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Friday, October 28, 2016

Art of Dansaekhwa 단색화 -A canvas of Bold Strokes "Now Here"Painter Park Daa Won

A Canvas of Bold Strokes
"Now Here" Painter Park Daa Won           
                          
                           Written by Park Rhai-kyoung

     
                 Art of Dansaekhwa /  Now here /  Park Daa Won 
1.

  Park Daa Wons bold and decisive strokes have no reservation, leaving little room for compromise. Her recent series <Now Here> suggests her aims and pursuit in her artistic career. Although it varies - swift or delayed, firm or fluid the basis in fundamental energy is implied from the tips of her powerful brushstrokes. Here, no world of phenomena is hinted, no world of objects is implied - neither in organic or inorganic form. It is, without doubt, a form of abstraction. This calls for clarification of some points. That is, we can hardly approach her paintings from general theories of abstraction. Parks abstract paintings cannot be but understood by intuition as the works embody the artists thoughts and meditation on her relationship with the universe, nature, others and self. Thus, assuming that each abstract works contains the figurative world she has long been concerned with, we are impelled to approach her paintings differently. Unconsciously, we fall into levels of tension, waiting for the unexpected appearance of a line or dot containing implications for the figurative world. In other words, Parks canvas frames embody spontaneity. Park Daa Won's <Now Here> series feature a space of encounter with the universe or nature or others, that enables us to receive her body of works with heightened pleasure, and naturally adopt a deeper understanding of her perspectives. Mobilizing intuition rather than logic expedites our comprehension of Parks paintings.
                                            Art of Dansaekhwa/ Now here /Park Daa won
  Achieving such high levels of sentiments with Parks paintings also corresponds with the accumulation of the artists endeavors. Let us examine her works again. We see dots and lines laid out randomly on the canvas and the spaces between dots or lines arranged at intervals on the canvas surface. We interpret her canvas as being in the state of breathing chasms or developing into some invisible space occupied by wave of light or the resonance of rhythm.
  Parks works are not necessarily planned a priori or intended for some formative configuration; rather, her coincidental brush touches aim at some unique forms enabled by some sort of spirituality. For example, such passionate calligraphic gestures, or strong brush strokes, are unleashed freely onto the canvas surface accompanied by a composed and reserved state-of-mind. These contradicting attributes of the formative elements converge in the same space. Coexistence of contingency and certainty is combined with synchronicity of freedom and control; and these series of events breathe life onto the flat surface, thereby escalating tension throughout the canvas. These are evidence of the artists intense efforts to control and manage a given framework.
  In sum, Park Daa Wons canvas is built upon contradictory elements free yet controlled; heated yet fluid; swift yet deliberate; empty yet abundant; and this adds a sort of ironic vitality throughout the canvas frame. Such idiosyncrasies are uniquely supported by a formative theory, providing a solid ground for her artistic practice.
Here, we should not forget that her paintings are centered about her state of mind (much like a fiery furnace) - at times agonizing over, at times meditating on life and the resonance of nature and the universe. Here, the artist is the subject of such mental exercise as well as the object thereof. The subject having such a state of mind falls into repose, emerging as a truth seeker in preparation for her artistic enterprise. Parks artwork is completed through such extraordinary modus vivendi and artistic endeavor, like the <Now Here> series created throughout the span of 2 years. These series can be regarded as survivors of the artists mental struggle.


        Art of Dansaekhwa Now here in Blue /Park Daa Won

2.
  The affliction over human existence has been inevitable to mankind ever since the beginnings of social life. In extreme cases, such agony and nihilism leads to the abandonment of life. Its counterpart is adopting a positive outlook on life, embracing all its challenges. How and in what ways do the artists in all their acuity make sense of their lives? In the case of Park Daa Won, who perceives her work as "a course of filtering herself," two aspects seem to rise to the surface; one is her inborn temperament, and the other is her childhood.

  The straightforward and orderly tendency inherent in her works are attributable to her inborn temperament. We are especially reminded of her temperament when we search for grounds on the spirituality of her works. In this context, Park Daa Won seems to have a very strong sense of intuition as well as a strong sense of pride. It is assumed that, indeed, most human beings born into a particular role is entitled to respect, appreciation and love. As a result, an individual may end up being too proud or self-conceited, but these matters can be resolved through self-discipline. Likewise, Park Daa Won effectively converts the negativity to positive energy and has equally strong control over her emotions and sentiments. Close friends who are well-acquainted with Park vouch for her intelligence and sagacity. In general, people grow increasingly aware of the woes accompanied by the human life, which ultimately awakens a whole new meaning of life hood. This is the point of spiritual enlightenment and the heights of self-esteem.  


