My art is my self. How my art has developed reflects my personal growth. My art gained expression when my cocoon-like self learned to reach out for others and to bridge the distance between others and me. At first, my art was an outlet for me to breathe when I was a young girl under a stubborn and authoritative father, but over time, it developed in conjunction with my own personal development and growth.
Like most Korean youths, college was the first place for me to explore my independent identity. Thus, most of my work during my undergraduate years was about myself, desperately looking for my identity as an adult. I felt attracted to spatial images at first because the first step of my growth was like escaping from a small space to the wider world. At first, I mainly worked on actual physical spaces and moved on to the virtual space created with video film, and to cyberspace. These spaces are much larger and address more dimensions, and they gave me more room to explore. In these spaces, I came across many different people, who were hurt or saddened, and I began to wish that I could comfort them with my work.
My college graduation work was the culmination of my journey of my self, and is entitled, “Who Am I?” While this work signifies the years of my attempts to build my identity, the process directed me to a realization that my identity lies in my relationships with others, that one cannot be himself or herself alone, and that one’s identity can be found in the interface with others. After this realization, my work began to orient itself to others, and my master graduation work was “Hurt My Heart.” This work represents my hand extended to others. It reflects my belief that my life’s meaning comes about when my heart reaches out to others, and my work gains its meaning when it comforts others. I understood that I need to leave blank space in me for others to fill in.
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Like most Korean youths, college was the first place for me to explore my independent identity. Thus, most of my work during my undergraduate years was about myself, desperately looking for my identity as an adult. I felt attracted to spatial images at first because the first step of my growth was like escaping from a small space to the wider world. At first, I mainly worked on actual physical spaces and moved on to the virtual space created with video film, and to cyberspace. These spaces are much larger and address more dimensions, and they gave me more room to explore. In these spaces, I came across many different people, who were hurt or saddened, and I began to wish that I could comfort them with my work.
My college graduation work was the culmination of my journey of my self, and is entitled, “Who Am I?” While this work signifies the years of my attempts to build my identity, the process directed me to a realization that my identity lies in my relationships with others, that one cannot be himself or herself alone, and that one’s identity can be found in the interface with others. After this realization, my work began to orient itself to others, and my master graduation work was “Hurt My Heart.” This work represents my hand extended to others. It reflects my belief that my life’s meaning comes about when my heart reaches out to others, and my work gains its meaning when it comforts others. I understood that I need to leave blank space in me for others to fill in.
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