Understanding "photograph A"

Rochester Institute of Technology

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Theses

Thesis/Dissertation Collections

2003

Understanding "photograph A"

Jun ku Yoon

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Recommended Citation

Understanding "photograph

A"

Graduate Thesis

Master of Fine Arts

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences

Rochester Institute of Technology

By

Jun ku Yoon

Spring 2003

Thesis Board Members:

Angela Kelly, Thesis Chair, Associate Professor, SPAS

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Date~

Elliott Rubenstein, Professor, SPAS

_ _ _ _ _ _

Date~

Tina Lent, Professor, College of Liberal Arts

THESIS RELEASE PERMISSION FORM

Rochester Institute of Technology

Understanding JJphotograph A"

I, Jun ku Yoon, hereby grant to permission to any individual or organization to reproduce

this thesis in whole or in part for non-commercial and non-profit purposes only.

Jun

1m

Yoon

Date

Contents

Acknowledgements iii

A Narrative inaframe 1

Description ofInstallation 5

Thepriordevelopmentto

"Understanding

photograph

A"

21

Narcologicalaspect oftheinstallation 36

Anarrativeoverthe frame 48

Works Cited 52

Acknowledgements

Iam

deeply

gratefultoprofessorAngela

Kelly,

professorElliott

Rubenstein,

professorTim

Engstromand SarahKankiewicz-Arkins_{for responding generously}to _myproposaland_appearing

in_myvideo work. Ialsowanttoexpress_mythanks to_mythesiscommitteefortheirobservations,

opinions and advice.

Andtheend of all our_exploring

Willbetoarrivewherewestarted

Andknowtheplace forthefirsttime.

A

Narrative in

a

frame

Thefront doorwas_{sage-green, shabby,} yetmade ofsteel. Weleftit

intermittently

half wayopenforJonito travel outsidelike everycrossbred

dog

intheneighborhooddoes. Withina slight variationJonihadafixed

pattern ofher outingtime. Shewould alwaysreturnhome beforesix

around whichwe wouldfeedherandnever allowherout afterwards.

One

day

Joninever cameback. As

long

as _{my memory}servesme,Joni

hadstayed with uslongerthan_anyother

dogs,

_chickens,

ducks,

turkeys,

rabbits,goldfishand a cat we

had.

Sinceanimalsinour

home

would come

andgo,all_my

family

membersknew

how

todealwithJoni's_absence,each

one_{showing his} orherownidiosyncraticexpression oftheloss. As

always Iwas_clinging

by

mom, _calculatingtheintervalsbetween

her

sigh

andgulp, thendeterminedthe

intensity

of griefIwastodisplay.

Reading

mymom'sfacewas akindof system

by

whichIverified_mymoral idea.

elo-quentof all.Icried: a_purelyselfishcry,akindofmanifestationthatpro

claimedthe_virtuosityof_my character.Itwas a_{silly belief}that_exhibiting suchlamentwas an_obligatoryservice that_everybodyexpected fromme.

Nonetheless I

had held

thebeliefthroughout_mychildhood.That

day

the

entireneighborhood

heard

me_cryingthrough thegreendoorwehad left open untilthemidnight.

OnceJoni

had

delivered

puppies-sevenmultifarious ones.

Among

allthe thingsIcould dowiththe puppies,whatIenjoyed mostwasput

ting

themintothestoriesIcame _upwith.It wasakindofadolescent

day

dreaming

over environment. Iknewasachildwhatit's liketobean

omniscient narrator how mighty hecanbewith theunchallenged author

ity

todispose characters andtoforcethemthrough thedramahewanted.

Thestorieshadeverything: sin,judgment(orrealization), andreversal.

AsIchangedthe arrangementofperformers and propertieson stagesof

mystories, theperformers,sevenpuppies,had physicallytomovefrom spotstospots.Thecomposition of aplot seemedtobealways easierthan thephysicalduration Ineedtodraw fromthe

flimsy

trotof puppies.

(Keeping

thepuppies stillwas,Iremember, aslaboriousas_catchinga

housefly

witha plastic

bag)

ForthatreasonIoften got anxious and worn

out.

(Only

if Iwouldhaveknown Icouldgeta pose fixed orderlyon a

photograph! intheseconddegree _realitythatimmortalizesa slice of

time.)

