Seung+Eun

=Concentration Statement=

My concentration theme is the ‘line’. Every object can be drawn and identified with lines. Therefore, I started with exploring everyday objects and simplifying them to several lines. For my first concentration piece, I included my hand forming other objects by drawing with a pen. Then, I studied different characteristics that can be expressed with lines; not only straightness, but also flow and flexibility. While some of the lines flow with much flexibility and emphasis movement, some are straight and bent sharply to show stiffness. Bold lines represent power and gravity, whereas thin lines depict sophistication and fragility. In the complexity of lines, the beauty of balance of positive and negative spaces exists. The final piece of my concentration ends with a concept of ‘lines inside a line.’ For example, even a single string consists of many thin threads. A single brushstroke consists of multiple layers of many bristles. =Works=

concentration #1
idea sketch

concentration #2
idea sketch

concentration #3
idea sketch

concentration #4
idea sketch

concentration #5
idea sketch

=Devil Wears Prada Movie Clip=

I might need to download quicktime to play this clip. I can't open it right now.

=Museum Visit=

Title: Van Gogh: Voyage into the myth Location: Seoul Museum of Art Artist: Van Gogh Dates: December 20th Media of the work: Oil paint, and many other media

Describe the work in the show. Try to categorize the stylistic genre of the work. Give a little information about the artist if available. Make an effort to put the work in art historical context by making comparisons to other noteworthy artists either contemporaries or historical. 200-350 words.

Van Gogh was born in 1853, at Zundert, a small village in Netherlands, and ended his life in 1890. He was only 37 years old when he killed himself. Van Gogh was a misfortune art genius who only worked for ten years as an artist, but had lived the most intense and gruesome life among all the other contemporary artists. Unfortunately, his artistic talent was not recognized by people while he was alive, however, after he had died, he has become one of the most famous and expensive artist in the world. In his early days as an artist, Van Gogh used to draw dark, gloomy paintings related to socialism, but after he met his fellow artists, mostly impressionists in 1886 Paris, his paintings changed into brighter colors with landscapes. Then, he has become one of the most representative impressionist artists, Impressionism includes artistic elements such as “visible brushstrokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities ordinary subject matter, the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.” (wikipedia) His unique short, strong brushstrokes, bright complementary colors, and unrealistic paintings have influenced the art world significantly. Van Gogh had many close relationships with other artists. He and his friends lived in a yellow house, called “Arles,” an art colony from 1888 to 1889. The members included artists with similar thoughts and ideas such as Christian Mourier-Petersen, Paul Gauguin. He also taught and influenced many other popular artists such as Paul-Eugène Milliet, and Eugène Boch. Later, there were many conflicts about art between Van Gogh and other, especially Gauguin, his best friend. Gogh felt sick of staying at yellow house and went back to his hometown.

Judge the show as if you were an art critic. Evaluate its merits and shortcomings. Make particular references to strong or weak points to the show. 300-400 words.

Van Gogh: Voyage into the myth is meaningful in that it is the largest Van Gogh exhibition ever held in Korea. The exhibition was busy not only because many visitors came to appreciate Gogh’s works, but also because there actually were many of famous, familiar art pieces and other diverse resources. The exhibition was divided into six sections and one room for each section, according to different time periods of where Gogh spent his lifetime. There were Dutch, Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy de Provence, Auvers-sur-Oise, and Works on Paper sections. The last room consisted of Gogh’s sketches, drawings, and watercolors. Although Van Gogh left thousands of drawing pieces, his oil-paintings are so famous that they were not given chances to show up to the world. However, by this chance, it was a great opportunity to know Gogh’s another artistic skill with other media. The one thing I really like about Seoul Art Museum Center is that there are hourly docents prepared for all the exhibitions held at there. Docents are the corps of volunteer guides who staff museums and other educational institutions. Usually docents at Seoul Art Museum Center are art graduate school students or professions so that their explanations are easy to understand. With little behind episodes and stories related to each painting, the exhibition was much interesting and paintings could be comprehended more deeply with other perspectives. At the end of the exhibition, there was a short 10-miniutes clip abridged from Gogh’s film by Warner Brothers. The clip was about Gogh’s life and his works. After watching his paintings and listening to the docent, the clip was helpful to summarize the whole exhibition. Also, there was a map indicated the journey of Van Gogh in his lifetime easy to follow and understand the concept of the exhibition. Although it was late on a weekday, since this exhibition is so meaningful and famous, it was very crowded and loud. I had no enough time to appreciate Gogh’s each piece one by one with time since so many people were coming and I had to move within the crowd. However, it was a great change to actually get to see Gogh’s work. His paintings and artistic soul have impressed my a lot.