Joolee Kang: ON STAND IN GLASS UNDER CLOTH (2021)
Naming and Calling the Uncalled
Joolee Kang explores issues including the boundaries of humanity, non-dichotomous thinking about nature and civilization, and subjectivities of organic and inorganic forms within environmental systems. Although Kang's artistic narratives may constantly change in format, they always retain their original theme. Her exploration of human nature expands into symbolic studies of flora, fauna, and even inorganic matter—subjects traditionally thought of as non-human. Kang's creative inquiry also manifests in the form of decorative art as she seeks to transcend distinctions of artsistic genre. Viewers familiar with Kang's oeuvre will be pleased to discover her recent attempts to expand the breadth of her figurative explorations. Her depictions of uncanny objects, such as a tablecloth without a table or an empty glass dome, deviate from the still life drawings and lumpy installation works that previously characterized her practice. This exhibition at Gallery Chosun presents Kang's drawings—the foundational element of her oeuvre—as art objects, thereby generating a separate collection of free-standing objects that do not contain any drawing elements. Not Calling Things by Their Names Visitors may recall a popular meme series titled "Things you know exist but cannot name," such as the core of a toilet paper roll, the white stringy webbing attached to tangerine flesh, gift box stuffing, glass noodles used to plate Korean sashimi, and the white marshmallow-looking rolls of hay that fill fields throughout the countryside. Since most people never attempt to point them out, or never need to do so, they typically resort to pseudonyms or multiple-sentence descriptions of such things when referring to them. It is interesting, however, to recognize how a pseudonym nonetheless implies aspects of an object's essence. We change, transform, or adapt the original forms of such objects in order to maintain the natural order of the things that surround us in everyday life. Thanks to their self-sufficient existence and their ability to accentuate things that do have names and are familiar to everyone, we maintain an apathetic attitude when beholding them. Kang's drawings convey a sense of dépaysement and confusion. Human perspectives toward organic and inorganic elements—as well as our functional evaluation of these subjects—are subverted, leaving us with the shock of being forced to name the things that we previously denied names to. Curiosity, perspective, and nomenclature of things bereft of any innate identity carry their own values, which Kang seeks to embody in the works presented in this exhibition. Questioning the Aesthetics of Pedestals Placing something on a pedestal—whether it be a sculpture of an emperor, a precious stone, or a fine porcelain—converts it into an object of reverence. Unlike traditional objects intended for such pedestal presentations, modern objects renounce any dependence on pedestals. The subsequent neutralization of the glorified status conferred by pedestals allows for their use as a medium of sardonic presentation. The pedestal, a traditional signifier of an object's heritage, has now become a symbol of archaic and tedious practices in the contemporary art scene—a critical ornament that satirizes the very concept of heritage. Kang investigates the dignifying function of pedestals; not only do they physically support objects, they also heighten the symbolic status of those objects. She employs this function to subjectify things that many people consider to be derivative, residual, or ornamental. Similar to the appreciative manner in which Le Corbusier explored the palette and materiality of kitsch ornaments in his 1925 monograph, L'Art décoratif d'aujourd'hui, Kang elevates ornaments as art objects and strengthens their unique characteristics. In this way, she successfully introduces another dépaysement of subjectivity.
Korean-English Translation of this text is supported by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Arts
Press release courtesy Gallery Chosun.
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