Docilewasthename Igavethesmallest andspotless_puppywhich

was

invariably

favored

by

meforthe protagonistof_{mystories,simply}

becauseitsweakandinertmovement wasfoundtobemost amenableto

poses. Each

day

_onlyDocileoutof seven puppies

had

developedthe

quixotic mind and style. Ofallthingsno other one's

morality

couldbepar

Theoriginal photographis3"

x

4"

enoughtheremotionlessatthedecisivespots fromwhicha

boy

could

deploy

various_narratives,

helping

thatsmall

boy

toferment

his

ownpecu

liar ideaoftheworld whichwouldlater becomethefundamentalframeof

his

idealization. It isDocile'sinanimatemomentsthatanimated_myjuve

nileideaofeternalvalue.

Every

spring

by

thetime forsythiasstartedtobloomlittleyellow

flowers ontheuphill road of our_{neighborhood, my}momseemed tofeel

obligatedto

buy

rollfilmandtakepictures ofus,eventhoughshecouldn't

always

buy

onefor financialreasons.

Spring

was a

busy

season.Itwasa

big

thing

forherto

have

flowersonthebackgroundwhen

taking

pictures,

thoughnone of us_reallylikedthe

idea;

my brotherandIwouldthinkastoo

sissy. Thepictureherewas onetakenin

thespringtimewhenJonigavebirthsto

seven puppies.

Idon'trememberwho wasthe

behindthe camera,yet Ialmost_vividly

recalltheimageofmyself

hustling

about,

quite_perkyatfirstand_{slowly getting}tediouswiththecompositional

arrangementItriedtoperfect forthe shooting.

Vaguely

yet_unmistakably I

stillfeeltheresonance ofthefrustration fromthe

discrepancy

that_any

artistwould experiencebetweenhisideaandthe embodiment ofit. After

allthoseyearsofeducationinphotography,Istill wonderifa singleimage

canbe asurrogatefora narrative.But a small

boy

believedthat

day

there

should analchemiccompositionthatcould epitomize a_story of

his

truly

abstractbutin "theway".

Preparing

the foregroundwas

relatively

easy: _mybrother_recliningwithhis

head pillowing

on

his

left_palm,the

was

fully

elaboratedwith_supportingactors andactresses, thepuppies

except

Docile,

thenarrator was

experiencing

a

blackout,

knowing

thatput

ting

Docile_{simply behind}the_{front setting}wouldleavetheprotagonist

inconspicuous.

Thereneededtobe

something

toupholdthepositionofDocileabove

everything

else.So

I,

_{the narrator,}enteredintotheframe. Atransitionfrom

athird toafirstperson point of view: whentheobjective propertiesofthe

scenebecomethesubjective environment. Now Iwas_squattingbehind_my

brotherinthemiddle ofthe

frame,

_raising

Docile,

the protagonist, to the

centralpoint. Asthecompositional structurebecamecomplete, the

boy

was still_{sensing something}missing, atouch thatwouldmakethe_story

more palatable. Whatcould

top

thesensationalismofhuman flesh?

Taking

myshirts off,Iwas

feeling

the

body

temperatureofDocileon_mychest

and chillbreezeof_{early spring}on_my shoulder.

Every

time I lookatthe photograph,I_{feel my}shoulders_gradually

resemblingthe onesintheimageas if I am

feeling

onthem the_verychill

breeze ofthat spring. I_{don't really}rememberhowwe didwithallthose

sevenpuppies, evenDocile.Thephotograph_onlyremindsme ofthe

day

when someonetooka picture ofus, andhowIenjoyed as a

boy

the_pup

Description

of

Installation

Installation: thelandscapeoftheartisfs_psychology

It seemsthat

talking

aboutone's own art work without_anyinstitu

tional

backup

takes alotof courage.

Nonetheless,

when oneturns toan art

institute forthetheoretical

facility,

he

has

alsotoundergo ceaseless confu

sion andself-contradictioninordertocustomize one's ownideasregard

ing

art. In_{my perplexing}yearsof art

institutions,

Iwould oftenfeel caught

up betweenincongruousideasonart;most ofthetimes_mypsychological

exhaustion wouldbesummed_upas thesyntheticidea. If there isone

thing

I

discovered,

it issuchapredispositionthat themimesis oftheworld was

considered as ananachronistic project.Theconcept of

imitating

theworld

is,

itseems,now atthe_mercy ofthepsychologicalinsightsfrom anyone

whowanttotalkaboutit. As faras _{my institutional}experience concernsit

approach-es. Platonicspeculation,which onceperpetuatedthe artworld,hasappar

entlygivenits_way totwentieth

century

ideassuch aspsychology,

hermeneutics andstructuralism.

