12 FOR OUR 12TH
JONG-YOON KIM
by Marcia Santore
Paper folded into curvilinear shapes bordering on the impossible; paper structures balanced between Escher and exquisite architectural models. Jong-Yoon Kim’s sculpture leaves viewers entranced and wondering.
Originally from Korea, Kim earned a BFA in ceramic art from Hongik University in Seoul. “My big topic was time — working with a traditional Korean geometric pattern meaning Eternity. I felt the lack of communication with viewers because most of my ceramic installation works were very symbolic and conceptual,” he recalled.
He began looking for different visual tools that would enable him to communicate more directly with viewers. “I came to the U.S. to study in a new environment 20 years ago.” He earned an MFA in graphic design from Indiana University. Today Kim is associate professor of graphic design at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, where his work was shown this winter in a solo exhibition at the Silver Center for the Arts, sponsored by the Museum of the White Mountains.
“I used to be a potter and a ceramic sculptor dealing with three dimensional objects and space.” Kim said. “Now as a graphic designer, two-dimensional works on either a paper or a screen have been my main media. I have found myself hanging on the border of two dimensions and three dimensions, and come away with several questions: What is the relationship between two dimensions and three dimensions? Which elements make us perceive forms as three-dimensional? What is the function of light?”
Kim’s interest in paper as a medium grew out of bookbinding. “As a bookbinder and book artist, my main medium was paper and I was fascinated by various formats of pop-up books,” he said. He began using pop-up paper folding techniques to create structures. A primary challenge of working with paper is durability. Kim is always looking for different types and weights of paper, each with its own qualities of flexibility and transparency. These can then be paired with other media, such as wood, acrylic and LED lights.
Light is important in Kim’s latest work. Some of the folded paper pieces contain LED lights that subtly shift colors. The architectural works, mounted on rough wood, incorporate shadows to amplify the ambivalence of the space. His plans include larger installation works using various light sources. “My goal is not only displaying my works in a public space but also experiencing my works as part of the viewers’ space,” he said. “I want viewers to see the possibilities of my works as a part of their daily life, to apply my works on different environments (with various light sources) physically or virtually to create a new atmosphere.”
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ENRICHING AND EDUCATING: ART CONNECTS AT CATAMOUNT
REVIEW
ARTSCONNECT
CATAMOUNT ARTS
115 EASTERN AVENUE ST.
JOHNSBURY, VERMONT
THROUGH FEBRUARY 16
by Elayne Clift
It all began in 1975 when filmmaker Jay Craven launched a four-night-a-week, traveling 16mm film series presenting foreign, classic, and independent movies to residents in rural communities of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. By 1986, it had grown to become Catamount Arts, now northern New England’s largest independent arts center, which helped found other cultural organizations such as Circus Smirkus and Kingdom County Productions. Today, it is responsible for a diversified program in film, music, theater, dance and visual art that enhances the lives of residents throughout northern Vermont and New Hampshire.
In its early years, Catamount Arts operated from a modest building located next door to St. Johnsbury’s Masonic Temple. In 2005, the Masonic Lodge gifted the building to Catamount Arts, and today the newly renovated arts center is central to the St. Johnsbury community, offering an array of artistic programs that often include world-class films and premier performers, in addition to simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet and London’s National Theatre. An annex building hosts art education programs for children and adults, an EPIC Music Program in conjunction with St. Johnsbury schools and a spring Film Slam for almost 200 kids who want to make films.
Catamount’s third annual competitive art exhibition “ArtsConnect,” which opened in December and runs through February 16, was juried by John R. Stomberg, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. The exhibit received almost 600 pieces for consideration; 77 works by established and emerging artists were selected.
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MAKING CONNECTIONS: WITH DONNA DODSON
RINGKØBING INTERNATIONAL WOODSCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM IN DENMARK
by Donna Dodson
Last winter, I was anticipating a quiet summer in my studio. However, on March 21 an invitation to participate in the Ringkøbing International Woodsculpture Symposium in Denmark arrived in my inbox, followed on April 14 by an invitation to the Keelung Artist in Residency project at the National Museum of Marine Science & Technology. That shifted my springtime into high gear, preparing for a summer of international travel, cultural exchange and art-making. Oh, and did I mention that my husband, Andy Moerlein, was also selected to participate in both projects? Our excitement was off the charts.
