Kim Sung Soo

I visited my friend, CBNU graduate student Kim Sung Soo at his first solo exhibit this afternoon. I pass the spacious gallery and art-space daily on the way to the shop and finally stopped in for a show. I took a few snaps amidst our lovely talk. I just want to share a few thoughts about his work.

His last show featured the bear sculpture seen at this link ,and his first in series the cat ( Moonbug). What struck me then about the work, especially the bear was the presence, the material and narrative.

When approaching Bandalgom Village and George's Island ( the tortoise), the creatures have this large mammalian form which is inviting. I want to hug the over-sized teddy bear and pat the head of the tortoise which is at belly height- like a pony or massive dog coming in for a rub from the human. The treatment of the animals are cartoonish, light and fluffy in comical or animation style. However , two features distinguish these challenging works from pointless kitsch representation.

What renders the seemingly cuddly animal forms into his genuine interpretations of the natural world, are the the material use, and what I realized today, the treatment of the eyes.

Normally steel sculptures are cold and uninviting physically. Steel or metal artisitic creations look heavy and permanent, destined to be cast in cement in parks: immovable masses that won't be harmed when you bump into them. Like busts and statues of stone or bronze which speak of permanence , hopeful heroism, and supposed immortality, steel sculptures say more about the egos and aspirations of their creators than provoke genuine introspection on form or function. Sungsoo's whimsical creatures lend none of this to their weight and mass. On the contrary, they look light and fluffy, especially with the energetic colors of the recent pieces. It is the method of using steel , meticulously welding irregular squares into organic forms which take away the impersonal sense of the ironwork. Furthermore, the gestures, faces and form of the animals are both gentle and unprovoking, raising the comfort level of the viewer dramatically.

The eyes of his great beasts are but slits; small holes which don't distinguish the creature much more than giving credo to the familiar form of a visage. This subtle detail is what separates his animals from every day teddy bear stuffed animal images which all have over-sized, over dramatized facial expressions and friendly eyes. The animal world doesn't use eyesight the way humans do, yet we inflict our species' bias on the language of sight and visual communication, expecting animals to react the same way. When visiting animals in a zoo, people will be less enthralled with impassive creatures than those ( like our domesticated house pets who read our eyes for information, attuned to our communication methods) who may gaze at them and have eye contact even fleetingly. Sungsoo's animals retain their charm without falling into the trap of cliche misrepresentations of nature.

Some of the forms tell stories as well, with village scenes in the bellies of the beasts. I'll let viewers interpret those for themselves. Successful art provokes both emotion and thought, two distinguishing features which Sungsoo has very well achieved here.

The material and the method used to form the sculptures offer much potential in this series of work. The use of color or not, the wide array of possible - and possibly eccentric- animal choices ( already used Galapagos tortoises and armadillos), the inclusion of lights, variety of sizes and postures all offer infinite possibilities for this promising young artist. I'm excited and look forward to see what he creates next. With patience of course, these are quite labor intensive works.