The Paintings

My husband and I went to Korea to be Peace Corps English teachers, and stayed on after that so I could study Korean folk culture and my husband, Carl, could photograph the art in Korean Buddhist monasteries.

The paintings Carl photographed were about 100 to 400 years old. They illustrate everyday Korean life, animals and scenery, and they also depict the beings of the Spirit World, sometimes frightening and sometimes humorous. These images inspired many of the characters in the 10,000 Spirits series, and you can see them scattered throughout this website.

The thousands of color slides of Korean art that Carl created are now preserved at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, where they’re available to researchers.

Here are a few of my favorites: