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Is it This
or That? Professor
Eric Maier Paris-Cergy
National Supérieure des Arts (Constancy
and Mutation) In the history of painting, the taxidermy of faces is an evident and
compulsive act of identification. Although it has a firm and immutable
persistence, it does not give any awareness to doubt it. This is because the
form here paradoxically disappears through exaggeration upon appearing. The
constancy that disappears to mutate remains as its witness and the actual value
of mutated. Of course, the paradox seen in the form symbolically strikes the problem
of self-portrait. Here, only questions without answers remain. One of the most
beautiful self-portraits is three works by Albrecht Dürer. Dürer expresses
himself by drawing a body that looks like Christ, holding a thistle, gloves,
and sometimes a fur coat. In his self-portrait wearing a fur coat, Dürer wrote,
“I, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, painted myself like this at the age of 28
with unchanging colors.” I will not compare the characteristics of Dürer's self-portrait and Kim
Jihee's work. But we already share many points in these two self-portraits.
‘Transformation,’ strategically used in the work, acquires immutable fixity by
expanding and completing the theme and conveying meaning. Still, we are
reminded of immutability through the persistence of this shape that looks at
us. The eyes of the face in Kim Jihee's work are obscured, so we cannot gauge
its gaze, but the figure faces us nonetheless. And while she affirms herself in
the painting, she doubts us. (Post Pop) There is no doubt that the stuffed eternity seen in Dürer’s works and
Ecce Homo, which conveys the meaning of ‘Behold, this man,’ appears in artist
Kim Jihee’s work. However, what is more important than these figures being
stuffed and fixed is that Kim Jihee's work takes the form of post-pop art as a
material heritage with inherent purity. Her work seems to witness the era of
financial capitalism rather than the thoughts and emotions that come from a
consumer society like existing pop art. Her work paradoxically shows that
producing is less profitable than distributing and creating value. Pop art, which made pop into art, had to digest the symbols of that era.
However, today's post-pop art is coping with the current period in which the
subversive value previously seen as an indicator of victory has been lost.
Criticism of the spectacle enriches the spectacle. (female) The woman in the work is not Ecce Homo, but Ecce mulier, which means
‘look at this woman.’ Here, we are shown omnipresent in the open world of
women. In art history, an artist named Giosetta Fioroni had the double
disadvantage of being not white and a woman. As a pop artist, her work, like
artist Kim Jihee, faces us with a frontal face on the screen. What exactly is
such a typical woman? The world of women is told through powerful light and
pictorial techniques. The female figure proves itself alone in an unrealistic form in the
center of the painting. This female figure affirms her existence with her quiet
defiance and claims the right to her image. This female figure seems to know
how to evoke her historical representations and integrate them, borrowing
sophistication and seriousness simultaneously. In the excessively coded world
of women, in the abundance of symbols of excess, this character, who appears
joyful but anxious, is agonizing over whether to continue in this world or
become a victim and makes a soft and touching confession. I'd like to believe
it's a mixture of both feelings. (Evidence and Mystery) This character, established on the screen, does not speak of that
clarity. Honestly, mysterious things tend to appear in the expression of
clarity. Often, we expect unfamiliar confusion from the characters in works of
art. However, as if breaking down the illusion of looking straight ahead at the
clarity of the mystery, artist Kim Jihee's work talks about the transparency of
the mysterious in the exact opposite way. (glasses) There are glasses, and glasses, glasses everywhere. And we remember what
Søren Kierkegaard said: “Glasses hide many things. Even the tears of the eyes.”
Likewise, this idea resonates in Kim Jihee's work. If you follow the critical
method of interpreting a piece, it may be a little easier to analyze the work
of artist Kim Jihee. Kierkegaard also said, “The way I see life would be very absurd. Perhaps
an evil spirit placed glasses on a human's nose. “One pair of glasses
constantly enlarges things, and the other side constantly reduces them.” The glasses seen in artist Kim Jihee's work probably play two roles. On
the glasses, decorative patterns and special historical symbols are woven into
the global luxury brand. On the other hand, glass is connected to exotic
culture through pictorial elements. Like two glasses that exist simultaneously,
the world gives me the freedom to become mine within my eyes. The title of this article, ‘Is it This or That?’ is Kierkegaard’s
representative work. Kim Jihee's paintings do not contain the hesitations of a
Danish philosopher with ethical and aesthetic duality. Boredom is the beginning
of life, and the worry that desire drives our existence does not exist from the
start. But nothing is simple, and nothing is stable. We must return to the
question of the work's continued transformation because the object of this
desire is exchangeable, unstable, changeable, and inconsistent. The alternative
to this unfolds within the persistent choice of hedonism. Either this or that,
something probably exists either way. Moreover, as we said, we have two eyes.
We are comfortably settled in this earth filled with many materials. Therefore,
we can enjoy the freedom of not having to focus with two glasses constantly. Things I
didn't cover in this article Cruelty,
this or that? Pure color,
this or that? Smile, this
or that? Animal
nature, this or that? Attentiveness,
this or that? Animal
nature, this or that? The symbol
of the monarchy, this or that? Shining, is
it this or that? Broadness,
this or that? Galaxy,
this or that? The animal
side, this or that? Extreme
interest, this or that? Dental
brackets, this or that? Excess,
this or that? Layout
frame, this or that? Beast
nature, this or that? Old gold,
this or that? Spread,
this or that? Success,
this or that? Candy, this
or that? Cruelty,
this or that? Bloom, this
or that? Serenity,
this or that? Is it this
or that? Is it this
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