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Mansudae Art Studio

Embroidery produced by Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea. Embroidery produced by Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea.

The Mansudae Art Studio complex in Pyongyang, North Korea, is perhaps the largest 'art' production complex in the world. According to its official webside, run by the Italian firm of Pier Luigi Cecioni, the North Korean firm employs some 4000 people and covers a surface of some 120000 square metres. It produces a wide range of objects, including ceramics, (huge) bronze statues, oil paintings, and embroideries.

The embroideries, still according to the website, can easily be mistaken for paintings, because of the high quality of workmanship. Particular attention is paid to the quality of the embroidery thread (silk) and the sturdiness of the ground material. The embroideries are normally worked by more than one (female) worker. Subjects are taken from nature and often include flowers. Very popular flowers are the Kimilsungia, an hybrid cultivar of orchid developed in Indonesia, and named after Kim Il-sung (d. 1994), the founder of the North Korean ruling dynasty, and the Kimjongsilia, an hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia developed in Japan, named after Kim Jong-il, the leader of the Kim family until his death in 2011.

Sources:

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 5th July 2016).

WV

Last modified on Friday, 05 May 2017 11:59