Institutionally

_speakingart

today

refersto

nothing butitself. "Artforarf s sake"

has

long

beenthecreed of artinsti

tution, eventhoughit

has

beencalledintoquestion

by

postmodernism. The_currencyof phrase sometimeseven seemsto_{be overriding}themean

ing

of

it,

asifthemusic marketismore attentiveto the_commodityvalue

ofBeethoven's

symphony

than toitsmusicalvalue.Although_questioning

the_validityofthis_{subjugating dictum}seems out ofthe

fashion,

itwas nec

essary formetoinvestigatethequestioninordertounderstandhowit

has

inflected_mynotion aboutimage _making

during

_myyearsofinstitutions.

The efforttoreflect art_autogenouslywithinthereferenceofitself_{has only}

extended_{the abstractionism, situating}artinstitutions inthe arena ofthe

theoriesoftwentieth century.Equippedwitha certainlinguistic

formula,

artistsingeneral seemtobe

becoming

more andmoreconformable to the

unitarymarket forceinordertoestablish a_currencyof_meaningintheart

market. It

has

becomeagreat deal forartiststo communicateinanintelli

gible method that_{has commensurability}with psychologicaltheories.

Maintaining

such anintellectual

level,

art classes more oftenthannotlook like_grouppsychiatricsessionsinwhichthe artworkinthediscussioneasi

ly

reduces to thevisualepitomeofan abstracttheory. Inan attempt to

keep

upintheprevailing trend, Inaturally developed a strategic attitude tobe fluidinthe _settingofinstitutionalknowledge.

Nevertheless,

the

installation,

"Understanding

'photographA'"beganinthesuspicion of_my

understandingofart,

inquiring

intomyowntasteforart.The ideathat there couldbea

fallacy

or anillusionin_{my institutionalized}tastewas to

me as

interesting

asitsoundsidiotic and

humorous.

Thewhole ideastart

1.The institutionaleducation enables onetoexpand

his

language

faculty.

2. Theexpansion of

one'

language

faculty

influences thecommand

of

his

reasoning.

3. One's

reasoning

_capacitygovernstoconsiderable extent

his

_psy

chology; thereforeinstitutionaleducation can alterinacertain

manner one's psychology.

4.Thealterationinone's_psychologycould

have

apossible recipro

cal relation withthechangesinthemode ofhisperception.

5. One's tasteis_{substantially based}onhisperceptionandrecogni

tion.

6.Thereforeinstitutions couldworkas aninstrumentalcause for

some changeinindividuals'

taste.

Basedon such a conjectural

idea,

theoutlineforthe installationtook

aformofinvestigation intothe_psychology oftheartist. Ina mischievous

excitement, Isurveyed_mymiscellaneous memoriesconcerned with photo

graphs,and studiedthe topographicalaspect of_my own_psychologyI

have

developedinthecourse of_myart education.Thestructureofthe

installationwasplaned ontheconceptthat theenvironmentalfactof

installationwould_rhetoricallyequate thepsychologicallandscapeofthe

artist.

Postcards as aninvitation intoanarrative

Printing

and_circulatingpostcardsforart shows now seemstobe the

invariable fashionasinvitations to exhibitions, _addressingthedatesand

locations ofexhibitions.ThepostcardImade served_prettymuchthe_same,

usual

functions,

exceptIstartedfromitthepassage ofthenarrative ofthe

installation. The installation

"Understanding

'photographA' "

exhibit-edintheSPAS

Gallery,

FrankE.Gannett

Building,

onthe RITcampusfrom

Septemberfifththrough

fourteenth,

2002.

Designing

forthepostcardand

poster, I triedto

keep

everything

minimal, eliminatingall thecolors and

even

half

tones onthephotographonit.

Itwas _mycalculationthat

minimizing

informationwould enhance

the

legibility

ofthe message.Thegraphic ofitlooksalmost

iconographic,

conveying asuccinctinformationwhichjuxtaposesanillus

tratedphotograph_possiblytakenfroma

family

photo

album andthetitle ofthe show

"Understanding

photograph A"

Thejuxtapositionin itsplain_{cognizability}implies a cer

tain _{relationship between}theillustratedphotograph andthe

word "photographA". Upon_readingthe postcard, it isnot

hard

toexpectthat theexhibition would_possiblyprovide a

narrative aboutthephotograph onthepostcard.Forsuch an

implication,

disseminating

theinformationontheshow

through thepostcards and posters was a quintessential com

ponent of_myshow: whenviewersanticipate a narrative ^ntside ofthepostcard

about

^

photographonthepostcardis_actuallywhen thenarrative ofthe

wholeexhibitioninitiates.Themajor functionofthepostcardwastopull

fromthepostcard recipientsthepresumptionthat thisshowisabout "pho

tographA" and_possiblythe "photographA"

istheone onthepostcard. -4PR

Understanding"photographA" JunkuYoon

Encountering

sevenimages

Figure1.

