June 2014

Page 1

[b]racket June 2014

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Editor’s Letter A teacher I know was recently asked by a friend, “Do you think you’re not living up to your creative potential by choosing to be a teacher instead of an artist?” While I’m sure this friend’s intention was to suggest that the teacher was talented enough to have a “real” career in art, hearing that sentiment probably would not go over well with most artists I know who haven’t quit their day jobs. So it got me thinking: Who’s to say that the job of a teacher isn’t the job of an artist? I myself – being a teacher to ESL students as many expats in Korea are – engage my creative and artistic abilities in the classroom every day. I act, draw and write creatively to keep my students engaged and execute their understanding the English language. I intensely observe my students just as an artist would his or her subjects. I compose, practice, perform, edit, and try various techniques. Being a teacher also feeds my creative side. As a writer, the hilariously imaginative and honest things that come out of my student’s mouths regularly inspire me to craft stories and dialogue. And what better subjects for artists to study than children? Kids are the most imaginative, emotionally raw and original people on earth. They unabashedly ask the big questions that artists often present with their work - questions about the world, or what it means to be human. As any teacher has found at one point or another, young students are often brutally honest. And if artists are doing their “jobs”, they too are presenting their questions honestly and openly with the world. The mission of the teacher and the artist is to foster inquisitiveness. Even if the questions can’t be definitively answered in the classroom or in the gallery, the conversation is going to happen, and we’re all going to learn something from it. So, fellow teachers, don’t allow yourself or others to get the wrong idea about what it means to be a teacher. Realize that being a teacher is a practice of being an artist. Exercise your creativity in the classroom when possible, and recognize that you are an artist in part because you are a teacher, not in spite of it. Lisa Highfill Digital Editor

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Lawrence Blackman *cover image

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Huh Eun Sun

Choi Bong Su

Todd Holoubek

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24

28

Kim Showna

Park Soo Yeon

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Issue 19 June 2014

[b]racket Jess Hinshaw [editor in chief] Christopher Cote [design editor] Sybille Cavasin [words editor] Lisa Highfill [digital editor]

artists Kim Nam Jin ~ nklingkk@gmail.com Whit Altizer ~ wpaltizer@gmail.com Michelle Rosko ~ michsko@hotmail.com Seo Hee Joo, PhD ~ artnphil@hanmail.net Hanika Froneman ~ hanikafroneman@gmail.com

contributors bracketmagazinekorea.com bracket.magazine@gmail.com facebook.com/bracketMagazine

support

Park Soo Yeon ~ facebook.com/soobaki Lawrence Blackman ~ loztvegas@googlemail.com Kim Showna ~ facebook.com/shownakim10 Huh Eun Sun ~ parkch4797@naver.com Choi Bong Su ~ skirei@naver.com Todd Holoubek ~ http://www.toddholoubek.com

writers Jacob Morris [ad design] Lee Ryoon Kyeong [advertising] Park Ga Young [translation] Ryu Eun Ji [translation] Lee Ji Young [translation] Hae Eun Lee [translation/edit]

contact

Design Concept

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Support for [b]racket magazine is provided by Daegu Gyeongbuk Design Center

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PARK SOO YEON

P

ark Soo Yeon’s beautiful paintings remind us that even within the bustling cities of Korea it is possible to find quiet spaces. We can still retreat to the hilltops, alleyways, streams and dark corners of this crowded country. There are small oases of silence and desolation. She reminds us that emptiness we encounter can be frightening but also a beautiful necessity for our souls. The blankness and scale of an untouched piece of paper both scare and intrigue Park. The biggest challenge she faces with this is putting purpose into her work with each stroke of paint. Her fear is to make meaningless marks for the sake of filling up space on a blank page. She says the size of a new piece is what tests her choices and abilities as an artist. However, she is able to masterfully apply paint to her hanji paper canvas. What she creates takes us to spaces that few are able to imagine.

