Surrealism Making Modern People Free From Lack of Philosophy

by Park, Myung-In (Art Critic / Korea Aesthetics Research Center)

Human Beings Are Yearning For An Infinite Dreamland
  It's been half a century since abstract painting was introduced. Thoughts painters want to describe are postit or realistic. Just as realism tried to describe nature or objects as realistically as possible with advancement of colors, so abstract tried to express the spiritual world positively. It was been in accord with what philosophy tried to show spiritual phenomena. So did science.

  As science and civilization are advancing, human being tends to think about mysterious dream-world, Can an automobile fly? How wonderful it would be, if automobile can fly?
Can an aircraft fly through the space? Imagination advances rapidly in the modern society. It has been expressed in cartoons and practically used in caricatures and industrial designs. Animation is a good example of it.

  In spite of the realism in Lee, Young-Hee's artistic works, his works at the same time has an apects of surrealism in his expression of the objects and use of colors.
  The railroads stretching straight forward shows the sense of distance and speed by perspective and has the artist's ideology and retrospection in it. Locometive is flying horizontally in the air and gives us solid sence of fantastic transcendence. His works are inducing imaginary composition to visual experience and are liberating our spirit this way.

Transition From Realism To Surrealism
  Comparing tendencies of art history with artist Lee's world of work, we can find remarkable new distinctive features. His works cannot be called as surrealism though it looks like surrealism, because it has several complex characteristics in it by the way of multi-subjective composition.

  A series of his realistic works were displayed at the exhibition of the year 1990 titled "Nature and Realism of Life" Flower-palanquin and a section of lumberpile were expressed with proposition of annual ring and it was a kind of surrealism as growth ring and human being's life were expressed metaphorically. From the objects which were described realistically like photo realism, delicate power of observation.

  His another way of expression was to put images of different objects on one canvas and to express complex images at the same time. His series of works of lumber revealed metaphorical images of annual ring compositely, surrealism became to show in his works.

Expression Of Life With Multi-Subjectivity
  There is no inclination which can be stipulated definitely in artist Lee's works, but are multi-subjectivity covering reality, abstract and symbolism. Delicate description of things, abstract composition of colors like red sky, appearance of symbolic things for expression of time and life history expressed as annual ring have utopia in all of them.

  Expressing real nature, he is trying to recreate his ideal nature rather than nature itself. It is the only way to create his state of life compressed in time realistically and positively. The proposition of 'Light and Time' demonstrates his world of consciousness with this multi-subjectivety. As light travels at the fastest speed, concept of time which represented by light metaphorically has unlimited imaginative power in it. That is, exceptional way of expression breaking fixed ideas of time and materials.

Expression Of Spirit By Light And Colors
  Flash on the horizon or light in the atmosphere like a white hole in the space have been an aim of paintings of artist Lee who is trying to express a fantastic world of dream.
Light is the mother's womb of colors. There is no color without light. Sky is just atmosphere, so it is colorless. Most peoples say that sky is blue, but what they see is just colored light.

  His expression of light is based in this colored light and his sky can be any colors, such as blue, red or even yellow. Expression of light shown in his works has universal wish filled in life and spirit of human being, It has concept of time, image of the past and his own life, Vast blue sky and light, variability of time being expressed with realistic images, composition colors being superior to reality and expression of unlimited story being immanent in the artist's spirit. All these are paintings with surrealistic and multi-subjective characteristics indeed.