CARDBOARD ROOM
"Art is not far from our lives.” It is everywhere, everyday. It surrounds us when we are working hard–relaxing–resting. As we enjoy our lives, we ourselves become living expressions of art.
We are living in a society of mass production where products are constantly packaged and transported. Mechanical and geometric shapes are infinitely repeated and perhaps these geometric lines and shapes unwittingly bring new standards of beauty for us to appreciate. Products are carefully wrapped for safe shipping–and the wrapping needs to have a reasonable minimum price.
Cardboard, which is made of stiff paper, has layers of airy voids that protect the products, and it can be freely formed to any shape. It is easy to find and easy to handle. I had wanted to work with this material for some time because of its tactile textures and rippled internal structure. For the “Cardboard Room,” I cut and constructed new forms, then mounted them on more cardboard to create
unexpected designs, textures, and compositions.
I’ve always been interested in the elements of beauty derived from geometric forms. I feel I’m living when I’m working–I forget about myself, and yet subconsciously I express myself back into my work. I wanted to share this work with others, so I filled entire the gallery with creations made just of cardboard.
We are living in a society of mass production where products are constantly packaged and transported. Mechanical and geometric shapes are infinitely repeated and perhaps these geometric lines and shapes unwittingly bring new standards of beauty for us to appreciate. Products are carefully wrapped for safe shipping–and the wrapping needs to have a reasonable minimum price.
Cardboard, which is made of stiff paper, has layers of airy voids that protect the products, and it can be freely formed to any shape. It is easy to find and easy to handle. I had wanted to work with this material for some time because of its tactile textures and rippled internal structure. For the “Cardboard Room,” I cut and constructed new forms, then mounted them on more cardboard to create
unexpected designs, textures, and compositions.
I’ve always been interested in the elements of beauty derived from geometric forms. I feel I’m living when I’m working–I forget about myself, and yet subconsciously I express myself back into my work. I wanted to share this work with others, so I filled entire the gallery with creations made just of cardboard.
Labyrinth As Puzzle
There’s an entrance and an exit, but it’s hard to find the way out. Labyrinths are made to lock something up inside, not made to escape. I’ve been working with "Labyrinth" as my subject matter for many years. Sometimes, I feel that I lock myself up in a Labyrinth that I make myself. I make the Labyrinth, and I cut and take to pieces the Puzzle of the Labyrinth. And then I number each piece one by one.
People do Puzzles to pass time during long, sleepless winter nights, or to kill time while they’re sick in the hospital. Sometimes, complex shapes take more than an entire week to put together and make whole. I make my trap myself, and lock myself in. And I add boring and strenuous effort and trials.
I think that there is no more beauty than simplicity, and the plainness of geometric shape and line as time goes by. There is more than the significance of everything in simplicity. It is a kind of purity which can’t be exactly divided. I’m fascinated with harmonies, proportions, division of line and space from simple geometric shapes in time. Pure lines and shapes give us beauty with strength and tension.
This time, I haven’t found material for my work from far away. Materials that artists need are everywhere all the time. In prehistoric times, when there were few artistic tools and materials, people drew on cave walls, and artists used silver cigarette paper during the deprivations of war. Now we live in a society that is full of information. There are tons of printed matter that display knowledge and information everywhere. Everyday material objects inspire me naturally as materials for my art. I separate pieces of everyday life and reconfigure them. In this way, I recycle my energy and recombine the garbage that is abandoned by human society. My work is just one small part of the flood of information in a huge civilization.
I wake up and work each day, as a part of my everyday routine. Day after day, I travel to the center of the labyrinth, where I might dream, faintly, of escape.
Sand LABYRINTH
I’ve been thinking about making a labyrinth in the sand for a long time now. Watching the ocean filled with lots of water has always made me sentimental. My heart overflows with the waves that are rocked by the wind. People like to leave drawings and letters on the sand between the tides. Like an instinctive playing without learning, it’s so romantic. During my childhood, I was crazy about making something with sand. I made a lot of round shaped sand houses on the beach. I pushed and pressed the sand with my hands to keep the shape of the houses, and then I dug a hole on the bottom of the shapes. Sometimes, I found some tiny little crabs under the sand. I stayed there for a long time as long as I could until the sun set. My skin was itchy and burned. When we grow up, we don’t play with sand as much as when we were kids. Every moment of childhood’s memories are always vivid and exciting.
