Line_Red 1, Oil Paint on Korean Paper, 2016

 

The Meaning of Meaninglessness – Instantaneousness

Since the 19th century, many artists have introduced story structure, i.e. narrative, into their works in order to deliver messages. Artists planted many symbolic elements into their work and audiences were left to discover and decipher them. Such intellectual process effectively neglects the beauty of a painting itself, and instead elevates the prosaic and literal mechanisms of the work that carries out the political agenda behind it. One is no longer able to simply ‘see’ art, but must rather scrutinize it through detailed deconstruction in order to understand it. I do not think that great art can only be conceived by those who capture meaningful ideas and encrypt messages into their artwork. While there are many ways to create art in this manner, I believe it is important to embrace meaning from meaninglessness. Simply start by putting colour to blank paper, without a plan or agenda. Various colours mix and overlap eventually filling the whole canvas. At the end of this iterative and unplanned process, a work is complete by the conclusive action of a single line of one color. Hence, every choice occurs instantaneously - the choice of colour, the shape of the work, from moment to moment, until the moment drawing ceases.

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To paint without meaning: a creative process without planning requires an artist's unconscious and/or subconscious drive, that is, the artist's choice at every instantaneous moment, and expresses the instantaneous value of the creation. Such expression perceived through unconscious acts helps to create work that sees through its creator. Through colour and form, emotion is written and perceived in the work. Colour becomes an important vehicle. Yet the language of colour varies amongst all people and is subjective to individual circumstances, moods and environments.

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Ultimately, colour is intimately connected to emotion. Therefore, it can be said that all aspects of colour-emotion, form-action occur through unconscious perception. This draws out naturally on a single piece of paper, and that single piece of paper draws its creator.