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At first glance it becomes apparent that she fills her work with references to nature. The images are void of people, cars, and movement. These are sacred spaces, and each one has a story to tell if we take the time to investigate. Within the desolate spaces of color there is life. Parks’s work is heavily inspired and informed by God. In one painting titled Shower we see trees and bushes lying low in the bottom right corner of the canvas (above). The rest of the image is dominated by a massive gray sky. Park says she can “see the work of the world and hope of heaven” in this work. This piece makes the world seem small and conveys hope that there is something beyond it. When hearing what the artist has to say about her work, we understand that Park finds each empty space she encounters as a place that allows spiritual reflection. She says her life and her beliefs are reflected in her art in a positive way. Being religious has taught her to value her life, and as


a result, she sees her work as valuable too. Park’s paint strokes give her work a tactile quality. The lines, the paint and the scenery are quiet and soothing. Sometimes it seems the colors flow across the canvas like a breeze. Other times, the strokes end abruptly, making the picture seem out of focus and the air feel stagnant. Her work also tends to be dark and can have an almost chilling effect. In another work (untitled), an empty chair sits on a hillside just above a grassy bluff (not pictured). The hillside is barren, the sky is gray. No one is around and no one seems to be coming. But there is the indication that no space remains empty. Hikers will drink soju in this chair, children will use it as a prop in an improvised game, or a random passerby will rest their weary bones while looking out toward the view. This hillside, this chair, though empty now is not completely devoid of life. Someone was once there and someone

else will eventually come again. Park often sets time aside to slow down and see the world, finding inspiration from the people around her. “I’m not in a hurry,” she says. When seeing someone she knows, or a stranger passing by, she looks for the feelings written on their faces and attempts to understand them. Inevitably, a piece of the artist gets caught up in a transfer of observation to paper. Whether you are a religious person or not, Park Soo Yeon’s work will take you to a place that we often need to go but rarely visit. She creates settings where we can soak in nature and revel in our own existence. Thanks to Park’s fantastical and observational nature, we can appreciate the now and also dream about the future. [b] Whit Altizer


LAWRENCE BLACKMAN

C

rooked letters, slanted lines, misspelled words, and unintelligible figures –these are elements that comprise the art of Lawrence Blackman. For him, weird humor is only the garb of profundity. Lawrence Blackman, a native of England, has lived in Korea for over two years. He studied art formally at Cheltenham and Gloucester College, and completed his degree at Derby University. His illustrative art is both varied and unique, drawing inspiration from sources such as graffiti, abstraction, automotives, streams of consciousness, writing, doodling, and children’s drawings. Although he self-edits for content, Blackman seldom redraws. He wishes to capture the conception of his work, at the time of creation, rather than polish it to perfection. Blackman’s work reflects

his desire to promote questions rather than provide answers. “I hope they make people think and question the world, their lives,” he says. Blackman has exhibited his work in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Korea. He has also compiled his works into two books, The Most Beautiful Colour on Earth (2013), and Mountain of Light (2014), both of which are easily accessible for purchase on his website, www.lawrenceblackman.com. He shares new works each week on his facebook page where he also posts information on his upcoming live art shows. He targets those who will be attracted to his work, he says, or those “who like to think about a lot of things at once or who have a weird sense of humour.” By making his work simple, interesting, and en-


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tertaining, he attracts and captivates audiences of all types. As he says, “A message that cannot be heard is not a message at all.” But instead of communicating a single message in each individual drawing, he relies on the collections of his work to reveal a more complete picture of experiences, thought processes, and life. The more one sees Blackman’s individual illustrations, the easier it is to understand his intended message. After taking in one of his volumes of work one may question… what is that message? One of the themes Blackman is passionate about are the relationships between humans as well as the relationships formed

with our surroundings. Other themes include everyday life, death, and love, represented in both reality and fantasy. Despite the crudely laid lines and the humor of his drawings, Blackman reveals an intriguing exploration within them; a humble fascination with who we are in this grand universe. He provokes deep thought with raw illustrations, thus challenging expectations and shifting the lines of what “real art” can be. [b] Michelle Rosko

