What kind of works of art do people admire? It may be a work of art that gives an impression of purity or a work that conveys an artist's passion and his noble intention. People visit art museums to feel artists’ pure spirit. However, would the works of art that are displayed at an art gallery really go under pure processes? A Mouse in Museum (2007) written by Lee Eun vividly shows the darkness in the art world behind glorious art works.

▲ The cover of A Mouse in Museum. Provided by cfs11.blog.daum.net.

In the book A Mouse in Museum (2007), there is a nation’s largest art museum, Jeong-ro, in which only veteran artists can hold exhibitions. At the museum, a rookie artist, Kim Jun Ki, opens a debut show as an art museum director. On the day when a world-famous artist’s retrospective exhibition is held, the museum director gives Kim some important items, including his column A Mouse in Museum. After that, the director suddenly commits suicide. Kim feels suspicious about successive kidnapping and unexpected deaths in the art world and continues to reveal the truth with some clues.

The author of the book, Lee Eun, is an art expert who has a doctorate degree. He reveals the dark side of the art world through his detective stories based on his experience. He is usually called an art professional writer and is famous for combining professional background information about art and literature.

The author shows the reality of a corrupted art society. Pure passionate artists are excluded and artists that have a desire for fame and money succeed in modern society. However, it does not mean that the world of art is degenerated. The book discloses that there are various forms of corruption such as lobbies, offering bribes, and counterfeit art works in the society. The writer claims that “In the capitalist society, money is art. There is nothing like money to impress and please people. That is the same with art.” In our society, talented artists lose their footing and arts become the exclusive property of a small number of people in power.

Moreover, in the book, the real existing works of art, including masterpieces, appear and technical terms are used as well. Regarding information about art-related terms and art pieces, the writer explains interesting facts in a detailed way at the back of the book’s epilogue so that the readers who are indifferent about art can also understand well.

A Mouse in Museum (2007), however, has a relatively weak tension to be considered as a detective novel. If readers expect to feel thrilled or a huge reversal of story, they could be disappointed. However, the author wrote a note for readers: “When reading a mystery novel, if you excessively stick to twist and tricks, it may be difficult to reach the real flavor, depth, and true meaning of a mystery novel.” He chose the standard tactics rather than showing off splendid tricks.

With a clean and honest style of writing, he reveals the double-side of the art world in a capitalist society. The book makes readers think about the true meaning of art and shows that art has great, pure intrinsic values. Think again about the title of the book A Mouse of Museum. What does the mouse gnawing at the museum mean?