The Brilliant Plays of Lines Condensed by Energy
of Life
Written by Shin, Hang-Seop / Art Critic
It has been apparently felt that
the artwork of Lee, Doo-Shik is overwhelmed by an energy of life. Among
all others, the dynamically delineated lines alive stretched and the primitively
colored image of hues have meticulously harmonized, and the heps pouring
out from it would certainly evoke our sentiment as well as straining the
viewers. Set aside of the matters including his art forms whether it is
abstract or concrete, or of aesthetic
value or ugliness, the specific and general impression
of his art works would certainly evoke our sentiment with its intensive
visual images. Thus his art works would approach the viewers all at once
so directly and intuitively without allowing a time for appreciation; so
instantly reflecting toward the viewers after all. For him, a painting would
merely be piece of common event in his everyday life.
But, as in the case of his regular
routine activity he would never be accustomed in artwork in a manner of
mechanical behavior, but in most cases he would proceed it as though it
was presiding a devout religious ritual. And, furthermore, in what situation
he may place himself with any matters related, he would always keep on an
outgoing posture toward the public so that he may be able to maintain a
sole relationship with the everyday affairs directly or indirectly. His
daily feeling and seeing the objects in his everyday life would wholly offer
the motivation of capturing motif of his art work, or rarely at times they
would contrarily become a cause of restraint. However, under any circumstance
the aesthetic ecstasy or impact of artistic creation evoked by the miscellaneous
daily affairs would eventually rigidly controlled and subjected to his inner
order.
In addition to the above, it has been significantly noted that the objects
appearing on the surface of his paintings are varied such as personal
figure, nudes, birds, fish, dragonflies and bicycles, etc. covering the
whole surface or partially.
And the image of croquis has been as minimally as he could to keep the
shape of object restricted. Thus he would exquisitely and spontaneously
fit the leading situation by the subtract image. It is therefore his intention
is not oppose against the abstract form, but he would accomplish a role
to infuse vitality and strain over the pictorial surface as a merit of
aesthetic value. The very principle of the formative world and grave scale
of art work pursued by Lee would be outlined and condensed in the Oriental
thought and Korean traditional sentiment along with sense of animation.
To describe it specifically, his art world is characterized by the well
balanced and combined elements of the dual cosmic force and the Five Primary
Substance plus Korean sentiment contained in the five cardinal colors.
In addition, with such a delicate and though in depth, his paintings have
been provided with a comprehensive version of texture as a formative narration.
Even though his paintings are prepared with a double structure with
abstract and concrete forms together, they are far from the works difficult
in reading by the viewers.
Actually, Lee would never keep a forcible posture against his viewers
by persistently insisting on his right of creation of art. Instead, he
always recognized that a painting should be provided with objects to offer
pleasure to the viewers, to read the texture and to offer a door hand
to appreciate and contemplating the artistic value of his painting. That
is the reason why he would adopt concrete form of the objects partially.
It would be the least kindness and considerations of the contemporary
art toward the viewers and common art lovers. In this connection, Lee¡¯s
celebrity in the art community in Korea is not only conspicuous compared
with other renowned artists but also his personal acquaintance has broadly
been extended to the overseas, regarding his readily established achievement.
It is also quite noticeable to us that every formative elements of his
art works including dots, delineated lines hues, balanced proportions,
harmony and integration of the objects arranged have all together concentrated
in to the images with full of peps. These points of conspicuous merits
of his painting is closely related to the very facts of exhaleration,
pleasant and clear image and the brilliant hues. Paraphrasing, there is
no obscure and ambiguous expression in his paintings, but all of the delineated
images are filled with the artist¡¯s self-confidence. It is therefore his
artwork has been carried out through basis of a firm confidence, and in
fact Lee has persistently kept on the formative cognition and formative
version ever since his early artwork. The rapidly changing contemporary
art is so far least disturbed his artwork attitude and artistic view at
all, and along the basis of the Oriental thought and philosophy he has
recognized and accepted the manifestation of Korean sentiment as an ultimate
value in his artwork.
Consequently, he has magnificently built up a formative world hardly
comparable with others, and his art works are particularly complicated
regarding the attribution of the contemporary art which is likely to be
symbolized by
monochrome and minimalism. So much, Lee has chosen quite different way
of work. His paintings, as a whole, represents as a genuine record of
the artist in connection with this everyday life, being confined in the
complex and irregular life style of the contemporaries. Therefore, his
art work have shown his individuality by representing brilliant hues of
his own formative version.
