The pursuit of artistic, creative activities is a key criteria distinguishing humanity from animals. As the fact that the chimpanzees and gorillas can make tools was proved through observations and experiments, the creative activity turned out not to be an attribute of only humans. However, humans are distinguished from apes in that we have an ultimate goal to pursue through creative activities. That is ‘catharsis’, meaning the cleansing of tragic emotions through creative activities.
This term originating from the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s work Poetics literally means a physical action of excretion as medical jargon, but more significantly, it refers to the purification of emotion through creative activities in modern arts. Humans have repetitive experiences of emotional purification. We humans try to replace negative emotions with positive ones by discharging them repeatedly. Such repetitive actions in the fields of art are artistic activities whose process and result is a work of art. Through such process, humans experience catharsis, and this experience is a step of healing in a comprehensive sense.
Healing Camp, Gana Atelier resident artist report exhibition is a critical examination of the fundamental purpose of art. A Lot of creations are an act of revealing the self. Through this act, one intends to cure its wounds and reconcile memories. Moreover, one tries to communicate with the external world by socializing within groups. Communication between man and society through artistic acts is crucial for humanity’s psychological stability. Communication through the emotional language of art forms aesthetic groups, bringing about stability in social relations as a member of such groups.
Upcoming report exhibition consists of works addressing the common subject ‘healing’. The results of each artist’s interpretation that an artistic act itself is a process of ‘healing’ are quite interesting. Every artist more or less intends to attain the fundamental purpose of art through their artworks. They may repeat the phase of healing their wounds by themselves or take the path for communicating with others. In this sense, a work of art can be a means to explore conciliation with art itself through philosophical thought and self-practice.
Inaugurated in Pyengchang-dong in 2002 with the purpose of supporting artists’ creative activities, Gana Atelier has been active for ten years. Sixty artists are currently working in theateliers in Jangheung, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul. Established when an awareness of atelier-type artist-in residences was not universalized, the atelier has contributed to expand our awareness of such spaces in the Korean art scene over the last ten years.
Some individual artistsshare the atelier still in most cases, but the studios run by national art museums and the renovation of unused spaces into ateliers by local governments has becomes an vogue in recent years. The atelier is now generalized and considered as a prerequisite course which every artist has to go through once. Art studios run by national and public institutions have played a key role in such awareness. Such studios have the system as creative spaces and forums for diverse communication.
Gana Atelier assumes the role of a hub offering great diversity to the external world, facilitating communication and exchange in creative space. Its role as a hub has been emphasized for the last two years. The atelier has embodied diverse projects through collaboration with external enterprises, which can be further expanded in various ways. The process of broadening and deepening understanding of artists would be of more significance. It is also the process of ‘healing’, the true purpose of art.
