Mansudae Art Studio

The studio consists of around 4,000 workers, approximately 1,000 of whom are artists aged from their mid-20s to mid-60s and selected from the best academies in the country, especially from Pyongyang University of Fine Arts. The studio takes up over 120,000 square meters, 80,000 of which are indoors. == History ==

The Mansudae Art Studio was established in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, on November 17, 1959, six years after the end of the Korean War. Before his death in 2011, the studio operated under Kim Jong Il's "special guidance." == Ties with Italy ==

The Mansudae Art Studio's affiliation with Italy began in 2005 with Pier Luigi Cecioni, whose position as president of an orchestra in Florence, Italy allowed him to come into contact with the studio. Cecioni's orchestra was invited to perform at the Spring Friendship Festival held in Pyongyang. While in Pyongyang, Cecioni inquired as to whether North Korea had "any art center or gallery to show [him]," and was taken to Mansudae Art Studio which at the time was little known outside of North Korea. Cecioni offered to help the studio "do something in the West," and in January 2006 he returned to Pyongyang with his brother, an artist, Director of the Florence Fine Arts Academy in Florence, and director of an exhibition center near Florence. The Cecioni brothers selected several Mansudae works to bring back to Europe and signed an agreement of exclusivity, which established Pier Luigi Cecioni as a liaison between Mansudae and the West. A provision of this agreement was that Cecioni would organize exhibitions of artwork from Mansudae in the West. Around the same time as the first of these exhibitions was organized, Cecioni began building the official web site of the Mansudae Art Studio. Cecioni facilitates the studio's international sales of small pieces of artwork, such as paintings, through this website, which offers a brief history of the studio, information about Mansudae exhibitions outside North Korea, a directory of Mansudae artists, and listings of paintings for sale. Some artists from Mansudae have been periodically sent abroad, including to Italy. In 2012, Cecioni accompanied some Mansudae artists to the Uffizi Gallery and the Vatican Museums, which he said the North Korean artists appreciated and recognized from their university studies. == Mansudae Art Museum ==

In 2009, Mansudae Art Studio's presence was made known in the 798 Art Zone in Beijing, China. The studio has its own space in 798 called Mansudae Art Museum, though unlike most museums many of the works in its collection are for sale and are comparable to paintings available on Mansudae's website. The museum was the first North Korean art gallery abroad and is a North Korea-approved tourist destination. The museum's entrance is marked by a smaller version of Pyongyang's Chollima Statue sitting on top of a beige pedestal over six meters tall. == Exhibitions and products ==

Exhibitions Mansudae had its first overseas exhibition in London in July and August 2007 at La Galaria in Pall Mall curated by David Heather The then Ambassador attended the opening and it ran for six weeks. In 2009, Queensland Art Gallery approached Koryo Studio's Nicholas Bonner to commission works for the Asia Pacific Triennial the most prestigious exhibition for showing contemporary art from the Asia region. Despite much preparation by five invited Mansudae artists, an exhibition in Brisbane, Australia presented Mansudae artworks without their artists. Although only one of the fifteen pieces was socialist-realist, the Australian government denied the artists exceptions from a visa ban on North Korea because they came "from Pyongyang's propaganda machine and... are not welcome." The Mansudae artists involved with the event stayed in London for two weeks beforehand to prepare into powders that are put on a canvas by hand and never lose their strong shine. == Statues in North Korea ==

at the foot of Mansudae Art Studio has created statues and sculptures that have been placed all over the country, with three of the most important and famous works being the Chollima statue, the Monument to the Founding of the Korean Workers Party, and the bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the Mansu Hill Grand Monument. These monuments are common tourist destinations, and the statues of the deceased Kims are on most North Korean travel itineraries. Built in 1961, the Monument to the Founding of the Korean Workers Party is 164 feet tall and depicts three "truck-size" fists holding a hammer, a sickle, and a calligraphy brush respectively. == Mansudae Overseas Project Group ==

Mansudae Art Studio has an international division, the Mansudae Overseas Project Group, which was established in 1970s. 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. 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." 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. 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, 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. 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, and depicts a half-nude African family of three in a socialist-realist pose. 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. == 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." 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. 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. 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." == See also ==