In the beginning of autumn 2011, Art Space Pool is pleased to announce the exhibition for book launching, “Timidly Resisting the No-Pain-Civilization” for introducing the book of Yong Ik Kim(b. 1947, live and work based in Yangpyeong, Korea).
This occasion is especially held for celebrating the publication, “Why Do I art? - How the political is connected to the conceptual”(co-published by forum A and Hyunsil Munhwa, 392 pages), which is a compilation of essays written by this conceptual avant-garde artist who has studied the forms of concept, perception and experience of art in Korea since 1970’s. The last chapter of his book, “Timidly Resisting the No-Pain-Civilization,” is prepared in tandem with the exhibition, therefore composes the space in correspondence between “writing and art work”.
In the description within the history of Korean modern art which usually classifies them by style and trend, Kim is typically categorized with the group of artists representing the conceptual modernism of the 1970s avant-garde. Kim then was appeared in the Korean art scene with the series entitled “dot-dot painting”.
Artist Yong Ik Kim’s philosophy(idea) of culture has consistently penetrated a wide range of areas from philosophy to everyday life; from the pure aesthetic considerations including confrontation and reconciliation between material and image to the practical aesthetic considerations including public art, art system, culture management, art education of Korea and local art. This idea(philosophy) of culture, to him, is about the thought on attitude respecting common sense and natural flow of all in the universe. For analyzing and naming his aesthetic factors, we unintendedly face to the subject of “natural flow” of all life community, or the universe.
What we are trying to notice about Kim is his attitude which has articulated two contrasting tactics; logical reasoning and life practice, toward the natural flow. The main subjects of Yong Ik Kim, aesthetic concept and life politics, after all are all plugged into his extreme “body-aesthetics”. He thus practices the logic while reasoning logically, embodies universal principles with actual materials, integrates his philosophy and his life, and intercorresponds individual thought and social utterance. His art emerges from this “body-aesthetics”, rather than developing an art theory with complete art works. Yong Ik Kim is an artist who reminds us what does it mean that “doing” art and reasoning by art, prior to creating art works, in the contemporary art scene of Korea.
Kim has continuously wrote, as a way of doing art. His writing offers bibliographical notes as well as the documentation of his thoughts. When his writing appears come in his art works, they become part of the works. Most of all, his writing is a way to communicate with the audience and his subjects. For understanding Kim’s art world, reading his writing is very crucial as much as appreciating them in art galleries.
Comprising a selection of seventy-seven pieces of writing and one hundred images from Kim’s body of work, this publication, “Why Do I art? - How the political is connected to the conceptual” prospects over varied topics and situations since 1970s in Korea. The last chapter of this book, “Timidly Resisting the No-Pain-Civilization” emphasizes that public art, art education and art system after 2000 is not utilitarian art such as environmental beatification projects, but an act empowering the cultural habitus, the attitude of thinking in cultural terms. Illustrating Morioka Masahiro, Kim also points out the no-pain-civilization in our society where became insensible about the other’s pain and incapable over trivial pains throughout over-investigation and over-development. Kim thus treats daily labor, natural decline and universal pain in a way of aesthetics as resisting against the social numbness which must be more dismal than the commercialized sensibility.
From the perspective in the history of art, Yong Ik Kim and his works may be categorized in the performance art affilated with so-called land art or in the religious art recalling primitive totemism. However, we must go back to his writing and hear what he said. “Art is to dream about and draw plans for becoming future-energy. Art is to cast traps for anything blocking this task and to correct blocks with logic. When pushed to the utmost extreme, this logic reaches none other than the natural flow. Ultimately, then, “doing(making) art” becomes the performative struggle of human being to live in the natural flow.” This performative struggle isn’t something extravagance and nor pleasure-seeking. It’s rather closer to daily revolution suffering every little moments. Once again, pool is pleased to share this experience by introducing Yong Ik Kim’s “body-aesthetics” which synchronizes daily aesthetics and life politics.
Heejin Kim (Director, Art Space Pool)
Translated by Jin Kwon
