[이원석]I, Won Seok's Allegorical Sculpture- Talks about Brutality

I, Won Seok's Allegorical Sculpture- Talks about Brutality

Choi Tae-man/art critic

Dogs and pigs appear instead of people in I Won-seok's work. I's work can be defined as allegorical sculpture, as it moves beyond the figurative representation of forms and uses anthropomorphised animals to reveal serious critique of society. As seen in Aesop's Fables, stories often use animals as their manin characters to help deliver educational or satirical messages. In this way, metamorphosis, distortion and leap of the imagination are among the characteristics of I's work. These methods help deliver messages more persuasively as well as helping to catch the viewer's attention and make them even more engaged. Being both humorous and ironic, as his work is based on the reality he sees and experiences, it is a satire, a criticism as well as a gentle warning.

This attitude that is well reflected in the five animals that stand together as a pillar. This pillar was made to match the height of a crossbeam in the exhibition hall, a space which had originally been converted from a traditional Korean house. What is interesting though is the animals' postures. As they hide their eyes, ears, and mouths with both hands, they remind me of the three monkeys in Tohsho-gu in NIkko, a shrine where the table of Tokukawa Ieyas who opened the era of bakhu is kept. This allegorical work has its origins in the lessons of Confucius. In the first section of the Anyeon chapter of the Confucian Analects, Confucius told his disciple Anyeon, who had questions about benevolence, that if it is not good manner, do not see it, hear it, speak of it, and act upon it.

Even though the Edo period, was dominated by a military regime. it chose Confucianism as the ruling principle, and the three monkeys in Tosho-gu were utilized to create an allegorical expression of the Confucian lessons. It is notable however that I's work converts them. The pillar supports a building, and at the same time servers as an axis of the ideologies upholding a society. Therefore the animals with their three postures, instead of delivering the old message not to see, hear, or speak of things that are unjust, are seen as apparatus of control and censorship which hide truth ofr the sake of keeping with ideology. In other words, the animals comprising the pillar symbolize the stupidity of the general public which has been tamed by a fascist command system that forces it not to see, hear, or speak. in addition the tacky golden color alludes to the fictitious nature of these regulations. Confucius suggested not to act upon things, unless it is good manners, but I's work excludes that point. In other words, the three animals' behaviors look faithful to their given roles, but they are depending on forceful commands, far from having any 'spontaneity'. What makes this interpretation plausible is the unusual hybrid of two different species. As a result of this hybridization, which is possible only by mutation or genetic manipulation, the creature, is a type of disaster which should not have been born.

What aggravates the ominous atmosphere is a motorbike or sidecar which keeps circling around the post. As we have seen in war films, we know that this sidecar was a vehicle of commanders for reconnoitering, and a symbol of the German Nazis during the Second World War. The driver and the passenger on seat beside him wear dog and pig masks, and therefore they server as metaphors of invasive, destructive, brutal forces against human dignity, instead of being seen literally as Nazis. The headlights that repeatedly flicker with red and blue symbolize ideology as well. In a way I find myself reminded of the Pillars of Society made by Georg Grosz in 1926 Since their defeat in the first World War and with the beginning of the Weimar republic, Germany had turned into a feudal chaos between the politics of the left and the right. Such was the incompetence of the government that Nazis rapidly gained strength. The dominant forces in German society such as the judiciary, the press, the congress, church, and military are not pillars that support democracy, but criminals ruining the country, and therefore Grosz poignantly satirized their hypocrisy utilizing the strategies of New Objectivity(In German, Neue Sachlichkeit). The character driving the motorbike looks courageous but stupid, while the guy wearing a suit next to him looks cunning yet cowardly. Anyhow, they hide themselves behind animal masks and circle around the pillar. When will they stop it? They probably will not stop unless they face a destructive climax.

