A Life of Enchantment

A review of Lines of Enchantment, Wonsook Kim's exhibition at Illinois State University.

                With one look at Wonsook Kim’s work, the meaning of the title Lines of Enchantment becomes abundantly clear. My eyes went first to the wall of six large paintings depicting beautiful fairy tale-like settings filled with mysterious floating lights and figures composed of fluid, graceful lines. The group of “Shadow Drawings,” bronze figures created in outline which cast shadows on the wall as if they were drawn on, is similarly captivating.

3 of the "Forest Scene" paintings

Wall of Shadow Drawings

               

           Kim was born in Korea and moved to the U.S. in order to study at Illinois State University. Whether she is creating paintings, prints, or bronze sculptures, one can always find the same loose lines and similar figures. She also uses recurring symbols such as shelters or small boats alone on the water, in order to reflect the journey of life and the longing that comes along with it.

The exhibition at University Galleries features Kim’s more recent work, from 2008 to 2015, as well as her very early work from 1973-76. The six attention-grabbing paintings known as “Forest Scenes” take up the right wall. The front wall is devoted to large scale Shadow Drawings. The remaining two walls of the gallery are covered with multiple, mostly smaller works. One, on the left when entering the gallery, is a mix of small bronze sculptures, house-shaped paintings on wood, and white and blue paintings done by applying a thick, textured layer of white paint to a blue surface, then scraping away lines to reveal the blue. The remaining wall is where Kim’s early work can be found. These are black-and-white prints and drawings, mixed among more recent Shadow Drawings.

Catcher in the Forest (2010)
and
Drawing in the Light II (2012)

Forest Scenes II (2008)

The wall of smaller works

The decision to include this older work really added another dimension to the exhibit. These drawings are in some ways a harsh contrast from the rest of the work, especially the gentle paintings. While the figures still bore Kim’s trademark flowing lines, some of the works also contained harsher, more nervous lines. These lines combined with the dark ink and charcoal, brought a darker, slightly ominous feeling into the show.

Wall containing early work and Shadow Paintings

Close-up of several of these works

Feather Feather (1975)
and Black Mirror I (1974)

Considering the artist’s desire to portray life and longing, this work provides interesting insight into thinking about how her life may have influenced the development of her art. The early prints and drawings were produced during her study at Illinois State. This was when she recently moved, and would have been feeling that loneliness most strongly. Her more recent work seems more lighthearted, filled with joyful, dancing figures and glowing lights.

Including those darker pieces also allowed me to view the others in light of this. It is possible to look at the paintings and Shadow Drawings and be so focused on their “enchantment” that one sees only this charming, dreamlike quality. After I saw those prints, I started to see that somber quality reflected in some of the other pieces. The Shadow Drawing Eyes on Me (2011) depicts a woman sitting with eyes all around her. The piece is slightly eerie and evokes the idea of people judging this woman. The Shadow Drawing next to it, Silence (2014), portrays a bust of another woman, this time with her hand over her face, perhaps in grief. One of the white paintings, Shadow Talk (2014), outlines a woman holding hands with her shadow, her head bowed. Perhaps the shadow is someone she has lost in her life.­

Silence (2014)

Eyes on Me (2011)

Shadow Talk (2014)

While Wonsook Kim’s work is beautiful however you view it, I really admire the decision to include her early pieces in this exhibition. It helped me to look deeper into her work and gain a fuller appreciation of it as an enchanting representation of life, during the good times as well as the bad. 

The Perks of Being Uncomfortable

A review of Danny Volk's lecture at University Galleries.

When asked about his ideas on humor, Danny Volk responded that the humor in his work is “really uncomfortable.”  At the risk of sounding derogative, I will say that this phrase is actually a rather apt description of his lecture. This is not meant to be an insult at all; I think one can be uncomfortable in a good way. It means you are experiencing something new, which you are not quite sure how to react to yet.

Volk could be broadly classified as a performance artist, although he does not always “perform” in front of your typical audience. Some of his work may never be shared with anyone outside of those who were included in the making of the piece, such as his therapy sessions. Volk’s work spans a wide range, from plays and interviews, to getting a job at GAP and managing a boy band.

GAP model Volk

One thing Volk said which really stuck with me was another quote about the humor in his work: “I hope that one isn’t just laughing at it, that one is sort of stuck between two places with their laughter.” While he did not say this until the end, it really sums up how I felt listening to him explain his work. There is an odd sense of humor to it, such as having a balloon choir during his play. But just when you think he only did something for the laughs, he reveals it as being much deeper. When he introduced his GAP project, for example, saying he wanted to give performances one on one, my first thought was some sort of prank. Even the picture he used to introduce it was rather humorous: an awkward photo of himself posing as a GAP model. Then when he explained further, it became clear that it was not a trick or joke, he really was just working at GAP, and recording conversations and experiences he had with customers. As he says, this experience “allowed me to develop an intimate relationship while following someone else’s rules.” What I expected to be funny took an abrupt turn into these serious, sometimes intimate exchanges, and I didn’t really know how to react anymore.

One of the GAP experiences recorded on found paper.

I got a similar vibe from his description of being a manager for the boy band Still Boys. There were a lot of funny aspects to this, such as Danny’s apparent dream to manage a boy band, as well as the band itself. Despite calling themselves a boy band, the members are in their thirties, and they dress up as an eye, mouth and tongue for their performances. Then it started to get a bit odd. He talked about the band manager as a character who fell in love with the eye, and showed a video of the band hanging out in a hotel room, which he apparently took as part of a kind of documentary. He also talked about them writing a handwritten contract on the hotel stationary, because it seemed more real or special somehow than the typed one. Again, these stories were something I felt like I could almost laugh at, but it had gotten too personal. It felt like Volk had just let me in on a private aspect of his life that I shouldn’t have heard.