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KIM SHOWNA

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K

im Showna’s art incorporates a dazzling multitude of media. No wonder her mentor at Nottingham University was initially skeptical about the possibility of his pupil pulling it off. Kim still recalls how he constantly reproved her to focus: “You can’t cook a good plate of food by adding everything you lay your hands on. You need to choose your main ingredients and enhance them with sugar and salt – nothing more.” But Kim was never going to be that kind of “cook” – not while the world kept beaming with so many possibilities. Seven years ago Kim put her career in Korea’s fashion industry on hold in search of a path that would offer her the opportunity to be “truly creative.” England has since become Kim’s second home where she has been able to grow into an international artist to watch. While pursuing her Fine Arts degree, Kim found the creative freedom she needed to cast of the

constraints of her previous career in the fashion industry. She emerged from this period of experimentation as an artist who is able to captivate her audience with a peculiar amalgamation of space and materials. Even though she claims not to be a general admirer, it was K-pop that caused Kim’s light bulb moment. On one fortuitous evening, Kim was browsing the web when a wave of nostalgia caused her to seek out the music by one of her native country’s most famous bands of the time, Clon. The music video for their hit song “First Love (초련)” is a million watt exaltation of catchy dance moves and black light filming. The aesthetic effect of the video inspired Kim to recognize potential offered by the combination of black light and fluorescent paint: detailed shapes and vivid colors can be displayed within total darkness. Kim decided to further explore the effects she could achieve by using this technique for more intricate painting. She   17



discovered that paintings could be made borderless by placing them in the dark. Moreover, painting on glass or other translucent materials enables her to sculpt incandescent skeletal structures in three dimensions. Darkness becomes an additional medium that submerges the viewer into the negative space of Kim’s work. She usually lets visitors enter the gallery interior through a corridor, recalling the channel to the womb. The audience can also get the sense of being submerged into a netherworld where they are greeted by surreal symbols and creatures. When immersed in total darkness we become more susceptible to feelings which defy clarity. Without the discernment light brings, even the border between life and death becomes blurry. Kim wants to engage

the viewer at this level, and reopen questions about the meaning of life, sexuality, identity and love. The answers need not take the form of logical statements. In the dark, our affirmations can be experienced as mood and ambience. Here, we don’t grasp the truth – we are inspired by it. When Kim’s university mentor finally saw her finished work, he had to swallow his words. “I’ll never forget his face,” she grins. “He just sat there, and he said, ‘It works.’” When art succeeds in affecting us on the level that Kim’s art does, there is indeed nothing more to say. [b] Hanika Froneman

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HUH EUN SUN


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거대한 자연에 대한 동경, 그것은 우리 스스로를 자연에 품으로 다시 걸어들어가게 만드는 힘이 아닌가 한다. 마치 어머니의 품으

몇 장은 유독 더 크게 다가 온다. 나무 한 그루와 지나가는 철새때들 그리고 그 안에 지나가는

로 다시 돌아가고 싶어 눈물 짓는 어른들의 어리광을 넓은 마음

당신의 모습은 마치 한폭의 그림처럼 느껴진다. 차갑고 외롭게

을 가진 대자연의 어머니는 이 모든것을 품 안으로 끌어 안는다.

도 느껴지나 도시에서 느껴지는 차가움과는 아주 다르다. 그 느낌

그 안에서 스스로를 작디 작은 존재로 느낄 수도 있지만 빛나는

은 마치 혼자이지만 완벽하게 혼자가 아니라는 느낌 때문은 아닐

피조물로써 아름다움을 뽐 낼 수도 있을 것이다. 대자연의 어머니

까 한다. 생명이 꿈틀대는 자연 안에서 나는 혼자이지만 사각 건

품 안에서 말이다.

물에 둘러쌓여 혼자인 모습과는 180도 다르다. 그것이 생명의 힘

도시의 절제 된 선들 안에서 살아가다 보면 숨 막히는 때를 언

일것이다.

제든지 맞이 할 수 있다. 그 숨막힘을 뚫어주는 행위를 우리는 의

삶이란 고독한 여정에서의 잠깐의 외출을 표현한 듯한 흑백

식처럼 한번씩 하게 된다. 등산을 가기도 하고 교외로 드라이브를

의 이미지들은 에스프레소 한 잔처럼 쓰디쓰지만 입안에 오래동

가기도 한다. 바다로 떠나 한참을 바라보기도 하고 나무와 풀이

안 남는 커피 향처럼 단백하게 포토그래퍼의 시선으로 표현된다.

많은 곳에서 심신을 달리기도 한다. 누가 가르쳐줘서가 아닌 본능

보고 있는 것 만으로도 인간 내면의 짙은 외로움이 전달 되는듯

적으로 내안에 무언가가 원하기에 우리는 자연으로 가끔 떠나게

하다. 또 한편으로는 보는 이들의 이야기를 대변해 주는 모습같아

되는것 같다. 이런 나의 생각들 속에서 보게 된 몇장의 사진은 내

아름답고도 쓸쓸함을 가지게 된다.