What makes I borrow images of dogs and pigs? Pigs stand for gluttony, and dogs for faithfulness. It seems a pity that, even though pigs provide abundant nutrition to humanity, they are often associated with reckless gluttons with rash personalities like Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West. Gluttony is related to binging or greed. In contrast to this, Dogs are ofter described as one of the most responsible and faithful pet animals, as seen in Albrecht Dürer's wood print that depicts a dog following knights marching for the sake of their faith, but I portrays it as blind following, as seen in the word jugu, meaning 'a hound'. The crossbreeding of these two recessive genes are a disaster rather than a blessing. It is well expressed in the work of a pig mating with a dog's buttocks. The greasy pink skin of these animals caught defying the rules of nature evokes an erotic mood but at the same reveals that they are not no more that lumps of meat.

Here the associations take a further leap. The artist created this work after watching the news report of the embrace that happened at Camp David after George Bush, the ex-president of the U.S. invited the president Lee Myung-bak to visit after being elected. Lee had promised Bush the liberalization of U.S. beef imports, but after the plan faced national resistance Bush cancelled his plans to visit Korea. The Washington Post sarcastically called Lee a powerful 'contender' to Tony Blair, the ex-Prime Minister of the U.K. who was in line with Bush's premise for the Iraq war. It gave nicknames such as 'the Asian poodle', and 'official Bush lap dog' for Koizumi, the ex-Prime Minister of Japan. and Blair respectively. Even though we knew they were just joking, it was not at all pleasant for an overseas journal with considerable influences to compare these big figures to animals. Nevertheless, it is likely that the writer in Washington Post must have thought a lot before writing the article. He understood the reality of international politics as a 'hybrid', capturing the political calculation and trade hidden behind their hugs and satisfying grins.

The greasy meat lumps may be defined as by-products and a surplus of the awkward copulation. The surplus is readable in the little animals happily lying on the ground, sucking their mother's breasts. The family of pure while pigs seems close to the iconic paintings often hung on the walls of old barber shops along with the Chinese calligraphy gahwamansaseong(meaning a sweet home promises success in business), but unfortunately these are neither dogs nor pigs. When these red and blue spotted babies rush to search their moths's breasts, a naughty one stares back at the audience with a pistol in its mouth instead of a bone. A fierce yet indifferent dog stands guard in front of them, as if it protects their seemingly peaceful regimen. Perhaps though, it might be a father of these spotted beasts which are neither dogs nor pigs. This is a guess, but it is not unlikely at all. As much as a hybrid is an allegory to the reality, a baby of a black dog can also be white. In a word, it is an undeniable paradox and irony.

The artist's view of Korean society is clearly revealed through a hydraulic shovel placed on a huge architectural structure that reminds me of the Tower of Babel. This work incorporates his critical gaze toward this incumbent government which gained confidence from the Cheonggyecheon restoration projects, and forcefully pushed other projects in relation to the Korean Grand Canal, and four grand rivers. They hydraulic shovel in its restless operation on the high-stacked tower symbolizes the recklessness that exists in projects that are executed through a collusion of power and money. This tower is, however not something build on the ground but a video installed on the ceiling, probably to show that it is under construction beneath the ground. The camera was hidden under a manhole cover for a sewer on a pedestrian street. The final part of the video clip shows the artist inserting a steel rod to find out what is inside but gets angry and leaves after throwing it away. As it began from a hypothesis that there are secretive facilities in which unobvious but treacherous conspiracies are coming into play, it suggests that large-scaled civil engineering works help satisfy the greed of businessmen, whilst alienating most other people. It apparently makes an accusation of the impersonality of Capitalism through the construction that looks like the Tower of Babel Tower.

It is undeniable to say that I Won-seok has a remarkable talent, despite his modest output and the fact that he keeps some distance from work. As as critic, I assume that I need a talk of the limitations of his work, which incorporates a critical view of Korean society using an allegorical method. Viewers asking for a creation methodology within Realism may point out that his work seems overly metaphorical, and the use of already familiarized metaphors or symbols my limit further inquiry into the complicated reality within society. Even if it has gained motifs from politically sensitive issues, his work evades clearly specifying what is it. From a point of view, he has visualized the general perceptions within society toward excessive power and a political collusion which threaten humanity. However, it is meaningful that it provides viewers with an opportunity to rethink the gruesome topic of the brutality in this civilized era through the seemingly kitsch republic or a temporary stage made of plastic

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