Still Boys poster

Still Boys performance as eye, mouth, and tongue.

Volk’s lecture itself became one of his performances in this way. Just by describing and showing photos (and sometimes video) of his work, he was able to create the same sense of discomfort he felt the original work conveyed. This was a new work though, it wasn’t as if he was repeating past performances. There is a fundamental difference between performing one on one at GAP and displaying the record of that in a gallery, just as there is another difference between doing those things and then telling an audience about doing them. I find it interesting how he can create so many different works out of one performance. Listening to Volk’s lecture, I felt I was hearing about something truly unique. His cultivation of discomfort forced me to think about how I feel about things versus how I expected how I would feel. I think everyone could do with feeling uncomfortable a little more often. 

A member of Still Boys from the documentary.

Analysis of Claire Ashley's Catch

Catch (2016) by Claire Ashley

Spray paint on PVC-coated canvas tarpaulin, fan, and nylon rope

Viewed at University Galleries Cawt, Taut, Hot…Not Exhibition (September 6, 2016)

                Catch consists of a giant rope net hanging from the gallery ceiling, full of strange, blobby shapes made from PVC coated canvas tarp which has been inflated and spray painted.  Claire Ashley created this piece in 2016. It is currently located in Illinois State’s University Galleries. This is the first time this piece has been exhibited; however, it existed previously as separate objects which could be scattered over the floor. The net is hung around a pole near the center of the gallery room, which allows the viewer to walk all around the piece. The objects filling the net reach almost up to the high ceiling, allowing them to tower over the viewer.

                The net holds many of these inflated objects, most large enough for a person to fit inside, with a few smaller ones. The net has the effect of deforming their shapes, and is very full, with some objects looking like they are about to fall out. The objects appear soft and squishy, like stuffed animals or pillows. Some resemble organs or sea creatures, such as a sea urchin or a shell. Each one contains an enormous variety of colors. These colors are largely pastel or neon. The rope used for the net fits in with this color scheme, being a bright yellow. One organ-like object in particular stands out from the rest, because it is a very bright hot pink and because it is not in the net like the others, but sitting on the ground next to them.

                The net creates the main lines in the piece. The vertical ropes which start at the ceiling generally head down and in toward the center, so that the net narrows towards the bottom. Distortion from the objects results in a very irregular network of lines around the piece. These net lines create various geometric shapes within their open areas. In contrast, the objects filling it are very organic in nature. They feature soft, curved edges. While some do have points, these points still appear squishy, like those of a pillow.

                The objects are painted in an array of child-like, pastel colors. Some also feature brighter, more neon colors, and there are a few hints of black and metallic silver. The light colors result in a similar value throughout, even though there are so many different colors. The areas with brighter colors become dominant, such as the pink organ mentioned earlier. However, there is some darker value created through shadow between the objects, and especially on the inside towards the center of the net. These areas take on a dark, mysterious quality, since one cannot see very well what is beyond the outer “shell” of objects.

                The objects in the net seem like they would be very soft and cushiony. Something about these perceived “friendly” characteristics makes it very difficult to refrain from touching them. It is oddly similar to the feeling one gets when seeing cute animals.

                The piece creates an interesting sense of space with the objects stacked up inside the net. Some start to spill out of the net, hanging out over the viewer. Others end up with space between them, providing a glimpse into what might lay behind or underneath them. The intrigue of this is increased with a stomach-like object placed into a dark space between several larger objects. It suggests there may be more odd things to be found inside.

                While the objects are many different shapes, they all have the same sort of pillow-like quality, which creates a sense of unity. They all appear to have come from the same source and are perhaps just different “species” of whatever it is that they are. Variety is provided by the different sizes and by some areas being brighter in color.

                The net contains pretty equal amounts of objects around all sides of the pole. It appears very top heavy though, since the net narrows at the bottom. This, along with the way objects bulge through the holes in the net and the large scale, gives the impression that the net is struggling to contain all the objects. At any moment, it could break and the objects would come spilling down upon the viewer.

                Emphasis seems directed at the smaller objects or smaller pieces of larger objects. Things like organ shapes or the spikes of the sea-urchin like one stand out against the field of larger, smoother, mainly round shapes. Bright spots of color also draw attention in comparison to the more pastel colors. The hot pink organ form in particular seems the most dominant by its color and placement.

                The piece is very large compared to the viewer. Its top-heaviness adds to the effect of towering over everyone. Its closeness to the wall on one side has the effect of almost cutting off whoever goes back there from the rest of the room. Within the piece, most of the objects are large, and tend to crush the smaller ones they are sitting on. The objects take up a lot of space in the room, but seem very “floaty” in nature. One can imagine picking them up and tossing them around like balls. The net configuration actually resembles the crates of inflated balls found in stores.

                The piece has its own sort of lumpy rhythm as one walks around it. The objects have their own lumps and peculiar shapes individually, and together they create new shapes, almost like they become a new organism when put together. This would give a new meaning to the organ-like pieces. Different relationships between objects can be found as one walks around the piece. Some hang far out of the net at the top, others are spilling out at the bottom. Some are squished while others are fully inflated.

                 Overall, the work has many characteristics associated with childhood. The neon and pastel colors and soft shapes speak to this, as well as the vertical net which resembles those that hold balls or stuffed animals. There is then a strange alien quality as well, coming from the objects’ large size and strange shapes.  This combination of familiarity and curiosity tends to evoke a childlike response in the viewer. There is a compulsion to touch them, to crawl into the dark spaces between the objects and see what is inside. However strange they may be, these objects offer a glimpse into childhood, a common experience for all.