Epson Inkjet Print 35" x40"

The

gallery

space was shared with another graduatestudent,

Jinwhan Choiwhose _{show, "hybrid}mosaic"

exhibitedinthe left halfofthe

gallery. Inordertosecludeeach one's space we usedtwo wall-height,

woodenpartitionsthatdividedthewhole spaceinthemiddleintotwo iso

latedcubes. Ontherighthalfofthe_galleryas a private spaceIplannedthe

installation,

"Understanding

'photographA'". Withtheaid ofanother

wooden partitionIwas able toarrangetheimagesas I

designedtheinstallation:sevenimagesaround walls as a

group,and one as an unrelated piece on thepartition.The

sevenimageswere takenwith4" x5"blackandwhitefilm

anddigitizedthrough afilmscanner and printed on

35"

x

40"

Epson inkjetpapers.

Neatly

mounted and coated onto

wood panels, theimages in its

big

scale gives thesense of

commercial

billboards,

eachimageseems asiftopromote

somethingotherthan theimage itself. Thefirstimagethe

viewer encounters isthephotograph of a wonder woman

doll,

approximatelyas

big

as an adultfemale.The scale oftheimagewas

deliberately

calculatedtoanticipate

viewers'

psychologicaljuxtaposition

betweenthe doll andtheviewer.In frontoftheimage thevieweristobe

confronted

by

alife-sizemannequin _staring

directly

attheviewer whilethe

viewer realizestheparallel_relationshipinsizebetweenthemannequin

andthe viewer.Althoughthephotographedobject was_onlya

foot-tall,

aided

by

zonesystemtechnique and newdigital_gadgets,Iwas ableto

maintain pristinedetails astoconvincethe vieweroftheverisimilitudeof

itsscale. Theviewermeetsthe super

heroine,

her

impeccably

smoothrub [image:15.552.38.215.223.446.2]

patriot-Figure 2. & patriot-Figure 3.

EpsonInkjetPrint35" x

40"

icemblem.

Surrealistically

justagainsttheblackbackgroundthisplastic

figureclaimsitsacknowledged

identity,

the_{artificiality}ofeveryday.

Despitethefactthatthereis

nothing

natural aboutthe

figure,

somehow

nothingseems more natural than theconsumptionofthis

image. Who

among

us wouldfeelestrangedfromthe_very

aesthetics ofthe_popculture?

Moving

ontothenext

image,

thevieweris disillu

sioned

by

thesizes ofthephotographed objects. Herethe

immensely

enlargedimage of atulip,thebudaslargeas

the torso ofthewonderwoman,bringstheviewerto the

realizationthatheis_experiencingthe

tremendously

_aug

mentedimages inthescale. The frailandvulnerable

physique ofthe

tulip

traverses_obliquely ablack frame.

Somehowthedefenselessexposure oftheflowerseems to

carryavigorousand even aggressive utterance. Aswe

knowthat the _contemporarycommercialismiswellaware

ofthepower ofthebeautifulandnever shies _{away from}

utilizing

it,

encounteringthebeautifulnowinduces more of

a symbolic gamethan taintlessappreciation.

Againstthe sameblack

backdrop

are_militantlystand

ing

twosoldier actionfiguresthatappeartobeonthebrink

of_{conductingmachinery}violence.

Looking

_unsatisfied,yet

pronouncingtheaestheticsofregimentation, thesoldiers

appeartoposeademandof a certainorder,_possiblyatotalitariansystem.

Noticing

thesamerepetitivebackgroundandthe simplified settings ofthe

objects,itmightoccurto the viewerthat therecouldbeacertainconnec

tion _amongthesymbolic meaningsof each object. Butitwas also_{my inten}

tion toputtheviewerthroughthesequence ofimageswithout

letting

them [image:16.552.48.355.107.564.2]

Figure 4. &Figure 5. Epson Inkjet Print 35"

x

40"

knowthecomplete scheme ofthe layout:itwasapremeditated_{staging in}

thesequenceofthenarrativetoexpect fromtheviewer

his

ownpedantic

speculation onthoseimages.

Thefourth imageisthemost abstract ofall,showing

only

afraction ofornamentedround-shape

frame,

_possibly

an_{empty frame} or a mirror.It is _actuallyamirror with a

decorated framearoundit. The intendedsymbolic_meaning

fortheimage wasthemodern consciousness of representa

tion,

especially theconsciousnessintheact of representa

tion.