Sandy beach is filled with tons of sand that can be used freely. When we draw or make something, we’re thinking about the materials. We think that the material is fit to make something, and at the same time, we also know that the material is permanently preserved. How many things, that we make everyday, are valuable enough to keep forever? How nihilistic a material sand is. The shape of sand will disappear as time goes by. It is destroyed by water and wind even though we work so hard to make it take shape. That’s the law of nature. Nature often takes away everything that we make with our whole heart. We make so many things everyday in our life time, and it disappears. If disappearance is a principle of nature, disappearance and the processes of disappearance is also important. Everything in the world is created and then disappears. If this is so, disappearance might be another gestation for life.
Tibetan Buddhist monks make something called a “sand mandala”. They make exquisite and complicated shapes with colorful sand. They are immersed in making the mandala and are careful not to ruin the shape for some days and weeks. They’re so concentrated on making this “sand mandala” that they cause pain in their body. The process of making mandala itself is a part of training for their spiritual goal. Anything thatwe constantly concentrate on in our life acts as a kind of practice, we learn and realize through our everyday life. After finishing the sand mandala, the Tibetan Buddhist monks have a ceremony for the demolition. The ceremony of demolition is as important as the process of creating. The sand mandala returns to a simple handful of sand after the ceremony.
I had been waiting for a sunny day, and I went to go to a sandy beach. It was still chilly getting to the water, but it was a good day to soak in the a warm sunshine. I drew a labyrinth on the sand slowly and watched and relished it. And I made a big sand labyrinth until my body was exhausted. It was a delightful labor. I enjoyed the whole process of making the sand labyrinth. I stayed at the sandy beach all day. And I was happy to see the reveal of my sand labyrinth.About the time when the sun set, the tide came up and slowly swallowed my labyrinth. I watched the demolition of my labyrinth by the tide. I felt so sorry to leave my labyrinth there. My labyrinth totally disappeared under the water. My action that day and the shape of labyrinth remain as only a piece of my memory now. How long will I remember the labyrinth? The labyrinth that I made that day, might only exist in my mind. I made the sand castle labyrinth that day, and thought about me and the things that lock me up. What am I doing in there? What am I waiting for? Everybody might have their own labyrinth, and we are always dreaming about escaping it every single day.
Sandy beach is filled with tons of sand that can be used freely. When we draw or make something, we’re thinking about the materials. We think that the material is fit to make something, and at the same time, we also know that the material is permanently preserved. How many things, that we make everyday, are valuable enough to keep forever? How nihilistic a material sand is. The shape of sand will disappear as time goes by. It is destroyed by water and wind even though we work so hard to make it take shape. That’s the law of nature. Nature often takes away everything that we make with our whole heart. We make so many things everyday in our life time, and it disappears. If disappearance is a principle of nature, disappearance and the processes of disappearance is also important. Everything in the world is created and then disappears. If this is so, disappearance might be another gestation for life.
Tibetan Buddhist monks make something called a “sand mandala”. They make exquisite and complicated shapes with colorful sand. They are immersed in making the mandala and are careful not to ruin the shape for some days and weeks. They’re so concentrated on making this “sand mandala” that they cause pain in their body. The process of making mandala itself is a part of training for their spiritual goal. Anything thatwe constantly concentrate on in our life acts as a kind of practice, we learn and realize through our everyday life. After finishing the sand mandala, the Tibetan Buddhist monks have a ceremony for the demolition. The ceremony of demolition is as important as the process of creating. The sand mandala returns to a simple handful of sand after the ceremony.
I had been waiting for a sunny day, and I went to go to a sandy beach. It was still chilly getting to the water, but it was a good day to soak in the a warm sunshine. I drew a labyrinth on the sand slowly and watched and relished it. And I made a big sand labyrinth until my body was exhausted. It was a delightful labor. I enjoyed the whole process of making the sand labyrinth. I stayed at the sandy beach all day. And I was happy to see the reveal of my sand labyrinth.About the time when the sun set, the tide came up and slowly swallowed my labyrinth. I watched the demolition of my labyrinth by the tide. I felt so sorry to leave my labyrinth there. My labyrinth totally disappeared under the water. My action that day and the shape of labyrinth remain as only a piece of my memory now. How long will I remember the labyrinth? The labyrinth that I made that day, might only exist in my mind. I made the sand castle labyrinth that day, and thought about me and the things that lock me up. What am I doing in there? What am I waiting for? Everybody might have their own labyrinth, and we are always dreaming about escaping it every single day.
OUTSIDE GALLERY
Since childhood, Buddhism has been close to me-an unconscious part of my mind. I've never been a passionately religious person, but Buddhism and Buddhist temples have been a natural part of my life. Whatever the value, the familiarity of Buddhism is like the air that I breathe.
