Studio Project 2
Theme: Scaled Reality – Everything Can Be Anything
Se Yoon Park
I watched the video of Se Yoon Park demonstrating his construction of 3d printed trees. He speaks about his close connection with nature growing up and how this inspired him to create an installation of trees. It is especially moving to hear him speak of how he explored his own existence through building a tree that expresses his own life (the still you see below). I am reminded of how vulnerable we are as artists and how some very powerful art grows out of our individual experiences and explorations. Park also talks about light and dark and how they are both integral to life and how we see the world. Some of his components are lit from within. It is interesting how the individual pieces look very angular but when they are connected together to make a tree something more organic emerges. I have a deep interest in geometry in nature so found this installation especially meaningful to me.
Do Ho Suh
Do Ho Suh speaks about home being something we take with us and transforms this into a literal replica of his childhood home in Korea which he sews into an incredibly beautiful fabric facsimile. This is suspended within a space to offer the shapes and contours of this traditional building that has so much meaning for him and connects him to family. I was really taken with this for a number of reasons- one being that I have moved around a lot in my life and have learned to create home wherever I go. Another is that I have been thinking of exploring this as my own project, perhaps in terms of homelessness or in terms of hermit crabs living in man-made structures or maybe a combination of both.
Do Ho Suh also creates a monument for a public art space. He inverts the notion of having one big ‘important’ figure on the top of a plinth and instead creates a base of figures all holding their hands above their heads. The plinth is placed on their hands in an exploration of community and the work of many people.
The video shows that he works often in multiples, as seen in the ‘dog tag’ installation that transforms the symbol of each Korean soldier (a dog tag) to become plates or scales in an elaborate coat resembling armour. In writing this I am struck by the term ‘dog tag’ and the reality and necessity of their existence. Not only does it reduce a person to a number but much like a lost dog can be identified by a tag, a fallen soldier can be identified in the aftermath of bloody warfare.
It is inspiring to see this talented conceptual artist put so much thought and deep meaning into these large installations.
A poem I wrote that is reminiscent of the theme of home:
Carry it
..
Like a snail
I carry it with me
wherever I go
..
this home is a place
inside of me
not a table and chairs
not a carpet or teapot
or a settee
..
it is the peace
at the heart
of me
..
it is the laughter
that illuminates
each room
..
it is the love
of a lifetime
written on my bones
. by Carys Owen