Transmitting the Sounds of Nature-Robert C. Morgan | |
Transmitting the Sounds of Nature: Recent Paintings by Joung Sook Kim Robert C. Morgan The recent paintings of artist Joung Sook Kim are related to both Eastern and Western styles of painting. She often employs Korean-style brushwork on Korean paper (hanji), a traditional paper made from ground mulberry leaves and the bark of Elm trees. Joung Sook Kim enjoys the texture and strength of this paper as a surface on which to apply her Chinese inks and acrylic pigments. Eventually she mounts the paper on to a stretched canvas, which gives it further support. While both her manner of brush painting and saturating paper with ink are derived from her training at Art University in Seoul, her color shapes are clearly reminiscent of those used by Abstract Expressionist painters in New York during the 1950s. Specifically, the work of chromatic painter Mark Rothko comes to mind. Joung Sook Kim’s “Artist’s Statement” is lucid and to the point. She believes that nature, and the sounds associated with nature, are the fundamental basis of her art. Her paintings strive to become not only an embodiment of these phenomena, but also an expression of her desire to connect with her feelings in nature. Two of her recent paintings from this year (2013), numbered 12 and 13, express contrasting views related to this emotional point of view. In Sound of Nature #12, she gives emphasis to the density of the ink as it has absorbed into the hanji. This expresses an important tenet from the ancient Tao Te Ching that light is perceived through darkness as darkness is perceived through light. In Sound of Nature #13, one senses the veritable lightness of Joung Sook Kim’s brushwork as an extension of her interior sensitivity. In this painting, the viewer makes contact with lightness more than darkness. Each of these paintings is a variation of an essential idea found in nature as expressed in the writings of Lao-tse, the Chinese sage who introduced the concept of the Tao (or “the way”) in the 5th century B.C. (Zhou Dynasty). The Sounds of Nature to which Joung Sook Kim refers can be found in trees, plants, clouds, animals, meadows, mountains, and human beings. She is extremely tied to the landscape of her homeland in Korea. Yet her paintings are not meant to illustrate the landscape or any object in particular. Rather they are abstract paintings that express a state of mind, an emotional mood, and a manner of Being. In paintings numbered 9 through 11, Joung Sook Kim paints initially with black ink and later adds an acrylic square shape that partially cover the surface. The contrast between the lightness of her brush painting and the opacity of the acrylic squares (red and white) also relates to the paradox expressed in the Tao Te Ching. In this instance, what is hidden is revealed and what is revealed is also hidden. Originally, this idea is found in nature. This further suggests that human nature is most advanced when it gives close attention to the ways of nature and to the change in the seasons. The seasons of nature and the sounds of nature are pervasive, whether they happen in a day or in a year. They are always present, even if we forget to notice them. Joung Sook Kim’s paintings point in the direction of nature’s reality as the reality that has become the source of her expression. |
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김정숙2 영문평론 - 김종근 미술평론가 | |
Be silent and speculate in his paintings - Kim Jong Sook's In another work, there is a canvas space with a red color screen tightly woven with a string, and a neighboring color screen with a doodled triangular shape and a square in a colored form. unexpectedly make you think about something by digging deep into your heart. Above all, the abstraction of a uniform and simple pattern and form clearly comes up. In that respect, Robert Morgan's idea was right. and it is not difficult to understand that Kim Jong Sook has agreed with and accompanied the world of "communication" within such a flow. that the only formative elements of point, line, face, and color can be sufficiently good. the artist eventually bridges the viewer's abstract and relies on their gaze. and the author often mentioned the phrase 'hidden things are revealed and revealed things are also hidden' in the interviews related to morality. the mind, the mood, or the existence of the least. speaks for the formality and the color harmony of the primary color is the destination of the inside expression. This is more so because the "sound" associated with it forms the basis of his work world. which is visually interpreted as having oriental naturalism and ideological system that places material and direction of expression on nature and its sound. And it is the only channel of communication and the abstract painting is the best to communicate to him. Communication> rhetoric. and it has the same value as declaring that you can get close to the "true nature" with the ability to penetrate the surface. It is like the impression in front of Mark Rothko painting. |
ARTIST Criticism