            Art of Dansaekhwa / Now here - Park Daa Won

In her creative practice, Park Daa Won battles with her inner-self to reclaim her self-esteem. In this process, she cultivates character, and ultimately, an inner strength that acts as a driving force that leads her to clarity and excellence. Such attitude is distinctive from her peers, as it is not about the act of composing and perfecting form; rather, it is the act of creating bold brush strokes visualizing her inner world onto the canvas.

  Park Daa Won was born in Daegu and studied fine arts at Yeungnam University. She grew up in an environment where she received adequate support for cultivating her talents. Her parents were well-versed in both Eastern and Western-style fine art with an enormous collection of calligraphic works and books. Such plethora of creative resources were part of her life, and nothing out of the ordinary. Parks mother aspired to teach her daughter the basics of the calligraphy, generously supplying her daughter with quality Chinese drawing paper for her practices. At that time, Seokje Suh Byoung Oh, Jukrong Suh Dong Gyun and other famous local calligraphic artists were in their prime, meaning that Park grew up in the pinnacle of Eastern paintings. As a freshman in college, Park happened to run into Chusa Kim Jeong Hee's <Sehando (A Cold Winter View)>. The incredible calligraphy of the virtuoso's masterpieces made a lingering impression in the young womans mind. It was neither empathy nor reaction; rather it a sense of trembling sentiments and spiritual awe. Park Daa Won, who was said to have been in a state of shock and terror by Chusa's brush strokes, gradually began to forget about her initial impressions.


           Art of Tansaekhwa  / Now here  /Park Daa Won

  These sentiments would surface later, as the artist resumed her work on canvas. Her fingertips gradually remembered of her teachers admonition from her childhood, that "Every brushstroke begins from the mind." In some sense, a brush stroke almost appears to be the next natural things to occur on an empty canvas. Among her earlier realism paintings, some display hints of surrealistic elements, which is only natural considering her artistic background. These tendencies are worthy of note: After all, the results of Parks decade-long trials and errors is her own style featuring distinct methods and forms. It was a journey to discovering of a whole new meaning of calligraphic dots, lines and spaces.

                                         
3.

  The symptoms toward a new century, which began to emerge since the late 1990s, have shifted our perspectives to optimistic directions and to pessimistic ones. The trust of the endless scientific and technological development is unprecedented in human history, presenting a rosy future for a more affluent life. On the other hand, we live in an age of uncertainty, not being able to predict our future. Thus, as helpless human beings, we have reverted to the fortune-telling superstition which we pushed aside long ago. Today, there is a growing number of individuals who regard objects as amulets that protect them from harm. Globalization of financial economy demolish margins and borders of the sectors of life. Yet we are faced with other implications: globalization of local culture divides the world into blocks of newly generated hybridity of cultures. In this age of chaos, local events are known real-time through the media, affecting our lives daily.

                   Art of Tansaekhwa / now here /Park Daa Won

  Individuals living in this age of uncertainty are constantly exposed to shocking, unexpected events, triggering a longing to reclaim their peaceful state of mind. The speculation and meditations often reserved as primary turfs for philosophers, thinkers and religious leaders, have now become the major concerns of the ordinary people in their everyday lives. Human dignity dangling on the edge of the cliff of hope is gradually being diminished. The phrase, 'Salvation of the soul,' which could be found in the manuscripts during the Medieval Age in the history of Europe, is now being recited by the mass society, both religious and non-religious. Current circumstances urge the artists to reconsider their creative practices and to reevaluate the functions of art in our day and age.


                      Art of Dansaekhwa / Now Here / Park Daa Won
  Here, we note that, additionally, art can act as a force of consolation and therapy. Catch-phrases such as 'Restoration of human love,' Building a good neighborhood,' 'Reclaiming the dignity of life' and the likes are championed in the art world today. The irony here is that one life must be sacrificed for the survival of other lives. Take animals and plants for example they give up their lives to nurture mankind in the form of food. They are subjects worthy of our compassion. Profound and religious thoughts have focused on finding resolutions for such dilemma of life without end.


Art of Dansaekhwa/ Now here /Park Daa won

  In the art community, it is widely believed that artists can critically communicate, sympathize and share with others through their artistic expressions. From such perspective, Park Daa Won's body of works are created in wide arrays, enough to resonate softly with the world, embracing values and virtues of various people groups. We see intuitively how her works affect people, especially in her unique method of working from her mind. Park is confident that her works act as filter or screen. Who are her audiences of value? As surrealist Andre Breton once said, what he really wanted for his ideology was Oriental abstraction. If Korean artist Park Daa Won can certify Breton's statement in her hyper-realistic or surrealistic works, we may have to reassess the cultural landscape of Korean contemporary art.


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