Bearing

no reflectioninthe

frame,

the imageof 'void'

mirrorillustrates its functionandthefunctionalone.Thus

theimageof ablankmirror

is,

Imight _say,abouttherepre

sentation about representation. Throughouttheinstallation

thisframeof mirror playsananchor pointtowhich allthe

frequenciesofthenarrative arebroughttogetherrecurrent

ly.

Setting

themirrorimageasanarrator-agent, theinstalla

tionmobilizes an

inquiry

forthegaze ofthe_contemporary

society,_{particularly for}its interestthat

has

shiftedfromthe

semanticapproachtothegrammatical_{understanding} ofthe

representation.*

Afterthemirror

image,

dueto thephysical condition

ofthe_galleryspace, the vieweristo travel acrossthe room

*

Iusedthewords,semanticapproach, toaddresstheold praxis of art consumption

whosemainfocuswasonreferentialcontentofartwork.As the_theoryof structuralism and

deconstructionism influenced theartenvironment,thestructuralformand style of artwork

have beengivencritical examinations.Thishascreateda new atmosphereinwhichthe

value ofinterpretationofartworkwasreconsideredin thecontext of structuralism.Instruc

turalism thenatureofrepresentationitselfbecamealocusofstudy,

developing

diverse

opinions and systemsthatexplainthegrammaticalaspect of_{anysignifying}order.Oneof

such exampleswould_{be narratology(narratology}studiesthe nature,formand

functioning

of narrative regardless ofmediumofrepresentation.)Invisualartthis trend has been

reflectedin thereconsiderationof_exhibitingspacewhich resultedinnew modes of repre

sentation such as_Fluxus,Earthart,Installationart,etc.

[image:17.552.37.215.82.535.2]

The

Installation

go u.

h-<V

CD CU 3

05 CD

iZ

[image:18.552.39.521.86.625.2]

3 CO

Figure 8. CO

cu

CO

Li-Partition

CN

CO

Figure 1.

[image:19.552.40.227.34.489.2]

Figure 6.& Figure 7.

Epson Inkjet Print 35"

x

40"

forthe continuation ofthe series ofimages. Anyonemight

have

an experience of_owninga_overlyembellished contain

er, whosedue functionsomehowseems tooutweigh_any

actual need tostorage _existing

belongs,

_{only making}it

functionless.Although itsoundspreposterous tocombine

exuberantdecorationswith_{practicality,}suchfictive devices

doprevailintoday'

market, appealingto theromantic sen

sibilityof consumers.A_small,cheap

jewelry

box,

metaphorically

insinuating

thecommodificationof

senti-mentalism,is

demanding

thedelicate attentionfromthe

viewer as afifthsequence ofthe images.

Moving

on_{to the next, there}is theimageof a ubiqui

tous object,almost

banal,

yetitsunique

identity

isnever

mistakable an old photograph. Encased ina wooden

frameisaKorean

family

ofthree generations,onlythe

grandfather and motherin traditional Korean dresses. In

theparallellayoutwith otherimageswhosemetonymical

aspects are more orless

lexicographical,

the viewercould

guess thatitssymbolic_meaningcouldbeabout remem

brance or nostalgia.

Finally,

as thelastimageoftheorderIchose abronze statue of

Buddha. As

Christianity

has

inthe westernculture, Buddhismuntil recent

ly

had

beenthefundamental domain oftheoriental_aesthetics, desireand

morality. Therefore itrepresents_symbolicallytheartist's indigenoustradi

tionthatis_sufferingdisintegration.

Passing

through these sevenimages

theviewer might experiencethevigorousreasoning,

trying

toextracta

log

icalrelation out ofthesequence. Itwas_{exactly my}plantoput_up atmos

phere ofa

customary

galleryspace,

inducing

psychologicaltensions

aroundthe

intelligibility

oftheimages.

Identification for"photographA"

Unrelatedto theseven

images,

a smaller printis

hung

on aseparate

woodpartition,whose gilded frame

instantaneously

discriminates the

photographfromother sevenimages. Iftheviewerisfamiliarwith19th

century photographyprocesses, hewould

identify

thisimageas aplat

inumand palladiumprint,

directly

exposedfromtheoriginal negative. For

thosewithout such a sophisticatedtastefor19th_{century photography}

process,I

intentionally

put on atitle

tag

with a description:untitled,plat

inumand palladiumprint, 7"

x17". Inordertofabricate thequasi-value of

the

image,

Iused

deliberately

oneofthemostcumbersome andexpensive

processes,goingthrough

handing

with a

bulky

7"

x 17"

camera and noto

riously toxicchemicalsforplatinum print.