People are changed by new environments. But some of our personal life stays the same. We free ourselves from the traditional things we don't thoroughly need. But the traditional background we have is placed so deeply, we can't easily throw it away.
Most Buddhist temples in Korea are located in the mountains and are well-matched with nature. Sometimes, in Korea, I would go to a Buddhist temple to get some fresh air and smell thetrees in the woods. I don't have enough knowledge to give a long-winded explanation of Buddhism to someone, and I want to know some more about it for myself. More than just meditation or a philosophy of life, Buddhist prayer is about hoping that wishes come true. Even as people live a tough life, they get over their difficulties by keeping their wishes in mind. Common people's unsophisticated wishes and dreams make up Buddhism.
People try to overcome the many difficulties met everyday. In other words, it is like a labyrinth where we look for the way out through so many endless trials and errors. In Greek mythology, when his queen gave birth to a monster, King Minos made a huge labyrinth and put the monster in it to control him. There are always entrances and exits in a labyrinth, but once someone is in there, they panic to find a way out. From the center, it is even harder to find one's way out of a labyrinth. Often, the image of the labyrinth is used to illustrate a tough problem or something that is not solved easily.
To symbolize this, I have been making my own labyrinths, carved to the sides of one hundred and eight ceramic cubes. I have been making, carving, drying, glazing, and firing these cubes for one year. The process is like a meditation to me, causing me to be immersed in my activities. Concentrating on my work in this way makes me feel purified. I wanted to contain the traces and memories of the past, and I wanted to put this moment that we live and breathe into my cubes.
Stones towers are everywhere in Korea. Here in Virginia, I wanted to build a stone tower, piled up and filled with my wishes. I did this in Virginia Beach, which is a strange and far-away place to Korea. Virginia started America's immigration history. Virginia was a new place of hope to its first European inhabitants, who dreamed of a new land. It also holds a meaning of settlement for me, personally. I tried to recall my memories of the strangeness of this new place as I built my stone tower.
Virginia Beach is two hours from Richmond, where I live. The ocean, in Buddhism, symbolizes the rubs and worries of life. It is a place filled with all the desires and agonies of humanity. We often say that "life is like a painful ocean." Virginia Beach, however, is a place where many people go to enjoy swimming. There are also so many different common people's lives that wish for a better tomorrow.
With my friends, I piled up stones to make a wishing stone tower at Virginia Beach in June, 2006. I also scattered the one hundred and eight cubes on the sands. It was just a day event. But I felt like I had blown out something stacked inside of me. I don't know what this event means to me. Maybe I've been tired of having shows in the galleries. Maybe I needed a ceremony of my own. Either way, I really wanted to have an installation work there.
My memories of the time and work in Virginia Beach are happy ones. I had really wanted to do my work only for me, without any interference. From a different point of view, strange places filled with strange people are more comfortable to me. I feel strange and also free. I'm going to start new relations here very carefully. Lastly, I deeply appreciate my friends who helped me with this installation.
People are changed by new environments. But some of our personal life stays the same. We free ourselves from the traditional things we don't thoroughly need. But the traditional background we have is placed so deeply, we can't easily throw it away.
Most Buddhist temples in Korea are located in the mountains and are well-matched with nature. Sometimes, in Korea, I would go to a Buddhist temple to get some fresh air and smell thetrees in the woods. I don't have enough knowledge to give a long-winded explanation of Buddhism to someone, and I want to know some more about it for myself. More than just meditation or a philosophy of life, Buddhist prayer is about hoping that wishes come true. Even as people live a tough life, they get over their difficulties by keeping their wishes in mind. Common people's unsophisticated wishes and dreams make up Buddhism.
People try to overcome the many difficulties met everyday. In other words, it is like a labyrinth where we look for the way out through so many endless trials and errors. In Greek mythology, when his queen gave birth to a monster, King Minos made a huge labyrinth and put the monster in it to control him. There are always entrances and exits in a labyrinth, but once someone is in there, they panic to find a way out. From the center, it is even harder to find one's way out of a labyrinth. Often, the image of the labyrinth is used to illustrate a tough problem or something that is not solved easily.
To symbolize this, I have been making my own labyrinths, carved to the sides of one hundred and eight ceramic cubes. I have been making, carving, drying, glazing, and firing these cubes for one year. The process is like a meditation to me, causing me to be immersed in my activities. Concentrating on my work in this way makes me feel purified. I wanted to contain the traces and memories of the past, and I wanted to put this moment that we live and breathe into my cubes.
