Dreamy Images in Paintings - Essay Example

Portfolio About My Work The consistent theme of my paintings is hope. In my work I try to is to discover positive aspects of people’s lives even at times when they may be hurt and have pain. I take this approach by attempting to connect with observers by using my work to create dialogue and familiarity. My work reaches out to people, demonstrating my feelings and connecting to theirs. I transfer brief but poignant moments of pleasure and eternalize it in my work. To this end, “dream” does not take on its traditional meaning in the sense that I do not create fantasies or illusions. Dreamy images in my work are portrayed as a paradox between realism and idealism. The realism associated with the harsh and pleasant realities of life and human nature are expressed subliminally and submerged with idealism. These moments of pleasure are dreams, not escapist fantasies, that allows for transition through life’s pitfalls. It perpetuates hope, segregating it from the reality of life’s journey. It gives life meaning and the themes ‘dreams’ and ‘hopes’ articulate the meaning of life in my work. I spent my teen and adolescent years in foreign countries as well as completing my bachelor’s and master’s programs in the UK where I majored in Fine Arts (painting), all the while yearning for Korea. I have always remained nostalgic about Korea and drawn to the spiritual art of the Orient. These passions for Korea and the spiritual art of the Orient greatly influences the work that I produce. Upon returning to Korea, I incorporated the speculative spirit of “line” commonly used in Oriental art (linear art that frequently characterizes Oriental art) into my painting, photography and installation. Remaining true to this tradition, I also introduced into my work, condensed symbolic expressions which I am endeavouring to apply to medium in a variety of genres. Consistent with this approach, I have utilized experimental expressions of formative art and continue to do so. By taking this approach I have capitalized on a number of different ways to use art medium for creative expressions. I have a preference for stab painting over traditional application of paint to canvas. I also represent images from my memory by virtue of a combination of stab painting and repetitive lines. By taking this approach I am able to reflect a repetitive cycle through the object painted. These painting methods permits a unique connection to the world that I am creating by allowing me to become more intimately connected to the brush. While my photography stands as manifestation of my physical existence, my repetitive stabbing strokes permits a more poignant expression of my inner self, my memory. It gives me the feeling that I am in the painting itself and intimately connects me with the work I am producing. This is significant for me since I want to represent being and existence and the hope that life itself inspires in my finished product. Chonggecheon Stram Project My Chonggyecheon stream project completed in 2005 is an eco-art work through which I represented the stream as an iconic venue harmonizing humanity with nature. It was a means by which I intended to permit the urban lagoon to take off. The Chonggyecheon Stream, a hybrid water mark both artificial and natural, runs through Seoul, marking both historical political boundaries and timeless geographical boundaries. I viewed the Chonggyecheon Restoration Project as a grandiose urban beautification project and I wanted to mark the occasion with a memorable large-scale project proportionate to its unique purpose. Commensurate with this goal, I came up with the idea to paint a large 11 kilometres long painting with images of a symbolic stream that stretched from the project site to the Han River. In order to accommodate my desire for persons in the neighbouring area to see the painting by merely opening their windows and looking out, I came up with the hot air balloon display of the Chonggyecheon painting. To accomplish this goal I drew a number of buildings in the upper portion of the painting representing the historic site, despite the fact that the stream became polluted prior to the completion of the restoration project. At the lower portion of the painting I produced gradual images of fish and trees. The buildings, together with the plants and the fish represent the new Chonggyecheon Stream and a coming together of man and nature in peace and harmony. To accentuate the harmony of man and nature I added parks and landmark bridges currently in the urban area. The overall goal was to bring to citizens an awareness of the sophisticated culture and to invoke cultural pride. This would be accomplished by contrasting the old and the new Chonggyecheon Stream by virtue of an eco-art project. It was also undertaken to reintroduce the past, culminating in the urban lagoon. My project was open to the citizens of the world of art. Via the rise of the Chonggyecheon Stream I wanted to transform the new urban space into a beautiful and grandiose stroke exhibited in the sky. Preparation Process for Rise of the Chonggyecheon Stream Project. 1. Patchwork painting: The printable size is limited so I printed hundreds of pictures and patched them in Najido Park, Seoul for three months. 