Michael Joo Returns With New Exhibit
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
After a two-year absence from the Korean art scene, New York-based artist Michael Joo is back with a solo exhibition at the PKM Gallery in Seoul.
Joo's current works such as ``Africanized Composition'' and ``Flawed/Empowered'' show subtle changes, compared to the pieces shown during his 2006 exhibit at the Rodin Gallery.
During the press preview at the PKM Gallery last week, Joo talked about how his work has evolved over the last two years. ``There is still a search for identity in terms of race. But the exploration includes identity of certain mediums, like sculptures and paintings. It is also about racialized identity on a much larger scale,'' he said.
His works trigger multiple associations, and viewers are invited to uncover the different layers of meaning. ``Some of my humor may be in there… But my wife says I have a bad sense of humor,'' Joo laughed.
Two of his works at PKM Gallery prominently feature a bunch of gray sausages on sticks. In one piece, the sausages are arranged similar to ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. ``There is meaning behind it, not just for aesthetic reasons… But ikebana artists will be horrified,'' he says.
``Pre-constructed (Fragmented Map)'' looks like a traditional Korean map at first glance, but upon closer look once can discern a sketch of the pair of antlers of his other work ``Flawed/Empowered.''
``It's kind of meant to be a sort of smokescreen. It's actually a one to one reproduction of my sketches. It is supposed to look like a traditional Korean map of the different provinces.
But instead of the map details, the numbers are just the measurements of the spaces between the antlers. It's not quite what you think,'' Joo said.
Joo, who won the grand prize at the Gwangju Biennale in 2006, is currently involved on a new project in Alaska. He is working with the native Eskimos on a project that involves a whale skeleton, a federally protected artifact in Alaska.
``I'm unable to touch it, but native Eskimos can touch it. When they work on the skeleton, any carving and sculpting, they transform it from federal to cultural artifact. … I'm a bit of a curator in that sense,'' he said.
Once it becomes a cultural artifact, Joo can work on the whale skeleton. The project is expected to take between three to five years, after which it will be shown around the world.
Joo, who was born in Ithaca, New York to Korean parents, is considered one of the leading Korean American artists today. While it is important for artists of Korean descent to have international shows, Joo thinks it is also worthwhile to have a presence in Korea.
``For me, it's important for an artist to have parallel growth on the local and international level. Most Korean Americans are missing out on something when they're not here. I would never dare to say it is important for them to show their artworks here. But I think they're potentially missing out on something here because of the audience and issues,'' he said.
Joo said the Korean audience has a different perspective, which could be beneficial for the artist. ``It is not necessarily a tougher audience, but an audience that has a more demanding request for justification and answers why. In many ways, I think the Korean audience is more receptive to listening to what the artist might have to say,'' he said.
The exhibit runs through June 20. Visit www.pkmgallery.com or call (02) 734-9467.