Stones towers are everywhere in Korea. Here in Virginia, I wanted to build a stone tower, piled up and filled with my wishes. I did this in Virginia Beach, which is a strange and far-away place to Korea. Virginia started America's immigration history. Virginia was a new place of hope to its first European inhabitants, who dreamed of a new land. It also holds a meaning of settlement for me, personally. I tried to recall my memories of the strangeness of this new place as I built my stone tower.
Virginia Beach is two hours from Richmond, where I live. The ocean, in Buddhism, symbolizes the rubs and worries of life. It is a place filled with all the desires and agonies of humanity. We often say that "life is like a painful ocean." Virginia Beach, however, is a place where many people go to enjoy swimming. There are also so many different common people's lives that wish for a better tomorrow.
With my friends, I piled up stones to make a wishing stone tower at Virginia Beach in June, 2006. I also scattered the one hundred and eight cubes on the sands. It was just a day event. But I felt like I had blown out something stacked inside of me. I don't know what this event means to me. Maybe I've been tired of having shows in the galleries. Maybe I needed a ceremony of my own. Either way, I really wanted to have an installation work there.
My memories of the time and work in Virginia Beach are happy ones. I had really wanted to do my work only for me, without any interference. From a different point of view, strange places filled with strange people are more comfortable to me. I feel strange and also free. I'm going to start new relations here very carefully. Lastly, I deeply appreciate my friends who helped me with this installation.
FINDING THE WAY OUT FROM THE LABYRINTH
Since childhood, Buddhism has been close to me-an unconscious part of my mind. I've never been a passionately religious person, but Buddhism and Buddhist temples have been a natural part of my life. Whatever the value, the familiarity of Buddhism is like the air that I breathe.
People are changed by new environments. But some of our personal life stays the same. We free ourselves from the traditional things we don't thoroughly need. But the traditional background we have is placed so deeply, we can't easily throw it away.
Most Buddhist temples in Korea are located in the mountains and are well-matched with nature. Sometimes, in Korea, I would go to a Buddhist temple to get some fresh air and smell thetrees in the woods. I don't have enough knowledge to give a long-winded explanation of Buddhism to someone, and I want to know some more about it for myself. More than just meditation or a philosophy of life, Buddhist prayer is about hoping that wishes come true. Even as people live a tough life, they get over their difficulties by keeping their wishes in mind. Common people's unsophisticated wishes and dreams make up Buddhism.
People try to overcome the many difficulties met everyday. In other words, it is like a labyrinth where we look for the way out through so many endless trials and errors. In Greek mythology, when his queen gave birth to a monster, King Minos made a huge labyrinth and put the monster in it to control him. There are always entrances and exits in a labyrinth, but once someone is in there, they panic to find a way out. From the center, it is even harder to find one's way out of a labyrinth. Often, the image of the labyrinth is used to illustrate a tough problem or something that is not solved easily.
To symbolize this, I have been making my own labyrinths, carved to the sides of one hundred and eight ceramic cubes. I have been making, carving, drying, glazing, and firing these cubes for one year. The process is like a meditation to me, causing me to be immersed in my activities. Concentrating on my work in this way makes me feel purified. I wanted to contain the traces and memories of the past, and I wanted to put this moment that we live and breathe into my cubes.
Stones towers are everywhere in Korea. Here in Virginia, I wanted to build a stone tower, piled up and filled with my wishes. I did this in Virginia Beach, which is a strange and far-away place to Korea. Virginia started America's immigration history. Virginia was a new place of hope to its first European inhabitants, who dreamed of a new land. It also holds a meaning of settlement for me, personally. I tried to recall my memories of the strangeness of this new place as I built my stone tower.
Virginia Beach is two hours from Richmond, where I live. The ocean, in Buddhism, symbolizes the rubs and worries of life. It is a place filled with all the desires and agonies of humanity. We often say that "life is like a painful ocean." Virginia Beach, however, is a place where many people go to enjoy swimming. There are also so many different common people's lives that wish for a better tomorrow.
With my friends, I piled up stones to make a wishing stone tower at Virginia Beach in June, 2006. I also scattered the one hundred and eight cubes on the sands. It was just a day event. But I felt like I had blown out something stacked inside of me. I don't know what this event means to me. Maybe I've been tired of having shows in the galleries. Maybe I needed a ceremony of my own. Either way, I really wanted to have an installation work there.