[b]

감성의 동요를 가져오게 되었다. 그 이미지들 안에서 대자연으로 잠시 동안의 외출을 느낄 수가 있었고 사진 안의 피조물의 모습에

Kim Nam Jin

스스로를 투영해 볼 수 있었다. 사진 안의 피조물은 작고도 아름 답다가도 굵고 강하게 느껴졌고 자연의 선은 한없이 유연하고 부 드러웠으며 흑백의 풍경은 고요하고 아늑하다. 이미지의 힘이란 이렇게 크다는걸 어제도 오늘도 느끼고 있지만 이 흑백의 이미지

23


CHOI BONG SU


봉수는 한국독립애니메이션협회에서 주최하는 독립

의심과 비판의 성격을 가지고 있는 ‘하위문화’로만 판단할 수 없

애니메이션 영화제 ‘인디애니페스트’ 에서 2006년도

다. 물론 하나의 대항적 성격을 가지고 있고 기존의 질서와 가치

에 키아파특별상을 수상한 이력을 가지고 있다. 그가

에 대한 의심의 눈초리를 가지고 있다는 점에서 공통점을 발견할

2005년도에 대학을 입학했으니 대학교 2학년이었을 때이다. 누군

수 있다. 그러나 독립 문화들은 경제적 관점에서 생산되고 소비되

가는 화려한 이력이라 할 수 있겠지만 그것은 애니메이션에 대한

는 대중적인 문화보다는 자신만의 정체성을 담아자신의 예술세계

열정의 산물이라 생각된다. 최봉수의 작품은 독립 애니메이션을

를 자유롭게 펼칠 수 있다는 점 때문에 젊은 예술가들이 선택하는

즐기는 젊은이들 사이에 감상되고 소비된다. 그는 몇몇 동료와 함

하나의 제작 방식이라 할 수 있다.

께 또는 혼자 작품을 제작한다. 소수의 인원이라 시간이 오래 걸

독립 애니메이션이라는 형식으로 작품은 생산하는 최봉수도

리고 쉽지 않는 작업이지만 이러한 제작 방식을 거부하지 않는다.

바로 이런 점에서 젊은이다운 자신의 예술세계를 펼치고 있다. 그

출판, 게임, 음악 등의 장르에서 이와 유사한 방식으로 제작되고

는 자신의 작품 근원이 꿈이라고 이야기 한다. 자신의 꿈뿐만 아

소비되는 것에 우리는 ‘독립’ 이라는명사를 붙여 사용하고 있다.

