Folk Painting-like Contact Zone

Suyeon Kwak draws a dog. A dog goes and meets the rare animals. A dog has the conversation and interview with them. A dog interviews with rare animals. We can see the sample in which the rare animals mingle together through the custom of folk painting like wit of the artist who imagines the scene of interview and Chaekgeori. The artist makes the many stories public by satirizing a variety of sections of all images of human beings through a dog. In this report of rare animals, the structure of story is also the same through a dog, but the larger discourse including everything such as human beings and others has been dissolved to produce the fables with the wit and humor by approaching the more broad issues. I am very curious what kinds of interviews a dog can make while it meets the rare animals. A dog which is the most beloved pet meets the rare animals which are considered as the animals in the crisis because they lose their livelihood or the power of breeding. This is the meeting of animals which enjoy the affection in the different perspectives. This is an ironic situation in which the beloved animal meets the protected animals (rare animals) with people’s worries about extinction. There is the real charm of how the relations are configured between subjects in the contact zone of meeting. Even if this meeting includes conflicts which are difficult to be figured out while subjects which are separated geographically, historically and biologically, this conflict is diluted by folk painting-like small and plain stories which the meeting makes of personified dog which is very close to human being and rare animals and the scenes of coexistence, interaction, interconnected understanding and activities are expressed as the subject of this painting. If you imagine confidential conversations of the scene in which a dog meets and talks to rare animals, you would be amazed at the direction capability to configure the scene of allegorical artist which the painting gives. You could see direction capability of witty, humorous and anecdotal imagine while the situation is not extended into the conflict again in the contact zone of unstable meeting with each subject. Humorous direction capability of background of meeting, attitudes which two subjects have and expression of emotions are particularly outstanding. Because the place in which a variety of dogs meet rare animals is the ordinary landscape, it is stable. It is sometimes abundant (flower), calm (bookshelf) and stable (island) like the landscape of clean room in which protection is allowed under the vacuum state of the peak. In addition to that, in order to control the artificial meeting and eliminate the resistance or weakness of rare animals that can be imagined, the empathy for decoration, attitude and emotional state which match the characteristics of rare animals has been developed in a dog successfully. There are no direction elements for forced meeting at all. Things around the meeting are also naturally placed. A variety of objects which were mixed and placed regardless of the periodization in history shown in previous works are being controlled. In other words, in the previous works, the diversity of direction and expression techniques was displayed through mixed placement of objects regardless of the periodization in history around animals. However, in new art work, since mixed placement of objects regardless of the periodization in history is controlled the scarcity that the rare animals can give or rare animals that are targets for protection could be put a stress on. Therefore, it looks like very ordinary landscape or a paradise full of blossoming on earth or Shangri-La and it looks like the scene of the time when rare animals were very common animals at the same time. The artist puts the ordinary background which highlights the rare animals and shows the strange places like the paradise which is full of blooming and stable where rare animals which are in danger of extinction escape from the world and live by themselves. And look at expression of dogs which come into scenes. While the dog which comes as a stranger to the place which is stable to the rare animals could have various emotional states and intention which people may have in their mind, dog pretends to show the natural expression, which is very contrast to expression of rare animals. In order to come closer and proceed with meetings and interviews, a dog is taking similar actions or behaviors which rare animals do. A dog plays innocent, which is very serious and fun. This direction capability can be called the wit and expression capability of the artist, Suyeon Kwak, who makes the topic of many human being’s issues by personifying the dog. In this art work, a variety of dogs reveal their personality and situations which match the dog are directed. Also a dog meets the rare animals which also show their inclination or characters humorously. The ordinary sophistication and various situations are directed through innocent expression, charming behaviors and body folk exclamations. The artist figures out several human- centered topics with folk painting by personifying animals and modern pop- like elements. In addition, background for direction of artist contains the myriad imaginations and wish for blessings, prosperity and peace. Sapsaree aunt used curlers for her hair in order to meet rabbit lady on Nodeulseom. Bulldog meets and has a tea with Panda uncle as well as brother and sisters of ducks, and so on. Folk-like landscape which perfectly matches the story of directed situation is very generous and harmonious with wish for blessings, prosperity and peace. Abundant imagination and direction reaches the paradox of the origin which creates imaginary animal. The background in which a dog finds and interviews with the rare animals contains the peaceful landscape of the harmonious world. Therefore, it is the almost same as Statement attached Figure which draws imaginary animal to wish the stability and the peace in terms of meaning.

We are very familiar to see human paradoxical behaviors and a great fuss to make efforts to preserve the rare animals when the news announce that the rare animals live in a certain area once they were not seen for a few years. As we can feel like something from the expression and attitude of a dog which come to the environment which the rare animals choose in order to live naturally rather than making a great fuss, the artist shows the point in which efforts to make natural harmony with the rare animals are the most earnest issues. It is quite different from reflection and repentance about the extinction of animals which were caught in a trap which human beings made and were not survived. Besides, it is not the same as the attitude to let them survive with an unnatural force. This is the true. The artist evolves the story about the tyranny of the human beings with wit and humor on a canvas of folk painting and captivates the views of public. The artist is looking at the situation of contract zone which is relaxed and in affection of interest in which selected understanding as its own share rather than predetermined destiny of beloved one and unloved one. A dog which gets the benefit as the pet matching the frame of human beings has humanized mind and come and listens to the rare animals which do not get the benefit. The artist evolves many social issues with folk painting-like methods and provides the seriousness with the uncompromising critical mind. ■ KIM, JAE-WON_Curator at Dr. Park Gallery