My memories of the time and work in Virginia Beach are happy ones. I had really wanted to do my work only for me, without any interference. From a different point of view, strange places filled with strange people are more comfortable to me. I feel strange and also free. I'm going to start new relations here very carefully. Lastly, I deeply appreciate my friends who helped me with this installation.
People are changed by new environments. But some of our personal life stays the same. We free ourselves from the traditional things we don't thoroughly need. But the traditional background we have is placed so deeply, we can't easily throw it away.
Most Buddhist temples in Korea are located in the mountains and are well-matched with nature. Sometimes, in Korea, I would go to a Buddhist temple to get some fresh air and smell thetrees in the woods. I don't have enough knowledge to give a long-winded explanation of Buddhism to someone, and I want to know some more about it for myself. More than just meditation or a philosophy of life, Buddhist prayer is about hoping that wishes come true. Even as people live a tough life, they get over their difficulties by keeping their wishes in mind. Common people's unsophisticated wishes and dreams make up Buddhism.
People try to overcome the many difficulties met everyday. In other words, it is like a labyrinth where we look for the way out through so many endless trials and errors. In Greek mythology, when his queen gave birth to a monster, King Minos made a huge labyrinth and put the monster in it to control him. There are always entrances and exits in a labyrinth, but once someone is in there, they panic to find a way out. From the center, it is even harder to find one's way out of a labyrinth. Often, the image of the labyrinth is used to illustrate a tough problem or something that is not solved easily.
To symbolize this, I have been making my own labyrinths, carved to the sides of one hundred and eight ceramic cubes. I have been making, carving, drying, glazing, and firing these cubes for one year. The process is like a meditation to me, causing me to be immersed in my activities. Concentrating on my work in this way makes me feel purified. I wanted to contain the traces and memories of the past, and I wanted to put this moment that we live and breathe into my cubes.
Stones towers are everywhere in Korea. Here in Virginia, I wanted to build a stone tower, piled up and filled with my wishes. I did this in Virginia Beach, which is a strange and far-away place to Korea. Virginia started America's immigration history. Virginia was a new place of hope to its first European inhabitants, who dreamed of a new land. It also holds a meaning of settlement for me, personally. I tried to recall my memories of the strangeness of this new place as I built my stone tower.
Virginia Beach is two hours from Richmond, where I live. The ocean, in Buddhism, symbolizes the rubs and worries of life. It is a place filled with all the desires and agonies of humanity. We often say that "life is like a painful ocean." Virginia Beach, however, is a place where many people go to enjoy swimming. There are also so many different common people's lives that wish for a better tomorrow.
With my friends, I piled up stones to make a wishing stone tower at Virginia Beach in June, 2006. I also scattered the one hundred and eight cubes on the sands. It was just a day event. But I felt like I had blown out something stacked inside of me. I don't know what this event means to me. Maybe I've been tired of having shows in the galleries. Maybe I needed a ceremony of my own. Either way, I really wanted to have an installation work there.
My memories of the time and work in Virginia Beach are happy ones. I had really wanted to do my work only for me, without any interference. From a different point of view, strange places filled with strange people are more comfortable to me. I feel strange and also free. I'm going to start new relations here very carefully. Lastly, I deeply appreciate my friends who helped me with this installation.
WISHING FOR THE FUTURE
There are two clear aspects in any incident: time and space. Everything in the world exists under them. Unlimited relationships stem from time and space. If one small stone is here, this stone is in relation to all things in the world, and the stone is connected with the whole universe. Space is related to size and place. Adding the effect of time, incalculable incidences are possible. Incidents are a creation of space and time. The two elements are not separated, but are tightly connected and change together. Time and space are not independent.
Though time and space are connected with our lives very closely, we don't give them much attention on a day-to-day basis. We feel all changes around us in relation to time and space, but do not face them as real substances. This moment of space is based on the past. Today is not made in a day, but many years are stacked up to bring us to today. People live under the cultures, morals and values that other people have made. And we wish for a better tomorrow. We wish a peaceful and safe life for the future. Everyday we live is not always even and easy. People wish for something better than today. People are not only waiting for tomorrow, but also making wishes for something concrete.
In my childhood, I used to follow my family to the Buddhist temple. I can't say it confidently, but Buddhism is almost my background. Buddhism is comfortable and natural to me.
When Buddhism was transmitted to Korea, it absorbed many other beliefs. So, when we go to Buddhist temple, there are shrines to these other beliefs, not only a Buddhist sanctum. This was to encourage common people to come to temple. In this way, Korean Buddhist temples are filled with many old customs and stories. The stone tower is the one of them.