Lee, Doo Shik¡¯s start as a painter
went along with the enthusiasm of informel and abstract expressionism in
the 60s. However, the fact that he was interested in the conventional world
of ¡®Mandara¡¯ or the Shamanism world in the ¡®series associated with colors
of danchung¡¯ during the time when it was easier to fall into the recognition
of Western fine art is not something unusual when considering his artistic
world in a diachronic way. The typical works symbolyzing Lee, Doo Shik used
to be in forms of pencil drawing on paper which was said to be conspicuous
at the time.
On the whole, such techniques presented a drawing
and the characteristics of esquisse sensuosly. These works called ¡®a Prayer
for life¡¯ uses the advanced installation and techniques freely by first
putting the indefinate external forms in the center.
From the mid 80s, his works approaches in a more intense and explosive impression
because the central technique of hyper realistic description dependant on
drawings and watercolors in ¡®a Prayer for life¡¯ jumps in to an intense and
explosive format. His artistic world rescognized the beauty of drawing at
the period when hands slept and was thought to be insignificant
»ýÀÇ ±â¿ø 1986
»ýÀÇ ±â¿ø 1983
even in the art world. This was his contribution without doubt. Henceforth,
his pencil drawings and watercolor works representing his style met a
significant turning point and turned to working on the series of ¡®Urban
Festivals¡¯. In this series he mainly worked on canvases. However, his
static description of hyper realism disappeared and rough, free lines
along with passionate emotions of colors overwhelms the picture. Oh, Gwang
Soo destribed this as ¡®a realisation of inner energy fulfilled with life¡¯.
However, his continuing world of elements of informel and realism had
strangely located itself in the descriptions of women¡¯s body shown in
¡®a prayer for life¡¯. Moreover, new images such as butterflies, bul-go-gi,
dragon flies and stairs were combined with colors and forms that were
built harmoniously. This is not is merely a rendez-vous of expressionism
and figuratif art or a new formation of natural image. Such musical brush
strokes made by the colors in techinical composition of picture contributes
to Lee, Doo Shik¡¯s creative formativeness and marks.
His drawing brush strokes and its characteristics shown in his art works
shows to be constantly influential from his former paper works and canvas
works. At times, the improvised and direct techniques, which may seem
to be an extreme pleasantry of oriental art, displays an emotion of entangled
orchestras made of passion and function. Furthermore, it is important
to focus on the meaning of colors, which is a significant characteristic
of his works. His works are very strong and primitive in colors and can
be said to be colorist paintings. His recognition of artistic colors already
began in 1972 shown through his work called ¡®Festival¡¯. However, such
characteristics based on red, blue, yellow, black and white originates
from the traditional Oh Bang Saik(five basic colors)
but the Oh Bang Saik in Lee, Doo Shik¡¯s picture,
as the critic, Yoon, Jin Sub, had already pointed out in his theory on
artists, is a color of basic life form often seen in Dan Chungs or Buddist
Art, Shaminism Art and folk crafts. He opens up is field of art with the
use of rish colors based on these originality and the free composition.
The informel gesture in his earlier works and the vibrant colors and formative
harmony that continues from the silent atmosphere to the urban festival
as shown in the ¡®Prayer for life¡¯ greatly contrasts with artists who generally
adopted patterns. The use of colors and such techniques leaves a mark
in the history of korean art.
The streangth Lee, Doo Shik totally plaited now drives its flag on a new
land. Recently, the Third Period that symbolyzed Lee, Doo Shik¡¯s Golden
Age, as many critics have classified, has now moved on to the Fourth Period
which is the seasons full of maturity.
Such sign are clearly visible
in the series of ¡®Festivals¡¯ without names he is recently working on.
In particular, in the primitive colors that were freely used, he longs
for a more temperate use of colors, and in his unhindered form of passion,
he searches for a new study of image through restricted reason. In here,
like Francis, he is convinced that his passage is the right way, which
is a harmonious world with combination of colors dependant on drawing
and the concept of drawing. However, he now needs to reside more longer
in his paintings on his way to another big world and need to learn how
to keep one hand empty because it is necessary to keep on hand empty for
the more beautiful work that may appear on the way.
The passion of life immanent within the consciousness of Korea through
the art works. I have never seen a line so conspicuously brilliant, nimble
and refined smartness. Without being restrained and least related to an
formative world of other¡¯s. his delineated lines would sufficiently offer
us an ultimate beauty of art work. The very play of line and stimulating
hues he has suggested us would enable us convinced what is the essence
of the aesthetic value of Korean art.