ART21 PROJECTCHAE-YUN MANDY LIM

ARTT 103

Do-Ho Suh"Some/One," 2001

Stainless steel military dog tags, nickel-plated copper sheets, steel

structure, glass fiber reinforced resin, rubber sheets

Three-Dimensional Object

For this artwork, Do-Ho Suh utilized thousands of military dog tags in order to create this masterpiece. Suh covered the entire floor of the room with the dog tags and then created an armor-like steel body in the center. Mirrors surround the empty

interior of the armor. Through “Some/One,” Suh focuses on the notion of personal and public space and the idea of individualism

versus collective. For example, one dog tag can represent the identity of an individual; however, collectively as a whole, the dog

tags represent the group of individuals who experienced the same event. In addition,

Suh demonstrates strength in numbers through this artwork. By utilizing the mirror inside the armor, the individual can develop a personal space in which he can ruminate

about his identity.

Mandy Lim“As One,” 2014Media: Plastic

The IDs of these College Park students also represent the

individualism and collectiveness of a group. Single identification card

represents the identity of the individual: it states who the person

is and to which organization the individual is affiliated to. An ID

represents one person. However, by combining all the IDs together, the

individual loses his sense of uniqueness and becomes part of a

whole, which in this case represents the Class of 2015 at University of

Maryland, College Park and the huge Asian population on campus. Also, the IDs are placed in one straight line to represent the uniformity of

the group. By doing this, the individual is left to think about his importance as one independent

entity and as a part of the bigger picture.

Zhang Huan“To Raise the Water Level in a Fish Pond,” August 15, 1997

Performance Documentation, C-Print on Fuji archival paper, 60x90 in

Zhang Huan’s performance documentation is similar to Suh’s sculpture of the military dog tags in a sense that it also focuses on the idea of individualism versus collectiveness. For example, in order to protest against government’s unfair use of power, Chinese workers, who lost their jobs to the modernization of

China, decided to stand in the pond. Even though this act would not create political controversy, it worked as a “an act of human poetry – the human mass serving as a metaphor for the Chinese

masses…” (Sayre, 539). Standing as one individual, a person would not be able to make much of a statement in this photo; however, by standing together, this group of people was able to show the power

of group collectiveness and stood to represent the whole Chinese working population.

Vija Celmins"Web #2," 2000-2001

Oil on linen, 15 x 18 inchesTwo-Dimensional Space

Vija Celmins finds her inspirations from natural scenes and then transcribes the image to fit her tastes. In the case of

“Web #2,” Celmins attempted to demonstrate the ephemeral state of the

web by incorporating the accurate, naturalistic details and the delicate

imperfections of the spider web in this image. By doing so, Celmins created an

artwork that evokes a “sense of discovery and wonder” (Art21) from the

audience. In addition, “Web #2” captivates the audience with its intricate

detail, drawing the individual to touch the image to verify whether the image is

a real or not.

Mandy Lim2014

Media: WoodThree-Dimensional Space

This naturalistic scene, containing the burning of the firewood, captures the ephemeral qualities of the wood itself. This image demonstrates how the fire and the wood work together in order to create a sense of awe and wonder. This metaphorical image helps the audience relate life to the transient qualities of the burning firewood: life moments come and pass by in a matter of seconds, just like how quickly the wood can burn.

Even though the fire has enveloped majority of the wood, you can still see the intricate details of the firewood that has yet to be affected by the fire. Not only that, you can also see the fine details of the parts of the wood that are lit on fire. Just like Celmins’ image, this image serves as an example of “organic detail

and the elegance of imperfection” (Art21).

Attributed to Soami“Garden of the Dasisen-in of

Daitokyuji,” 1510-25

This garden, created for Soami, fosters the ideas Celmins utilizes in her

artworks. For example, Celmin focuses heavily on the intricate details of

landscape, object, etc. This image of the garden captures the tiniest of details: the tiny pebbles on the ground, the

texture of the rocks, and the patterns of the vegetation. Also, similar to Celmins’ works, this garden supports a simple, yet

descriptive image. Constructed and artificially made by humans, this garden evokes a sense of awe and astonishment

from the audience.

Jenny Holzer"WISH LIST BLACK," detail, 2006

Oil on linen; 16 panels, 33 x 408 inches

Jenny Holzer uses art as a method to inform her audience on a specific subject such as torture and power corruption. She utilizes language to evoke an emotion out of her audience. For example, in her artwork, “WISH LIST BLACK,” Holzer uses a real, official government document regarding torture methods demonstrated on war

prisoners. By blackening the background, Holzer creates a sense of melancholy,

depression, and desolation in concurrence to the topic of the artwork. Holzer’s simple yet powerful method “provokes a response

in the viewer” (Art21) and forces the audience to think about the universal

corruption that occurs everyday.

Mandy Lim“Survivor,” 2014

Media: Computer Paper and Ink

Two-Dimension

This artwork mirrors the powerful messages Holzer conveys in her projects. My response focuses on

society’s double standards regarding women. Many women who are raped do not face justice

because they are shamed into believing that everything was

their fault. I changed my image from color to black and white to make the image stronger and

more impactful. Also, certain key words are bolded, italicized,

underlined, or crossed-out to give them more weight and meaning. Using curt yet precise language

allowed for me to evoke stronger emotion from the audience.

Barbara Kruger“Untitled (We won’t play nature to

your culture),” 1983Photostat, red painted wood frame.

73x49 in

This feminist artwork, created by Barbara Kruger, is similar to works made by

Holzer because it addresses a problem in society. Not only that, Kruger

incorporates language and image to express her opinion on the topic. For

example, by adding the sentence, “We won’t play nature to your culture,” Kruger

“exposes the traditional nature/culture dichotomy for what it is…” (Sayre, 534)

which refers to the dominant power males have over women. Using this

image, Kruger firmly states her stance on the matter.

BIBLIOGRAPY

ART21. (2001-2014). ART21. RETRIEVED JANUARY 22, 2014, FROM WWW.ART21.ORG/

SAYRE, HENRY M. A WORLD OF ART. 7TH ED. UPPER SADDLE RIVER: PEARSON EDUCATION, 2013. PRINT.