The stone towers are everywhere in Korea. The stones are strong and everlasting, so people make wishes to them. People pile up stones as they wish something whenever they find flat stones and empty places. Everybody is living with a hope for the future whether it is big or small. The stone tower is where they come to pile up stones in honor of their wishes.
I put a small stone on my cube as I wish something. I wish my future is easy and peaceful. Countless time has been repeated since ceramic culture has made. I added this time to the past today with great effort. My cube is a symbol of today, its rationality and convenience. I wanted to contain the time, the past that we have walked along, the present that we live just now, and the future that I wish for.
Though time and space are connected with our lives very closely, we don't give them much attention on a day-to-day basis. We feel all changes around us in relation to time and space, but do not face them as real substances. This moment of space is based on the past. Today is not made in a day, but many years are stacked up to bring us to today. People live under the cultures, morals and values that other people have made. And we wish for a better tomorrow. We wish a peaceful and safe life for the future. Everyday we live is not always even and easy. People wish for something better than today. People are not only waiting for tomorrow, but also making wishes for something concrete.
In my childhood, I used to follow my family to the Buddhist temple. I can't say it confidently, but Buddhism is almost my background. Buddhism is comfortable and natural to me.
When Buddhism was transmitted to Korea, it absorbed many other beliefs. So, when we go to Buddhist temple, there are shrines to these other beliefs, not only a Buddhist sanctum. This was to encourage common people to come to temple. In this way, Korean Buddhist temples are filled with many old customs and stories. The stone tower is the one of them.
The stone towers are everywhere in Korea. The stones are strong and everlasting, so people make wishes to them. People pile up stones as they wish something whenever they find flat stones and empty places. Everybody is living with a hope for the future whether it is big or small. The stone tower is where they come to pile up stones in honor of their wishes.
I put a small stone on my cube as I wish something. I wish my future is easy and peaceful. Countless time has been repeated since ceramic culture has made. I added this time to the past today with great effort. My cube is a symbol of today, its rationality and convenience. I wanted to contain the time, the past that we have walked along, the present that we live just now, and the future that I wish for.
INVITATION TO JADE GREEN
Simplicity that doesn't make a show of itself, and elegance that is displayed even though it is trying to hide its elegance: that is the beauty of celadon. I was immersed in the attractiveness of Goryeo Celadon while I was working. And I realized the today that is based on the past. The culture that we know cannot be represented in one day, as time has been stacked for a long time and the culture contains all our surroundings and society.
Through the celadon work, I really enjoyed the materials and the process that celadon gives us: producing clay from the earth, making shape, carving the surface, and firing the kiln. Clay is completely changed to a new material during the firing. That is an art, but also a science that human beings have made. In ceramic art, the materials and process tell so much about themselves. Ceramic artists have fresh experiences about the materials when they try working clay for the first time. Everyone who works with ceramic knows the exquisiteness of its materials and process, the miracle of one material becoming another.
Modern ceramic art is much more focused on concept than the delicate change of effect that materials give us. Ceramic artists express themselves through their works. Some ceramic artists might think that too much focusing on materials and process is a waste of time. However, the thing that shouldn't be overlooked is that ceramic art is still under the control of the materials and processes, even when we try to handle the material and process the best we can. Unexpected things happen all the time. We know that we should have a humble attitude in front of the material clay.
Testing celadon glaze in my studio was fun. Jade green celadon is made from a small amount of iron oxide during the reduction firing. When we see the color, we can feel the color radiate where other colors may stagnate on the surface. The color is a subtle bluish green or greenish blue in its deep and clear glaze. I thought to myself about the elegance and refinement of celadon once again. This is the color that we live and breathe together for a long time in this space; as someone once said, the color of Goryeo celadon is like a clear sky of autumn after the rain. I was once again immersed in my work, as if I became a real Goryeo potter. It was like a meditation to me. My studio routine was very simple. Sometimes, physical work can make my soul clear. I realized that the material and processes tell more than I can express by myself in the celadon project.
I feel that I am in the time and space when the Goryeo potter first created celadon. The place where I stand now has been stacked hundreds or thousands of years. This moment of space is based on the past. Today is not made in a day. How many years and relations of all individual things passed by this moment of space that includes me?
Our life is opened to the future and does not stay in the past and present. I want to contain the everyday that I breathe and feel in my work. And I want my work to go into an open world, changed.
