, enough for me to give him the entire block of marble."

"He must be quite remarkable."

"Yes, I truly believe Seok is remarkable."

"Still, that's not the same as handling marble. Since you've already given it to him, there's nothing we can do, but does he know how to handle marble?"

Handling marble is not part of the high school curriculum. It's something you learn in college.

So, logically, he shouldn't know how to handle marble. Giving such an expensive block of marble and a whole studio to someone who can't handle it doesn't make sense. Yang Seon-gu, despite his good first impression, had to do some mental calculations.

But Jeong Byung-gwon nodded confidently.

"Of course. When I asked if he knew how to handle marble…"

When I asked…? Jeong Byung-gwon looked at Yang Seon-gu with a surprised expression.

– "Marble? Why suddenly…?"

– "How big is it?"

– "It's quite big."

– "Have you already cut it?"

– "That's good."

– "Then, how about giving me the whole block without cutting it? I'll pay for it."

Now that he thought about it, Kang Seok never said he knew how to handle marble.

…Does he know how to handle it?

Jeong Byung-gwon looked at Kang Seok with a worried expression. At that moment, Kang Seok walked over to Jeong Byung-gwon and Yang Seon-gu, holding something.

It was a grinder and a dust mask.

One