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The Red Complex and Granularized Aspects of Life
Shim Sam-yong (Ph.D., History of Art, Art Critic)
1.
When I visited Yoo-sung Kim's graduate school studio, she was putting the finishing touches on her painting, <The Journey of Life Cherishes Red>(2010). This work appeared to be a metaphor for the difficulty of escaping an orderly system symbolized by an imposing Baroque-style structure emphasizing order and balance. When this work was finally complete, I saw it in digitized format, and noticed that two women had been added toward the rear of the building. At center-left is a woman wearing a red one-piece dress, facing forward while partially obscured by a pillar. At upper-right is a slightly awkwardly-positioned woman located behind a banister. She appears to be naked, half-covered by a red curtain indoors. Perhaps these two women are representations of the artist or even the artist’s alter egos.
The women are dwarfed by the large & colorless monochromatic structure, which has a garish and dreary façade making the people look even smaller by comparison. It seems that the freedom of the women partially obscured by the pillar and red curtain is restricted to some extent (they might even be prisoners). Whatever the situation may be, the women and artist Yoo-sung Kim herself will not be able to escape the structure easily. This conjecture solidified into conviction after viewing another one of the artist’s works in progress entitled, <The Man Who Cannot Walk Away from Red is Always Uneasy>(2010) while browsing through the titles of his compositions.
In these works, the nuance of the narrative space is closely controlled amidst enormous structures standing in stark contrast to the tiny human figures through the method of using abstract, planar, and small red circles without respect to laws of order and perspective. It is not clear what these circles are. At times, they appear like creepy red balls that have oozed out of the cold walls and stained the canvas. This creates the effect of disturbing the majesty of the structure, which becomes disordered by the red circles. The intrusion of chaos and pathos brings about a ripple effect which is hard for the symmetrical structure to withstand. There are also sporadic and abundant spots of red floating in the air which the structure cannot resolve, drawn as if they are dripping down the canvas—representations of “particles of life” which cannot otherwise be expressed through formative grammar. The dripping red liquid within the frame of the picture evokes the image of blood, an inference that is not totally unreasonable considering Yoo-sung Kim's the entire portfolio. In his world, the continued use of such phlegmatic elements gives her works a particular narrative quality.
The artist Yoo-sung Kim has defined the foundation of her works as a “red complex,” which is a quite multifaceted term. Red can symbolize the color of life as an iconographical element, serve as an abstract avatar of greed, or even serve as an allegory for feminine minimalism. The red in her works flows in abundance and self-ruptures, generating conflict with masculine lineages which seek to maintain conventional forms. Red has a wide spectrum of symbolism, sometimes provocative and sometimes pure, and it serves as an unchanging source of meaning in the paintings of Yoo-sung Kim.
Through the formative mechanism of the primary color red, Yoo-sung Kim is moving closer to the completion of a narrative which flows through all of his works. Her paintings are a medium in which the powerful tendencies of life, soft dynamism and various other factors are tied together in a related web. The elements of space and subject, human and background, man and doll, space and remembrance, are not separated, maintained as one whole. In her works, space and composition are part of the spirit as well as being extensions of inner presence, which in turn expands to take up space. Paintings are unrelated to the boring and futile arguments over the boundaries between 2-D and 3-D.
2.
Space is a very important element in the paintings of Yoo-sung Kim. But in many cases, the space in her paintings hints at the existence of other spaces. Even in works which appear cramped, covert mechanisms within the painting keep the environment from being sealed in. Stairs, windows, mirrors and other elements are used to continuously narrate outside of the medium. Let's consider the work, <A Sad Dream’s Conversation>(2010). The window shutter is closed tight but a mirror is facing outwards, offering a possible path out of the closed environment. Everywhere within the work, circumstantial evidence of the unseen conflict involving separation, isolation, exclusion and repression can be observed. In <Goodbye, My Little Girl>(2009), there are some elements that are excellent representations of the opening elements discussed above. In the title, the “little girl" is neither victor nor vanquished, ruled over nor fettered, and merely existis as one element within the space of the painting. The girl is not separate from the sofa, mirror, curtains, and floor. The objects are pulled toward each other and share one spirit, no longer simple inanimate objects.
The objects in the world of Yoo-sung Kim become valued when they satisfy the above requirement to share one spirit. There is no structure that can completely imprison a person. Rigid bricks crack, and densely-gathered elements dissipate and drip down. When the environment is neither here nor there, the floor begins to roll. Sometimes the walls risk structural failure and escape from the vertical paradigm. The sky is colored red with pathos-filled stains which fatefully violate the air with sudden bursts of red. In this way, the austere ash-colored structure encounters unexpected resistance from freedom.
When we consider the elements filling this generation, the semanticized elements of Yoo-sung Kim's world suddenly become clear. The sophistication of Yoo-sung Kim's paintings which lack discernible purpose, consistency with current trends & styles, enormous pillars surrounding ideas, false plasticity, artificial decorative beauty and world-weary facetiousness are based on a sincere desire to create a sense of distance.
In this age of information overload, what kinds of benefits can a single painting provides viewers? Art is an accessible conflict with one's self that begins with embracing the poverty of an era. Art is also a methodology derived from the lives of other people that results in certain mindsets gaining wide support. This is why art is better suited for experiences of bitter failure than individual feasts of success. Experiences of oppression and confinement, exclusion and loss are honest and dignified confessions of the limits inherent in life, and people yearn to hear such honest sentiments concerning life. Perhaps this is because they desperately need such honesty in the process of setting and resetting the direction of their lives. Maybe that is why Jacques Ellul, author of “The Betrayal of the West” (Trahison de l’Occident) made the following comment about the beauty of confession:
“Just like everyone else, I'm a human being who has
failed some of love’s tests and life’s challenges.”[1]
The paintings of Yoo-sung Kim reflect his life and insecurities, her passions and failures, as well as oppression and her resistance to it. Her paintings show that the artist has gone through a process of honest self-reflection and careful observation of past experiences. These paintings offer an important moral to his peers just starting out in the art world looking for a way ahead. In conclusion, great things can be expected from Yoo-sung Kim in the future as she explores her potential in the tranquil waters of the soul. Perhaps a profound wave will emerge from those depths.
“Even if the shadow of self-righteousness does not depart your side for long periods, if you can emerge from this period unscathed, you will find that your roots have deepened. When observing yourself you will then realize that you are worthy to receive the praise of others.” (Tolstoy)[2]
