Known for his pine tree images that resemble ink and wash painting, Bae Bien-U contributed in the realization of modern photography as a medium of artistic expression rather than just a simple reproduction of reality through introducing Korean sense of beauty, masterfully depicting light and line. The artist has been taking shots of pine trees in all parts of Korea since 1983. This connotes various symbols in Korean history and culture, proposing pictorial photography based on the discovery of the essential that goes beyond simple reappearance of subject. In addition, Bae’s works in photographing the sea and the rocks in hometown scenery, in capturing soft ascending line of Korean landscape and in portraying the garden of Changdeok Palace at its perfect balance of natural and artificial beauty all show that the photographer is searching his own formative art language in Korea’s own unique esthetic sense. Bae’s own gripping pictorial composition, that emphasizes the line and captures the essential, meditatively leads to the harmony with nature and provides the experience that transcends time and space.