Therefore,

_elaboratingthe

photo process and itstechnicalvalue wasadeliberate and also apt process

forthe_conspiracyoftheinstallationtoenhance thedemand forthe special

attentiononthisparticularimage. Inthisdifferentiated framethe viewer

seesthesevenitemsfromthepreviousframes alltogetherplaced on a

metal_swingtable.

Using

asinglespotlight, Iphotographed the tableina

sullen_{tone, casting very harsh}shadows and

isolating

theobjectsfromthe

background. The distinctive textureoftheplatinum print also accommo

datedthesoberstrain oftheimage.

Everything

intheframeis_{clearly iden}

tifiableandthearrangementseems tobepremeditated with some mathe

matical precision asinafilm-noirscene.

Nonetheless,

theorchestration

looks out ofjoint. Thecomposition oftheall objectsinvokesacertaindis

turbance, a

feeling

about_{something completely artificial,}

fictitious

and

grotesque, asifoneisconfronted

by

Frankenstein'smonster.Is itthe"pho

tographA"? Isitaboutthe

identity

oftheartist? The layoutofinstallation

issupposedtoguidetheviewer to thinkofthe

image,

untitled,as "photo

graph

A",

sincethereis _onlyoneimagedistinguishable fromthe others

bothin itsformatand medium.

However,

ifthisplatinum printisthe

"photograph

A",

thereremain an unresolveddisagreement betweenthe

mainimageofthe

installation,

untitledandtheoneonthepostcard.Which

oneis "photograph A"? Andwhat_relationshipcouldtherebebetweenthe

two?

[image:22.552.46.511.103.408.2]

Figure 8.platinum and palladium print

7"

x

17"

Thevideomanualtotheartwork

Wherethequestionlingersis_actuallythe transitionalpointofthe

narrative ofthe installation.The physicalenvironmentoftheinstallation

wasdesigned asthescenic properties ofthenarrative on whichtherever

sal ofnarrativewill unfold. The installationof eightimagesrepresents

metaphorically

theartisf s struggleforhisidentity. Thestruggleisstrenu

ouslyengaged withtheartisfs aspirationtounderstandthecollective

aspect of

his

characteristicswithinthecontext ofinstitutional knowledge.

Theselection ofitemswas

highly

contrivedtothedegreethateachobject

canbereducedto theregister ofthepost-moderncondition.Forthecoun

terplotofthe narrative, theactual installationspace wasintendedtobe

seenina_wayas a simulation of artinstallation. Attheright corner ofthe

room,Iprepared a whiteTVandVCRcombo ona whitepedestal forthe

viewerto_playat willan8-minutevideotape.This isthe tangentialpoint at

whichtwodifferentinstancesofthenarrative are merging,

bringing

the

contrastbetweenthe twointo the_complexityofthenarrative.As the

videotapestartsto roll, thenarrative about "photograph

A"

continues,

pulverizinganyprejudgmentabout"photograph A". Asweare familiar

with pre-information of_{any blockbuster}videotape, thevideotapebegins

with atextannouncing:

Duetotheidiomaticresponse ofthe viewer or

theartist'spost-experienceto thiswork,

thesignificance ofthis workissubjecttochange.

Please,

beadvised.

Iwrotethis facetiousstatementinregardto thepostmodern fashion

in art_consumption,

implying

theartisf sconsiderationofthe

deconstruc-tionsim.Thestatementina_wayasks theviewertohave afreeassociation

withthework. At thesametimethisstatemententails avoicethat

addressesthelevelofnarration,

informing

theviewerofthewhereabouts

ofthenarrativeprogress. It isalsothepointwheretheartist connotesfor

thefirsttimethat the stress onthe title

"Understanding

photograph

A"

wasn't put on "photographA"

buton "Understanding".Thewholeinstal

lationwas plottedtoillustrate theprocess ofappreciat

ing

photographs, nottoexpandtheimportanceof a

particular photograph. Thestatementissoonfollowed

by

an animated

title,

"Understanding

photograph

A",

andthen

by

anillustrationof a

human

face. Onwhite

backgroundaboy's face fadesinasif ina2-D anima-Thisanimatedfigure

introduces himselfastheartist _{non Thefacewas posterizedinto fourtones andblurred in}

Photoshop

to

beara cartoonish quality. Soonthisfacestarts

talking

inaboyish tone,

identifying

himselfasthe artist oftheinstallationandthevideotapeas the

manual to theinstallation. Afterabriefintroduction

by

the

boy

to the

videomanual, thefaceisreplacedwiththe circleframe of mirror which

was thefourthsequenceofthe seven

images,

andit isalsotheobject

placed onthe centeroftheplatinumprint. Thesignification ofthemirror

inthevideohasthesame connotation as itwasmentionedbefore: the_rep

resentation aboutrepresentation,more_specificallyit isabouttherepresen

tation_referringtoitsown art of signification.

