Object, the pursuit of the figuration

I have experienced not a little change of my view d'art, since my personal art exhibition was opened at the Incite Art Center, Insa-dong, Seoul, May 2003. I have continued to do a series of pilgrim paintings until now, but I felt bound not to paint a pilgrim picture of that kind. I didn't feel like painting in a detailed image the artiste ideas outlined onl　y on the sketch book. I myself didn't know the exact reason. That was a great change in my mind.

First of all, I began by picking up some 'objets artistiques' from natural situations, and then I tried to realize the vital force of nature itself. All the surface of the picture was paved with pebbles ,which led to harmonious arrangement of coloring, it was, however, a problem that the work of art looked so heavy. Such a working of art was not satisfactory, and so I had to find out another way of pictorial working. I essayed to make artificial pebbles of styrofoam, using mixed pigments in some way or another. It was no easy matter to make the beautiful pebbles that looked dim-colored and natural-colored.

While time of great pains over the artiste work went by, I happened to wrap up a piece of wood-rock in Hanji(Korean paper), Korean traditional paper some time ago. When I saw seven or eight wood-rock pebbles wrapped in Hanji pieced together, somehow the naive quality of Hanji paper, not splashing but absorbing light, felt so comfortable. Every surface of the little lumps of pebbles wrapped in Korean traditional Hanji paper was absorbing differently light, whereupon the forms and colors were fascinating in complete harmony. By intuition I sensed and convinced myself that 'that's a great idea!', and in no time I began to make the artiste works in good earnest. For a start, beginning by making a painting board about 29 by 43 inches, I started in on wrapping the wood-rocked pebbles in Hanji paper, of shades of color, stained with black water. The 40 postcard-sized painting board was in need of thousands of pebbles wrapped in Hanji, but I barely managed to make dozens of Hanji-covered pebbles a day, with which I could decorate just a corner of the painting board. It took me no less than 10 days to finish the decoration works. Even this time I had to solve another problem, 'how could I stick the decorative pebbles on the painting board in a fantastic way'. I wasn't able to proceed with the program rapidly as arranged. I pushed forward the works tenaciously, firmly determined like this:' Making great works should take precedence over taking much time'.

When I finished a work, there was a few problems. However, it seemed likely that I could achieve brilliant success in making chic works. I continued to make a new artiste work. Trying different pigments instead of black water, changing the size of the pebble, and giving a change to material in wood-rock or styrofoam, I tried out new ways of making the artiste works, where upon I came to learn how to break the monotony, often coming from working the 'object artistique'. Changing the size of the painting board from a square to a pentagon to a diamond shape, I tried a cubist works, coming and going across the boundary between painting and sculpture. Of course, it was my philosophy of art that a real artiste should never stick to an artistique inflexibility. I used to try such and such an experiment, which made me feel not a little achievement. I thing that the pursuit of a new style of artistique figuration is likened to drawing up unlimited water spouting from my mind well and using it. The life-water of my spiritual world of art goes on gushing out without interruption, like a not-drying up-life well of the Heaven.

Instead of warpping the artiste pebbles onl　y in Hanji, I try to do it in a new way of using secondhand newspaper. As is generally known, there are all kind of realistic facts in a newspaper, which tend to become historic one　s some time later. My artist works of using the used newspapers suitable enough to symbolize the artiste image. With a few sheet of newspaper pasted on the ground of the painting board, moving upwards the white drawing papered-pebbles-sticked painting board, finally I ended in putting a blue-sky painted panel over the painting board. One　 may feel the artiste atmosphere of the fantastic ideal world, such as transcending the mundane humane world towards the ideal world, flapping the imaginative wings towards the heavenly world to one　's hearts' content. While the Han-ji object working tends to pursue onl　y the formative arts ont　o the art works. I was so happy that I could share a desirable artiste spirituality with the appreciators just as my habitual ways of art working.

Preparing for my personal art exhibition relating to the products of my past 4 years' labor, my heart is really full with an overflowing joy. I assure that these artiste works need much patience, so did my individual exhibition. My working of objects, on which I continuously made efforts to symbolize the new objects in a formative artiste words, under the situation of the digital area which is full with all the various and sophisticated forms, may be characterized by the consequences of the questions to be without interruption raised: what is really the role of the artiste working? I am sure that the painting working requires ' a new approach through a new way of thinking' so that the modern art may recover its own meaning and role. I expect that my artiste working contributes to developing my own artiste potentialities as well as experiencing and appreciating the joy and beauty of the artiste world.

on a happy day, December 2006

Artist, Ahn Moon-hoon