After I arrived at the Billund Airport in Denmark, the cultural minister of Ringkøbing whisked me through the fields and flatlands of the Danish countryside to the coastal town on a fjord where I would be spending the next 10 days. Waiting on the town green next to the fjord were 12 giant oak logs, each one tagged with the name of one of the participating sculptors. Over the next few days, more sculptors arrived from Estonia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Israel, Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria. A few of us prodded and poked at our logs on Sunday, but on Monday the real work began with gas and electric chain saws, grinders and belt sanders as well as chisels, mallets and gas torches.
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CORNERED: OLIVIA BERNARD
INTERVIEW
WHAT LIES BETWEEN, RECENT WORKS BY OLIVIA BERNARD
ORESMAN GALLERY BROWN FINE ARTS CENTER
SMITH COLLEGE
22 ELM STREET NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS
by Elizabeth Michelman
Olivia Bernard’s sculpture has always spoken through the fingertips to the whole body. No matter how flat a piece becomes, there’s always another side — and always a sense of inside and outside. It’s tempting to read her small glass panels and attenuated sheets of handmade paper as following within the traditions of abstract or color field painting. But Bernard is neither a painter nor a follower and has no interest in carrying forward the ideological, political or art-historical agenda of abstract painting today. Her 3-D sculpture and installation is grounded in minimalism, feminism and process art. Drawing has always been an extension of her 3-D exploration; she approaches the surface not as a field of visual experimentation but as an exploration of her personal boundaries.
In October, at Smith College’s Brown Fine Arts Center, Bernard will be showing two groups of smaller, relatively flat, wall-mounted work. These employ simple, low-tech materials, as usual, to explore the sensation of translucency. As in her larger sculptures and installations, which have shifted from poured Hydrocal carapaces to handmade paper over wire mesh, the materials in the current works are vitalized in an alchemical transformation from liquid to solid. The “Glass/Wax” series involves a process of dipping glass panes in hot wax, while the “Embedded” series fixes linear structures into stable forms in wet paper pulp.
The materiality of Bernard’s works forces us to reconsider our notions of both “flatness” and “drawing.” Her avoidance of traditional frames forces us to see these forms, in spite of their thinness and rectilinearity, as objects. In the “Glass/Wax” series, the work is not hidden behind glass; the glass pane, which serves as both surface and structure, is itself the work. Leaning against the wall and supported only by a narrow steel flange, each naked pane is at risk from vibration and mishandling. Likewise, Bernard refuses to confine the handmade paper sheets of the “Embedded” series. She floats them over an invisible Plexiglas substrate projecting a few inches off the wall, where they are subject to air currents, gravity, and electrostatic attraction.
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Sachiko Akiyama: Between Here and There
By Kristin Wissler
Boston, MA – By the time I arrived at the opening reception for Sachiko Akiyama’s “Between Here and There” exhibition at Matter & Light Fine Art, one of the newest galleries in Boston’s SoWa District, there was a crowd of people in and around the gallery, eager to see the works. The atmosphere was lively and energetic, a contrast from the calm and serenity provided by Akiyama’s pieces.
Curated by Nina Nielson, former proprietor of the Nielson Gallery, “Between Here and There” features mainly sculptures. Akiyama’s work is handcrafted, and it’s easy to see the love she puts into her pieces. The sculptures have a quiet, emotional beauty to them, which Nielson and Ian Corbin, the director of Matter & Light, deeply appreciate.
“I favor art that isn’t just for drama or entertainment,” said Nielson. “I want feeling and voice.” Akiyama’s Japanese heritage is the driving force behind her own voice, lending to the peaceful yet powerful presence her works create. “Her work has real seriousness and depth, but has deep human compassion as well,” Corbin said. Indeed, many of the elements that characterize her work play into both those categories, from the handcrafted style to the content of the image itself.
One sculpture in particular, “Between Dream and Memory,” captures this duality well. It depicts a young, barefoot Japanese girl in a red dress, using both arms to hold a crane nearly as big as she is. Neither the bird or the girl are particularly emotive; indeed, the girl’s expression is nearly blank. This is part of what gives the sculpture a calm, dreamy quality. At the same time, it underscores the silent power of the girl, steadfastly holding onto the crane.