Hovering

on whiteback

groundlike the

face,

themirrorisnow

literally

aframe (the_{mirror) in}a

frame (theTVmonitor),whichshowsthevideo_{clip like} amagicmirror

froma

fairy

tale, "Snowwhite".

Thevideofootageonthemirror consists of six_chapters,eachone

ProfessorKelly

giving herreview

ontheplatinum

print.

The boy's

voiceoverisnar rating hisanec

doteabout

\Afonderwoman.

Thetitleofthis chapteris The

conjecturalcom -position of a

KITSCH-MAN(or

anidentity).

ProfessorElliott Rubensteinelab

oratingaboutthe possibleinterpre tationsofthepic

ture.

with atitle. _{The story line}was interlacedwithtwo differenttypesof

video clips

alternating

(type 1:thevideo footageofthree RIT

faculty

mem

bers and oneRITgraduatestudentwhoare_giving theinterpretationsand

-^ reviews ontheplatinumprint, whichisnowinstalled in

thegallery. Type2: computergeneratedfootagewith a

voice-over

telling

privateanecdotesofthe

boy

who

claims tobe the artist.)

By

type 1 1triedtorepresentthe

institutionalized understandingof a particular photo

graph(inthiscase theplatinum print). Thankstopro

fessorAngela

Kelly,

professorElliott Rubensteinand

professorTimEngstromwhoare_generouslyresponded

to_myproposalforthe

installation,

Iwasabletocreate

videofootageasIpre-visualized. Inthevideoeach fac

ultymemberextracts, in

his

orherown unequivocal

eloquence, theintelligible issuesfromthesubjectmatter

andformalelements ofthe photograph, some _reflecting

theirown psychological takeonthe

image,

yet

turning

it_subtlyto the

history

ofhumanity. As Igainedthe

footage,

Iwas_verysatisfied withthesophistication of

theirspeech and moreoverwithhowstudious

they

look

onthemonitor.

Mischievously

yetwithout_any

mal-intention,

I juxtaposedthemincontrast with an unfash

ionableandnaive utterances of a small

boy

whose_story

isuncouth andprovincial yet playful and comical.The

wholeideaofthejuxtaposition seems

ridiculously

incongruous and even

laughable;

forallthatitcreates a

pensivemoodinwhichthe whole expansion ofthe

videoboils downto thecardinal questionofthe

Theboy's voiceoveriscon trastingin his

anecdotethe

practiceofZen Buddhism in

Koreaand

corn-modifiedversion ofZenBuddhism

in U.S.overthe imageofRichard

Simmons.

ProfessorTim

Engstrommen

tioningthenarra

tive qualityofthe

picture.

After closing his commentaryon

the video, the

boystarts_singing a_songabout

Wfomderwoman.

Theanimated face fadesgradu

allyoutonthis

photograph.

tion,

how

tounderstand photographs? A silly but

fundamentalquestion,veryexhaustivebutindispensa

ble. Even ifI

have

neverfoistedthequestion word for

word, the whole plot oftheinstallationwasdesignedto

raise a_{validity for}an reexamination onthesocialland

scape ofthe consumption ofphotographs,andhoweas

ily

onesubordinates

his

owntaste toit.

However,

no

answer

has

been devisedtobe

found,

ratherIwished

that thejuxtaposition invokesa complex psychological

momentinwhichtheobjective establishment andthe

subjective experience adulterate.

Afterthefinal chapter,whichis thefootageofpro

fessorTim Engstrom_{giving his} opinion, themirror

transformsinto the

boy

face. Asthe

boy

finishes

his

closing,he hasa_sulkypausebefore

he

startsto_singa

children's_songinKoreanaboutWonderwoman.

Finally

thefaceiszoomedout,

fading

graduallyoutto

besuperimposed on a colorphotograph,which was the

one onthepostcard.Theroute ofthenarrativethatwas

initiatedfromapostcard

finally

returns to thesame

image.

Metaphorically,

thewholenarrative

"Understanding

photograph A"

has beentoldthrough

thechanneloftheartisf s_memory

by

the_youngversion

oftheartist whodwells

tunelessly

on an old photo

graph.