Through the celadon work, I really enjoyed the materials and the process that celadon gives us: producing clay from the earth, making shape, carving the surface, and firing the kiln. Clay is completely changed to a new material during the firing. That is an art, but also a science that human beings have made. In ceramic art, the materials and process tell so much about themselves. Ceramic artists have fresh experiences about the materials when they try working clay for the first time. Everyone who works with ceramic knows the exquisiteness of its materials and process, the miracle of one material becoming another.
Modern ceramic art is much more focused on concept than the delicate change of effect that materials give us. Ceramic artists express themselves through their works. Some ceramic artists might think that too much focusing on materials and process is a waste of time. However, the thing that shouldn't be overlooked is that ceramic art is still under the control of the materials and processes, even when we try to handle the material and process the best we can. Unexpected things happen all the time. We know that we should have a humble attitude in front of the material clay.
Testing celadon glaze in my studio was fun. Jade green celadon is made from a small amount of iron oxide during the reduction firing. When we see the color, we can feel the color radiate where other colors may stagnate on the surface. The color is a subtle bluish green or greenish blue in its deep and clear glaze. I thought to myself about the elegance and refinement of celadon once again. This is the color that we live and breathe together for a long time in this space; as someone once said, the color of Goryeo celadon is like a clear sky of autumn after the rain. I was once again immersed in my work, as if I became a real Goryeo potter. It was like a meditation to me. My studio routine was very simple. Sometimes, physical work can make my soul clear. I realized that the material and processes tell more than I can express by myself in the celadon project.
I feel that I am in the time and space when the Goryeo potter first created celadon. The place where I stand now has been stacked hundreds or thousands of years. This moment of space is based on the past. Today is not made in a day. How many years and relations of all individual things passed by this moment of space that includes me?
Our life is opened to the future and does not stay in the past and present. I want to contain the everyday that I breathe and feel in my work. And I want my work to go into an open world, changed.
OPTICAL ILLUSION
We start to draw things from a very early age. First, we draw clumsy lines and circles, and then, recognizing our surroundings, we draw people and things from the world. It may be that the drawings we make without the preconceptions of our surroundings most honestly express ourselves.
When I started learning to paint, I painted a still life on a table covered with white cloth, with chrysanthemums a vase, fruits, dried pollack, green onions, baskets and so on.
At that time, students preparing for art school were painting in water color. They expressed the colors, light and darkness of the objects on the table by controlling the amount of water. We tried to express the texture and wrinkles of the cloth covering the table and the color and gloss on the surface of the fruits realistically. Sometimes, we would take a portable easel outside and capture the scenery around us. We drew mountains, fields, stream, rocks, and trees.
All things in the world are recognized by light. When I started to learn sketches, I drew plaster figures in the manner of Julien and Agrippa. The drawing instructor turned off all the lights in the studio, and then lit a small lantern to see the white plaster figures by. This made us feel the light and darkness from the figures. Light makes the expression of things totally different.
We live in the middle of an infinite and amazing quantity of information. It’s like a flood. Art is always doubtful and questionable to me. So many stories and expressions that can’t be accepted without filtration, it might be full of lies and cock-and-bull stories that tell plausible lies. I was standing in the middle of suspicions and wanted to unravel and solve a tangled ball of thread. What kind of things make up the thing we call art? I wanted to think one by one from the basic elements of art to find my answer.
The basic elements of human visual perception are light, shadow, and colors. How do these elements affect human beings? Is the figuration that we accept through our visual perception the same as the real world? Or, do we selectively accept things the way we want through our experiences? As a matter fact, our visual perception is a little bit different from the real world. When we recognize certain objects with our visual perception, we accept them based on our experiences. For example, when we see the wave pattern that is repeated on the surface, we feel the movement of waving on the sea because we already had an experience with that reality.
Similarly, our visual perception is filled with lies that we imagine and prescribe in advance. This is called selective visual perception. It’s a kind of optical Illusion. I was interested in human visual perception and optical illusion in an attempt to solve my doubts and questions. I wanted to access reasonable and objective points of view, sympathized with by everyone, just as the Bauhaus School analyzed basic elements and experimented with them—influencing art, architecture, and design in the course of their work.
Art is an expression of both society and the artist. Modern society changes so fast. Today, people want to use every inch of space and every moment of time rationally. This phenomenon is prevalent in cities. What is the meaning of art, then, in modern society? What kind of thoughts and feelings do we have in today’s life? And what can we express from them?