2. Preparation prior to launching he hot air balloon: Prepared the scenery prior to launching the hot air balloon on November 22, 2005. Reflection-Game-Reflection, French Cultural Center Reflection-Game-Reflection is an installation project comprised of hundreds of boards in sizes that correspond with the wall upon which they are installed. They were installed in a gallery as a means of creating space and contain symbolic images with lines. The theme of this project is war and it was used to highlight the horrors of war, specifically the disruption of peace and the resulting conflicts among nations and culture in contemporary discourse. These characteristics of war are represented by a few choice colors and simple drawings displayed in the exhibition hall on the walls and the floors to create a reflection effect. Students’ Portfolio Problem Statement Art courses offered at the undergraduate and post-graduate level in Korea do not typically cover all areas such as painting, photography, sculpture, installation, art that combines and connects to nature in a single subject and balances nature and formative art. Sammyung University in Seoul, offered the opportunity to teach Theory and Practice of Plastic Arts and Art Materials and Techniques classes at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. I seized upon this opportunity to expand on students portfolio by teaching these courses. The work samples remaining are only those of undergraduates students in the painting department because a majority of the graduates students have left the university and students from the sculpture department have either failed to document their work or the photos of their work has been lost. Examples of Students’ Projects Course Title: Theory and Practice of Formative Arts Theory and Practice of Formative Arts: A design course structure which covered various medium of fine art-painting including sculpture, photography, films and installations. It involves the creation of a syllabus based on critical studies and presentation in studio arts. The teaching technique encapsulates lectures and group discussion focussing on individual presentations. The grading is drawn from individual presentations and group participation. Course Title: Art Materials and Techniques Art Materials and Techniques: The course focuses on designing a variety of painting material and techniques which help students define their concepts of painting independently and develop new painting skills conducive to their specific characteristic by applying topics to other art mediums. The syllabus is based on critical studies and presentation in studio art. This is accomplished by virtue of lectures and group discussion focusing on individual presentations. The grading is drawn from individual presentations and group participation. Course title: Formative Art: Research and Projects. Formative Art: Research and Projects distinguishes plain art from formal or aesthetic arts. Summary of Assignments: 1. Assignment 1: Drawing through meditation and music, expressions by use of 3-D images and assisting students with formative imagination. 2. Assignment 2: Researching 3-D expressions through paper. Understanding the nature of various types of paper and researching formative art by using the paper. Focusing on discovering the relationship between 2-D and 3-D work. 3. Assignment 3: Researching formative art with reference to the things that can take place both inside and outside of a hexahedron. Producing formative models that can occur inside or outside of a hexahedron. Principles of formative shape: using the principles of harmonization, balance, rhythm, repeat, unification and an optical illusion for their projects. 4. Assignment 4: Researching formative art by using objects: Conducting research on formative art by using a variety of objects. Examples of students’ projects include A Serial Killer Series. This project involves the student reinterpreting fairy tales such as Rapunzel, Snow White and the Pied Piper. These tales are reproduced for adults and connect the key elements of the fairy tales to challenges and realities of adult life. 5. Assignment 5: Formative projects featuring Nature. Balances nature and the formative art with the relationship between man and nature. Research is conducted on the forms that can be found in nature. Course title: Life Drawing and Anatomy Life Drawing and Anatomy: This course experiments with human body art representations by reference to understanding of the principles of anatomy and by exploiting various expressions of skills. The idea is to focus on specific parts of the human anatomy and to express it through the use of formative arts in assignments. The syllabus is based on critical studies and presentation in studio art. This is accomplished by virtue of lectures and group discussion focusing on individual presentations. The grading is drawn from individual presentations and group participation. Drawing by Using Human Body 2: Student will practice human body drawing throughout the semester and will focus on specific human body parts and use formative arts expression forms. 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