니라 타인의 꿈에도 귀를 기울여 작품화시킨다고 하니 그의 영상

독립출판, 독립애니메이션, 독립음반, 독립음악 등은 소규모 또는

이 역동적이면서 환상에 빠져들 것 같은 독특한 이미지로 구성되

개인에 의한 제작과 그에 따른 적은 비용, 상업적인 공간이 아닌

는 이유가 여기에 있는 듯하다. 사실 대부분의 꿈이 맥락 없으면

이러한 문화예술을 소비하는 곳에서만 소비되고 있기 때문에 산

서도 한편으로는 일정한 서사구조가 있는 것처럼 느껴지기도 하

업이나 마케팅적 이해관계에서 생산되는 문화예술보다는 지배적

고 종잡을 수 없을 때가 많다. 그는 이런 꿈들이 가지고 있는 ‘비

이거나 관습적인 형식과 틀을 벗어나 자유롭고 실험적이거나 대

정형적 서사’ 에 매력을 느낀다고 한다. 그는비정형적인 꿈의 내

안적인 형태와 내용을 가지고 있다. 우리는 가운데 누군가는 이와

용들을 작품화할 때일정한 서사구조로 각색하지 않는다. 그렇게

같은 문화들을 ‘하위문화’로 해석할 수도 있을 것이다. 그러나 독

된다면 일정하지 않는 영상의 구성과 맥락 없는 듯한 내용에서 전

립 문화의 양상을 주류 문화와 고급 문화에 대비되는 비주류 문화

달되고 있는 메시지의 구조적 특성이 사라지면서 감상자들은 쉽

와 저급 문화로서 기존 질서의 정당성과 주류문화의 가치에 대한

게 결론을 유추하거나 내리게 된다. 반면에 비정형적 서사구조에

June 2014 [b]racket  25


서는 예측이라는 것이 불가능할 때가 많다. 감상자들은 그 간극의

지어 우리에게 던져진 결론 마저 우리를 또 다른 상상으로 이끌고

틈에서 작품에 더몰입하게 되는 것이다. 이러한 의도를 그는“ 익

있기 때문이다. 한편으로 작품에서 결론 내재 결말을 던져주지 않

숙한 것이 비틀어져 낯섦을 느낄 때 나는 놀라게 된다. 놀란다는

는 또 다른 이유는 이 사회의 절대적 가치에 대한 회의적인 생각

것은 감각이 살아난다는 것이다. 앞으로도 자주 놀라고 싶다. 그

에 비롯된 것이기도 하다. 그는 절대적 가치에 대해 의문을 던진

리고 나 역시 누군가를 놀라게 하고 싶다.” 라고 표현한다. 그는

다. 따라서 작품에서 그가 우리에게 상상으로 끝을 맺게 하는 것

우리가 예측하지 못한 상황에서 우리가 느끼게 되는 이질감이나

도 바로 이러한 그의 생각이 담겨 있는 것이다.

긴장감으로점점 작품으로 빠져들기를 기대한다. 사실 그의 이러

이와 같은 생각이 잘 표현되고 있는 작품이 바로 『구, 口, The

한 전략은 성공한 셈이다. 그의 작품은 결론을 예측할 수 없고 심

Hole』 라고 할 수 있다. 이 작품은 꿈이 모티브가 되었으며 제목

26  [b]racket June 2014


의 구는 입 외에도 탈출구를 암시하고 있다. 그는 입이라는 것이

가볍지 않음을 암시하고 있다. 이 작품은 모태에서 삶이 끝난 태

소통의 도구가 아니라 폭력의 도구로서 사용되고 있다는 것을 표

아로부터 이 세계에 던져진 우리의 생명까지 생명에 대한 우리의

현하고 있다. 주인공은 자신을 잡아먹으려는 괴물에게서 끝없이

깊은 사유를 요구하고 있는 것이다.

도망치지만 그의 탈출 시도는 항상 허망하게 실패한다. 그러나 괴

다소 철학적인 주제를 다루고 있는 최봉수는 초기 작품에서는

물이 주인공을 잡아먹으려는 순간 동시에 주인공의 입안에 괴물

작품의 영상미와 기술적 측면에 대한 고민에 빠졌었다. 그리고 지

이 있다. 그는 “누가 누구를 먹었는가? 누가 진짜 괴물이었을까?

금은 자신만의 작품세계를 구축해나가면서 자신의 철학을 작품으

사람들은 종종 자기 자신을 폭력의 희생자라고 믿는다. 그런 우리

로 발언하고 소통하려 하고 있다. 독립 애니메이션 감독으로서 자

가 사실은 폭력의 주체였을 수도 있음을 모호한 악몽처럼 암시하

신의 철학을 지켜나가면서 작업한다는 것은 이제 그의 험난한 여

고 싶었다.” 라고 설명한다. 우리는 이 작품의 마지막 영상에서 끝

정이 시작되었다는 뜻한다. 그런 그에게 작업에 대한 열정으로나

없이 상상하게 된다. 정말 누가 누구를 먹었다는 걸까?

그 길을 걸어가는 것이 녹록하지 않겠지만 ‘독립’ 문화를 이끌어

그의 작품 『식육, 息肉』 은 그가 영감을 받았던 꿈으로부터

가는 젊은이로서의 사명감을 요구한다는 것은 너무 지나친 것일

벗어나 생명에 대한 깊은 사고가 함축되어 있다. 그는 세상에 태

까? 지금까지 자신의 꿈을 열심히 쌓아왔듯이 앞으로 더욱 발전된

어나지 못한 생명에 대한 일종의 추모비로서 이 작품을 제작했다

작품으로 우리와 만날 것이라는 믿음을 가져본다.

