Sculptural repres ion or liberation : the recent work of Jinki Baek

“The autonomous and literal nature of sculpture demands that it have its own, equally literal space-not a surface  shared with painting. Furthermore, an object hung on the wall does not confront gravity; it timidly resists it.”

(Robert Morris, 1966)

Early in his career, Robert Morris mentioned that solidity and verticality are conditions of artistic existence (especially sculpture)  that gravity affects. To grab a person’s attention, it is not enough for a statute to simply lie down due to gravity. To really draw  attention and be meaningful, a sculpture has to stand up vertically. After all, a sculpture that stands vertically is consistent with  humans’ perception of walking upright. Of course, a sculpture that stands vertically must have rigidity and solidity to maintain its  form.   Art critics and historians have called this art form the gestalt form, also known as "sculpture as a form.”

However, a group of artists does not agree with the concept of “sculpture as a form.” Some of these artists claim that the  vertical form of a sculpture may make the sculpture appear too flawless and thus prevent any possibility of change in the  artwork. In addition, some artists claim that “sculpture as a form” causes one to reach a “complete" state too early, thus  making the process of achieving completion pointless. Instead of using the gestalt form, these artists create sculptures using the  anti-form or formless approach. "The art work is a tool and process to seek myself." Baek also stated: "I have not completed  [my artwork] myself; my thoughts are constantly moving and nothing can conclude my art work." This means that Baek may fall  under the group of artists who do not agree with “sculpture as a form.”

In the Collapse of the Columns (2015), the author attained a state that cannot be categorized as a “form” by lessening its  volume or attacking the property of solid marble columns with verticalness. On the other hand, Shadow in the Crack (2016)  involves a basalt pillar that has more rigidity, with marble columns showing a “state of crack” and facing external collapse.  These works neutralize the “external appearance” and the “volumetric stability” while actually incapacitating the inherent  function of the columns that connect the upper part and the lower part. The author’s artistic world, being fractured and  collapsed, has sustained him.

Fascinatingly, works that are in a state of collapse and fracture are still seen as columns. The artist stated that, "It’s not  completely destroyed, grotesque, or [in a] state of rawness." Given these circumstances, Baek’s works have maintained the  existing framework of art. Moreover, it can be said that his artworks are being freed from the domination of the existing   frame.

From All Directions (2015) shows a cube being drilled in all directions. "All faces of the cube are completely exposed without  hidden parts, and it absorbs and spits everything from the outside to inside" (Artist statements, 2016). The carved and engraved  spaces, as well as the holes, make it possible to imagine what may be inside and outside or when it is completely full, which is  not possible to imagine when it is filled. According to Eclipse (2015), it is a "precursor that informs the advent of a new   light.” It

may result in new things that can be built or rebuilt. Just as Dawn Ades made a statement on Dada, the recent works of  Baek should certainly show “the cleansing convulsion preceding the great task of construction.”

Then, how can the old collapsed world be rebuilt Fiat Lux (2016) is an interesting case of displaying and combining pieces  from sculpture artwork with the assemblage form. In this work, the artist drilled a hole in small stones scattered on the floor  and inserted a supporting fixture, thus causing the artwork to have a stranding form. This constructing procedure not only  gives verticality to the underlying stones but also gives connections to all of the parts as a “whole.” More than 1,000  stones of various forms, sizes, and colors form a “round” whole structure by interlocking with one another at certain  heights. In this case, the procedure for connecting each stone (portion) often faces a moment of an exceptional  circumstance. Because both the size and the shape of each stone are different, the procedure requires skills in improvisation  and extemporaneousness to attain the overall shape of the work. A round shape is expected overall; however, the process  of obtaining the entire shape is not predictable simply by connecting the parts. This corresponds to the metaphor for aspects  of human existence that we must fill every unpredictable moment of life: life and  death.

Every one of one’s accomplishments achieved in life is always provisional and fragile. Just as it is expressed in Let Fiat  Lux (2016), the final shape of the artwork looks soft and provisional at every moment. Unlike an ordinary sculpture having  verticality and overcoming gravity, it seems that the work is floating in weightlessness and has a smooth overall shape round  rather than having rigidity and hardness. It also seems provisional and temporary rather than having solidity. Similar to the  body that are involved all direction, repeated carving caused shapes. Butterfly Effect (2015), Neo Pointage (2015), and Light  and Shadow (2016) feature the best forms that the artist created in a given condition of the subject. It is just like the  “meaning of life” that a human faces in every moment and is willing to try his or her best to discover. According to the   artist “Amor Fati,” which refers to the love of severe fate. In the beginning, I described Baek’s work as anti-form or  formless. Now, looking back on his work, his work can be better described as a prefix or suffix of form, such as (re-),  (inter-), or (trans-) rather than (anti-) or (-less).

Hong, Ji-suk (Art critic, Research Professor in Dankook University)

1) Fiat Lux Series

Light is the root of all life

Appearance of light is the fundamental event of creation that is interpreted religiously,

philosophically, culturally and physically.

The title "Fiat Lux" is a Latin word meaning "let there be light." It is from 'fiat lux et facta lux' a

command in Genesis 1:3.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

The work wishes that the fundamental meaning of creation and formation and the* light of hope

will spread endlessly through abstract shapes that generate and diffuse light.

This is the advent of hope and the metaphor of recovery.

The work begins by inserting a point on the marble surface, and obtains texture and motility

through the superposition of innumerable dots.

The artist's artistic labor practices in his work reveal The artist's will to live, and in the state of

Chaos before creation, The artist defines the acts of constant struggle between the artist and the

material.

Form and texture are determined in the course of the act between The artist and the matte, and

the work gains vitality as a product of the act.

2) Rushing Wind Series

The 'Rushing Wind series' show the will of the small movements in life that create the mode of

existence of a person, just as a small breeze blowing into the Pacific could cause tornadoes on

the Americas.

The overlapping and repeated sculptural act create the texture and curve of the work, and these

become a form of art, gaining its vitality.