Akiyama’s handcrafting is evident in the piece, giving it an element of care and love, while also making the subject tangible and solid. The title of the sculpture leads the viewer to ask which elements are real, and which ones are exaggerated or completely imagined. The emotionality of the work, however, is unquestionably true.
However, the sculptures weren’t the only works of art present at the reception. Also at Matter & Light that night (Sept. 16) was Chimera New Music, a Boston-based collective. Their performance, titled “Mirror in Mirror,” mainly featured pieces by Estonian classical and religious composer Arvo Pärt.
When asked why this music was paired with Akiyama’s work, Corbin explained that he had met the collective of musicians while working at a different gallery. “They had just applied for a grant to do interdisciplinary projects,” he said, “It was good timing.” With Nielson’s help, he and Chimera New Music found composers and compositions that fit Akiyama’s work.
“I like Pärt’s work for the same reasons I like Sachiko’s,” Nielson explained. “Music is a moving thing, just like the sculptures. You move through the sculptures; the music moves through you.”
Interestingly enough, the viewer’s responses to the inclusion of music were somewhat mixed. Some people said the music made them look at the art differently and associate certain compositions with certain artworks, giving them a bigger appreciation for both. Others, on the other hand, felt that one art form distracted them from the other, hampering their enjoyment of the pieces. Luckily, most people were in
the former camp.
I, too, felt that the music and the art worked well together. The gentle yet powerful notes melded perfectly with Akiyama’s serene and solid works, and each enhanced the other. Nielson told me that when she looks at an artist’s work, she asks, “Will the art be as powerful in 5,000 years as it is now? Will people still appreciate it?” In regards to Akiyama’s work, the answer is clear.
(“Sachiko Akiyama: Between Here and There” continues through Oct. 31 at Matter & Light Fine Art, 63 Thayer St., Boston, Mass. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from noon-6 p.m., on Sunday from noon-4 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, call (857-990-3931.)
Capsule Preview: Dodson & Moerlein Boston Sculptors Gallery
DONNA DODSON: ZODIAC & ANDY MOERLEIN: GEOLOGY
by Brian Goslow
Boston, MA – Donna Dodson’s “Zodiac” sculptures & “Andy Moerlein: Geology” (featuring 30 new sculptural works created over the past year) goes on view today at Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston. There are a series of events tied to the show, including a reception this Friday (Sept. 9) from 5-8 p.m. and “The Art of Collecting: A Forum Talk and Luncheon” sponsored by the gallery & Boston Art Dealers Association talk on Saturday (Sept. 10) from noon-2 p.m.
“Informed by Moerlein’s enthusiasm for scholars’ rocks, the ‘Geology’ will include found rocks, ceramic pieces, wood carvings, and sculptures in other media reinterpreting this ancient Chinese art form. The Chinese tradition of collecting scholars’ rocks involves the elegant presentation of precious and adored stones for contemplation and enjoyment. Often the result of artisanal intervention, the intricate structure of the stones may be deeply carved and drilled, or surfaced with smoothed facets to achieve an authentic “natural” look.
“Moerlein’s investigation of authenticity and artifice embraces many different materials and surfaces. Geology includes beautifully crafted wood and ceramics with surfaces that have been flame textured, wire brushed, carved, painted, or distressed. While many are intimate palm-sized objects, the show also features monumental sculptures.”
“In her newest body of sculptural work, Dodson has created two parallel series, referencing both the animal characters associated with the Chinese, or Eastern zodiac, as well as the sun signs of the Western zodiac. Dodson’s exhibition offers us a menagerie of compelling creatures carved in wood. Based on birth years from the beginning of time to the present day, the Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. Each of the 12 animal characters is believed to possess distinct attributes. With roots in ancient Egypt and Greece, the Western zodiac is based on astrological constellations corresponding to the sun’s position at birth. Over time, each of these constellations has assumed their own unique mythological identity.
“Carving has taken a new direction in Dodson’s work, and technical surprises and breakthroughs abound. Due to a windfall of wood, she has been able to experiment, creating sculpture in woods such as mulberry, apple, spalted maple and cherry. The anthropomorphic deities in Dodson’s signature work have morphed into allegories, icons and symbols in which realism and representation play a greater role.”
For a complete rundown of related events, visit http://www.bostonsculptors.com. Boston Sculptors Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon-6 p.m.; for more information, call (617) 482-7781.
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