[b]

고 말한다. 인간의 어떠한 의술로도 극복할 수 없는 생명의 유한 함은 잉태의 그 순간부터 시작된다. 불행히도 생명이 모태에서 끝

Seo Hee Joo, PhD

이 날 수도 있다. 그는 작품에서 태아를 하나의 가능성이자 생명 의 상징으로 상정하고 있다. 그리고 세계에 던져진 우리의 생명이

27


TODD HOLOUBEK

I

n a typical museum setting, patrons walk around and take in their surroundings, standing an appropriate distance away from each piece. If the art seems appealing enough, a dialogue begins between the viewer and the work. Although art can be analyzed and studied, the work and the viewer’s relationship is confined to the visual. Seoul artist Todd Holoubek offers viewers an added dimension to this relationship: physical interaction. Much of the work that he creates requires the viewer to touch, twist, or beat on it to discover what it is about. The artist employs puns, societal quips, and items from popular culture to communicate with the viewer. The majority of Holoubek’s works can be described as playful. Though the materials the artist uses are varied, a commonality between them is their light-hearted subject matter. His work evokes at least a smile, if not a chuckle, from viewers as they find themselves included in the joke. One example,

28

“Knock on Wood Machine,” (not pictured) invites the viewer to do just that; the artist has outfitted a block of wood large enough for a fireplace with a feedback mechanism. Once the viewer raps on the log, the piece vibrates and calculates before it tells the viewer if his or her luck has changed for the better (or worse). Another work, “Meat Clocks,” (not pictured) takes the familiar and makes it unfamiliar. The hands of the clock don’t tell us the time, but instead select a cut of bovine flesh for each hour of the day. The clock still behaves in a method that we are accustomed to, yet serves no real function. What was once useful is now remixed into something that we understand, yet makes no sense. This appropriation of familiar objects permeates Holoubek’s work. Most recently, the artist has revisited his Everybody Wins series, which he began in 2002. In this series two classic pop culture objects, the Rubik’s Cube and the sliding tile puzzle are stripped of

their initial functions and given a new one. There are multiple incarnations of these objects, ranging from 4x4cm to 2x2m. In the pieces, the Rubik’s Cube is no longer a rainbow of neon stickers. The sliding tile puzzle has no numbers or iconic face to be arranged. The original colors and designs that typically adorn these toys are replaced, each tile now displaying a four-sided harmonious design. The pieces are not merely to be looked at and pondered from a distance; the artist asks that the objects be held and rearranged. Instead of a nearly impossible puzzle, the work is now altered so that the player is always a winner. The artist repurposes these familiar puzzles, removing the challenge and transforming them into something with no defined ending point. This approach is very refreshing in an art world that is constantly alienating audiences with work steeped in academia. Contemporary work often gets lost in theory, creating an isolating effect for


spectators. Holoubek’s work is different; it is freeing. The intimidation that is a part of the original objects is removed, giving them a sort of artistic reboot. The viewer can literally not lose. Once picked up and altered, the toy seamlessly matches with adjacent tiles. This multiple amount of design matches coupled with the fact that each ending is the same is reminiscent of Sol Lewitt’s Drawing Series, in which the artist would leave it to the participating gallery or museum to physically put up the piece. Lewitt would mail or fax instructions of how to install or create his work, leaving aspects of chance and environment to be decided upon by the sponsor of the show. The result was that each time the work was installed it was the same yet different. Much was left up to interpretation (for example, Lewitt would instruct the gallery to use “black” paint, but which black to use was omitted.) Holoubek’s work has a very simple charm, yet is anything but

simple. It is a conduit for introspection, but more importantly it offers accessibility. The familiarity of the objects gives viewers an immediate entry point to the work (who among us doesn’t know the iconic Rubik’s Cube?), and then holds that interest when we are forced to rethink our interaction with the object. Once in hand, the viewer/participant can play the game as long as they’d like. Each play perplexingly offers the same outcome - winning. Holoubek was able to exhibit his Everybody Wins series in Seoul recently, having two back-to-back shows aptly titled One of Two and Two of Two. Throughout the month of May, visitors were able to see the artist’s interactive pieces and engage with them. The concepts of winning and losing are temporarily dismissed, allowing for a different, more productive dialogue. [b] Jess Hinshaw

June 2014 [b]racket  29


국내 최대 화방이 대구에 있습니다!

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