The opposed standing between the abstract and realism artist has traditionally dominated our art history. The abstract theory appeared in 1974, apposing against the National Art Exhibition(NAE)-led extreme realism atmosphere and insisting that it is unnecessary.
The NAE agreed with the opinion and started to hold the classified exhibitions between the abstract and realism painting by the section. This exhibition has been so far operated by mainly proper powerful veterans and leading artists.
The NAE attempted for the newer transition for the effective
Untitled 35 x 30cm 1998
co-existence between the abstract and realism and more creative development, but the conflict between the both further became worsen by the early 1990s, leaving the hurt to the restoration of Korean arts own and their creation activities.
For example, the realism fall into a slump by receiving the arts from other advanced countries(Japan and western countries etc.) without criticism, and wasted its time and resources for 50 years without almost doing nothing, which means it made Korea the backward cultural country, with imitating, plagiarism and forged works. On the contrary, the abstract theory advocacies the modern arts and it has been positioned as the uniformity and temporary arts with the
installation and objects, which disappeared after performance.
The way I see it, the advanced countries do not generally encourage the nonsense competition by dividing the tradition, modern arts, realism and abstract, and they do not place the discrimination by the genre and by the styles. The world famous artist Picasso also covers all the genre including the surrealism, cubism, abstract, sculpture and handicraft and so on. From time to time, I think our arts environment is false when I see that the artists stick only to their frequent objects or styles. It is originated from some veterans and seniors publicizing the name and commercialism to make the nonsense arts environment, enough to fall to the backward cultural history.
Untitled 76 x 53cm
The Cho, Eun Boon's exhibition held in the Daebaek Plaza Gallary in Daegu City in the last October, is considered to have the intermediate meaning for the arts she has pursued. As her works indicate, her mentalism and them is embroidered on the canvas in the implicated language of the shapes and images titled 'Untitled'. The strong and speedy brush touch represents the esthetics of the vital freedom made from the sublimation of lines and sides. Like others, this artist spent her early study period practicing the realism styles. However, as the abstract expressionism appeared in 1960s and 1970s in the world of artists, she turned to the expressionism in the early 1980s. Her considerations on many aspects contributed to such changed career path, including on the opposition to the limited expression in the squared canvas and the lengthy explanation for the subject, and the desire to fly over the limitless space. Such purpose is achieved only in the expressionism.
Untitled 150 x 115cm 1997
The artist Cho, Eun Boon has dedicated to the modern arts style consistently for more than 25 years, setting it as the best beauty in her inherent language of arts.
This attitude is in the same context of the extreme situation of the existential philosophy and 'Yucheonhuihae' theory by Chusa, in the point that it sticks to own originality like nobody. Nohjang arts theory indicated that 'The paintings are acquired by the 'ki(energy)' not by eyes, ears or heart.'. The profound abstract expressionism theory is connected to the human inside.
Untitled 49 x 34cm
The artist Cho, Eun Boon describes it on her works note as follows:
¡®I am extremely afraid of speaking and writing. That is how I draw.'. She pointed out 3 elements for the good paintings. 'First, the paintings keeps alive feeling. It is right to say the arts is everlasting when the picture is alive. Second, there should be feeling. It is meaningless if it cannot make the audiences feel impressed. Third, there should be freedom. It is not possible to create the restricted expression. The art works is the artists' portrait and all about, and there should be the freedom in his/her behaviors with the esthetics of freedom.' I found it is almost same with myusual insist 1. Beautiful 2. Impressive 3. Everlasting.
She clearly represents her position regarding the arts behavior as an artist and an educator.
Untitled 30 x 25cm 1992
I had kept the friendship with Professor Yu, Gyeong Chae, the founder of the Creative Arts Association, who was awarded from the President with his works, the representative realism style in Korea. Such great works are rare in Korea, but he turned to the abstract art in his later years and found the Creative Arts Association. He insisted that the drawing nature was something like restraint. He explained that he started to sketch and draw all the objects from the nature, after turning around from the nature to remove their shape seen in the retina and brain. He faced the restraint conflicting the existence and tried to escape from the restraint even in his late days, finding it in the abstract paintings.
Cho, Eun Boon's World of Art
Since 1980, she turned to the Abstract Expressionism and accumulated experiences almost for 25 years. In her early stage, she had learned a wide range of the realism styles including the dessin, rough sketchi and drawing and so on, like other painters. She enjoyed the silent talks with nature and then transform the subject on the canvas when she felt sympathized. After she joined the Abstract Expressionism in 1980s, she expressed the latticed pattern and images in her works 'Untitled' in 1983. This works speak for the resistance to wish for the escape for the restraint. Another 'Untitled' announced in 1989, is made of the mixed materials, in which
Untitled 72 x 60cm
the colored points with the mixed materials make the wild, speedy, free and wild shapes. 'Untitled' in 1992 has the floated image of the city structures. 'Untitled' in 1997 is known as the shape of the gold-colored Mobius band. 'Untitled' made of mixed materials in 2001 represented the image of the parallel verse couplet. 'Untitled' made of mixed materials in 2001 seems to express the gorgeous fantasy world and the human utopia seeking for truth.
The yellow colored side and colored points, winding brush touch and the shape of the ship would represent the valley of hope at anchor to the Utopia in the other side. According to the artist, it has been made from the unconsciousness not from the intentions. It is in the same context with the opinions of the master painter Yu Gyeong Chae of Creative Arts Association. However, I see that all the produced images and shapes came from the artists' mentality and inspiration, because the artists'
act is inherent own things and languages that may not be done by anybody. According to the artist, the works in this exhibition in the last October recall various shapes of images including the signs, characters, city structures and trees in the nature, but she says they meant nothing to herself. She explained that her speedy bush touch, the strong oblique lines and the expression of the liveliness are her means to be in pursuit for the ultimate purposes of the arts and to pray for the beautiful humanism, forever beauty and true world through the arts.
Conclusion
The artist Cho, Eun Boon has been in pursuit of the vitality, impression and everlasting in her mentalism and theme. All of them exist for the human beings. She mastered various experiments and methods to escape from the style restricts or expression methodology. The nature of the arts oriented by this artist is the absolute release from the objects and the esthetics of the wild freedom. I expect how far her arts will achieve in the future.