SCREENS: Embody Dualities

McLean County Arts Center, Armstrong Gallery
September 2018
Curator Lisa Lofgren

Screens have been a fascination for me in their formal beauty and functionality. Their dual ability to divide and unite space is the main characteristic that I want to explore in this work.

Much of what I research stems from the Korean alphabet. Designed by King Sejong in the 15th century, it incorporates Neo-Confucian ideals in its structure, design, and graphic forms, like Eum and Yang (yin and yang). Eum and Yang represent the dynamic of complementing opposites, of being both opposing and completing, and informs the structure and design of this current installation.

In this installation, I am exploring the formal aspects of the screen—how it can separate and simultaneously allow permeability—as a metaphor for my dual cultural and language experiences. It features photographs I have taken from a trip to South Korea in the summer of 2017 and photographs I have taken in Illinois the past two years. Two images, one Korean and one American, are juxtaposed as one image is placed on the wall and the other is suspended in front. The latter is made into a screen by cutting words into it. The viewer and where they are standing—their perspective— determines how the two juxtaposed images are united.

As the Armstrong gallery has two long facing walls, one wall features images and song lyrics that relate to the concept of Jeong; the other wall features Haan. These two Korean concepts are seemingly opposites, but are they also complementary? Do they give deeper meaning to the other in their differences? They have no exact equivalent in the American culture, and the aim of this project is to help gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the two terms and their dynamics.

SPECIAL THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
English letterforms designed in collaboration with Ladan Bahmani
Ladan Bahmani, Barry Blinderman, Andreas Fischer, Alfonso Gosálbez, Lisa Lofgren, Jacob McClellan, Melissa Oresky, Kendra Paitz, Laura Primozic, and Archana Shekara
College of Fine Arts, Illinois State University
School of Art + Design, Texas State University
The many who filled out my research questionnaire about Haan and Jeong

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