Blurred Images Stir Deep Emotions
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
When a photograph comes out blurred and out of focus, it is often considered a bad photograph. Even digital cameras have anti-shake features to make sure photo images are sharp and clear.
But artists have turned blurred images into an art form. Mysterious and intriguing images are seen in the exhibitions of Kwon Doo-hyoun at Gallery Hyundai and Kyung Sung-hyun at Arario Seoul.
When you look at Kwon's pictures, you may need to take a second and even third look to decide what it is. The image itself may not be important, but the artist says the unfocused images provoke deep emotions and memories from the viewer.
``The misty images give us the room to reflect on bygone times and past experiences, thus we can undergo emotional changes. I wanted to make this room for the audience to recall pleasant memories and sink deep in thought,'' Kwon said.
The exhibit ``Practical Illusion'' features ``#02530,'' which shows a man hurrying off somewhere surrounded by a bright yellow background, while ``#02980'' shows what seems like a dancing couple. All the images are printed on cotton, while some photograph images are captured in an oil painting. When taking photos, Kwon intentionally shook the camera or exposed it longer to capture more light.
Art critic Park Young-taik said Kwon's pictures allow the viewer to read the images based on their own unique experience and memories. ``The audience is led to recall the object, a person they know, or the place they have visited. The artist intends to leave an impact that lingers in the viewer's mind. The photograph becomes the catalyst to recall, or the medium to develop the memory,'' Paik said.
Kwon's exhibit at Gallery Hyundai runs through Jan. 17. Visit www.galleryhyundai.com.
Pain is the main theme of Kyung's solo exhibition at Arario Seoul. You can sense the pain and unhappiness in his works.
Arario Seoul curator Choi Jee-ah said Kyung is very sensitive, since he experienced much pain when he was a young child. Kyung deliberately took shaky photographs, to show the inner emotional state of the subjects. He, then, recreated the photographs in oil paintings.
``The Truth of the Red Hood'' shows the partially hidden face of a man, whose lips are trying to smile through the pain. ``The Student'' is particularly disturbing, since the disfigured face of a young student reflects his worries about the future. Kyung has been teaching students who are preparing to enter art school, and he knows these students have mixed emotions about their future.
``Just as the image in the mind's eye becomes blurry as one steps close to an art work, Kyung's work asks the audience to view the work from a distance and perceive the overall emotional mood of the work by reading it as a pure image. This is the metaphor for transformation,'' said critic Paik Gon, in the exhibition essay.
The exhibit shows 16 of his works that he made in one year, while he was staying at the Arario studios in Jeju Island. Kyung's exhibit at Arario Seoul runs through Feb. 3. Visit www.arariogallery.com.