I’m a small product from my surroundings. Seoul, my birthplace, changes every day. Sometimes, too much rapid change brings with it harmful effects. We live with so many mass-produced goods from factories. Geometrical shapes and lines: what do they mean today? In primitive times, geometrical shapes were used as signs or symbols. The meaning of these symbols was decided upon and shared, forming linguistic characters. If this is so, what is the meaning of geometrical lines and shapes today?
The pure meaning of geometrical shape and lines is connected to a sense of efficiency and rationality, and we feel aesthetic pleasure in that. Maybe geometrical lines and shapes are one of the values this society has, using them as a kind of aesthetic measuring stick. What kind of feeling do we have when we see a straight line that has any superfluity? And when they are repeated together, what kind of effects show visually? Absolutely, the effect will be amplified.
I made a cube as a basic shape. I then cut and put it together again and again. Even though they have a different look at first sight, all these shapes are based from cube. I tried to make shapes based on a cube because of my interest in the basic elements of art and the effect these elements have on human’s visual perception.
This, then, is my trial: I wanted to have a reasonable vision of Art, which had been confusing to me. I believed that this kind of rational attempt to show this moment of space and time through the basic elements would point me in the right direction.
When I started learning to paint, I painted a still life on a table covered with white cloth, with chrysanthemums a vase, fruits, dried pollack, green onions, baskets and so on.
At that time, students preparing for art school were painting in water color. They expressed the colors, light and darkness of the objects on the table by controlling the amount of water. We tried to express the texture and wrinkles of the cloth covering the table and the color and gloss on the surface of the fruits realistically. Sometimes, we would take a portable easel outside and capture the scenery around us. We drew mountains, fields, stream, rocks, and trees.
All things in the world are recognized by light. When I started to learn sketches, I drew plaster figures in the manner of Julien and Agrippa. The drawing instructor turned off all the lights in the studio, and then lit a small lantern to see the white plaster figures by. This made us feel the light and darkness from the figures. Light makes the expression of things totally different.
We live in the middle of an infinite and amazing quantity of information. It’s like a flood. Art is always doubtful and questionable to me. So many stories and expressions that can’t be accepted without filtration, it might be full of lies and cock-and-bull stories that tell plausible lies. I was standing in the middle of suspicions and wanted to unravel and solve a tangled ball of thread. What kind of things make up the thing we call art? I wanted to think one by one from the basic elements of art to find my answer.
The basic elements of human visual perception are light, shadow, and colors. How do these elements affect human beings? Is the figuration that we accept through our visual perception the same as the real world? Or, do we selectively accept things the way we want through our experiences? As a matter fact, our visual perception is a little bit different from the real world. When we recognize certain objects with our visual perception, we accept them based on our experiences. For example, when we see the wave pattern that is repeated on the surface, we feel the movement of waving on the sea because we already had an experience with that reality.
Similarly, our visual perception is filled with lies that we imagine and prescribe in advance. This is called selective visual perception. It’s a kind of optical Illusion. I was interested in human visual perception and optical illusion in an attempt to solve my doubts and questions. I wanted to access reasonable and objective points of view, sympathized with by everyone, just as the Bauhaus School analyzed basic elements and experimented with them—influencing art, architecture, and design in the course of their work.
Art is an expression of both society and the artist. Modern society changes so fast. Today, people want to use every inch of space and every moment of time rationally. This phenomenon is prevalent in cities. What is the meaning of art, then, in modern society? What kind of thoughts and feelings do we have in today’s life? And what can we express from them?
I’m a small product from my surroundings. Seoul, my birthplace, changes every day. Sometimes, too much rapid change brings with it harmful effects. We live with so many mass-produced goods from factories. Geometrical shapes and lines: what do they mean today? In primitive times, geometrical shapes were used as signs or symbols. The meaning of these symbols was decided upon and shared, forming linguistic characters. If this is so, what is the meaning of geometrical lines and shapes today?
The pure meaning of geometrical shape and lines is connected to a sense of efficiency and rationality, and we feel aesthetic pleasure in that. Maybe geometrical lines and shapes are one of the values this society has, using them as a kind of aesthetic measuring stick. What kind of feeling do we have when we see a straight line that has any superfluity? And when they are repeated together, what kind of effects show visually? Absolutely, the effect will be amplified.
I made a cube as a basic shape. I then cut and put it together again and again. Even though they have a different look at first sight, all these shapes are based from cube. I tried to make shapes based on a cube because of my interest in the basic elements of art and the effect these elements have on human’s visual perception.
This, then, is my trial: I wanted to have a reasonable vision of Art, which had been confusing to me. I believed that this kind of rational attempt to show this moment of space and time through the basic elements would point me in the right direction.