The

prior

development

to

"Understanding

photograph

A'

A_parodyof oneself asanin-betweenpoint ofview

Gathering

and

formulating

theideaforthe

installation,

Ifound

myselfinaCatch-22situation,because theinitiationofthemainidea

seemsto

betray

inthemethodthe_verypurposeofthe idea

(stripping

myselfofthehabitof

turning

toreductionismfor interpretations).How

can one validate

his

ideaand_sensibilitywithout

turning

toobjective meas

ures?IfIturn_{away from}the reductionism,usingaprivate _{voice, theproj}

ect wouldlookmore than

likely

narcissisticandvain,whereasthe use of

anobjective pointofview, asa scientific_method,would make theautobio

graphicalwork soundlike a

dry,

pedanticself-portrait,whichis againstthe

motivation ofthe work.

Secondly,

Ineedtoconsider_anypossibleinterpre

tations tobeentailedfromtheaudienceof_mywork.Sincetheinstallation

was_goingtobein asense abouta speculation oninterpretation as_well,I

thoughtitwouldbeappropriatetorestrainfrom using anysignificative

elementsthataretooobvious toinvitethe systems oftheories forits inter

pretation;althoughIbelievedthatitwas not_{completely feasible.}

According

toSusan

Sontag

in

her

essay,Noteson

"Camp",

art_may evade

theinterpretation

by

becoming

merely

decorative,

abstract,or aloudparo

dy

asin_pop art.Since itdidn'tseem possibletomakethenarrative _merely

decorative or_abstract, Idecidedtomakethenarrative a_parodyof myself:

itwas a solutiontoavoidinterpretations basedon suspect_theories,atthe

same timea solutiontosituate thenarrativeinstancebetweenthe third

and firstperson point ofview(anarrativeinstanceneithertooscientific

nor stuck on oneself). The installation

"Understanding

photograph A"

isa

narrative about one's_taste,about one's sensibility, and mostof all about

one's theatricalizationofmemory;it isa process of_{understanding} self.

Howeverthe narrativehas

by

nomeansbeencomposedtoillustratethe

pseudo-intellectual knowledgeofself,ratheritisafarcicalcaricature of

one's autobiographicalconfession aboutthe

devastating

confusionhe

has

gonethroughtounderstandhimselfand

his

relationtophotographic

images.Morespecifically, theinstallation isanillustration about one's

phe-nomenological_{understanding}ofwhatitmeans whenheis

looking

at pho

tographs.

One's tasteas awindowtoone's consciousness

Thestate of

one'

taste isalwaystentative.Oneidentifies histaste

betweentherecollectionofthepastandtheseduction ofthenew. Itis the

yoga of choice:_{speaking for}tasteislike walkingon abalance

beam;

falling

onto one side of

it,

one mightgetaccusedof

being

too old-fashionedand

stubborn,ontheother_side,of

being

rootless andfrivolous.

However,

what makesita private affairis thefactthatboththeaccuser andtheaccused

areon animmediate levelthe same person. For

Sontag

"taste governs

every free

human

response."

Although

exercising

one'stasteis

totally

subjective, the

individuality

oftaste tendstobe_gregarious,

establishing

certainarchitectureoftaste

within a society.Onbothindividual and sociallevelsthe treatmentoftaste

isserious and vigorous

business,

since theissueoftastebecomesmore and

moretheimageof

identity;

_especiallyina_commodityculture whereone

reflects

his

existencebasedupon_shoppingpatterns. Tomaintain akeen

tasteisto_staypreciseinobservation. It is impossibleto

display

one'staste

fora_categorywithout_showingthe

faculty

tounderstandit. Inthissense

the_{relationship between}tasteand_{understanding}needs tobeweighed.

Exhibiting

tastesappears tobeadelicatesocialbehavior.

Talking

about

someone'sbadtasteisa_{circumlocutory}expressionofone'signorance.

Yet,

itis_{politically wrong}toequate one's

dignity

with one'staste.

Nevertheless,

modernism,inorderto_{discriminate cheap tastes, has}given

a nameto thebadtaste kitsch. Andsoon_popculture putthisphenome

non on astage; makingitas agenre, "Camp"*. Given this understanding,

Ihave cometobelievethat_scrutinizingand _studyingone'stastewill

help

locatethewhereaboutsof

his

consciousness.

*

Camp

isanaffectation or appreciationofmannersandtastes_commonlythought to beartificial,vulgar,orbanal._AccordingtoSontag, "theessence of

Camp

isitsloveofthe

unnatural: of artifice and

exaggeration."

The

Ugly

Duckling

(a kitschrealized)

The_marketing

strategy

ofmagazines

today

is ambassadorial,mean

ing

thetitlesof magazines

have

tobear diplomaticqualities.

They

not_only

authorizebehavioralcodesbutalso providethevirtual unionsofsovereign

sects,which requiredifferentattitudesforan access to each.

Hipping

througha_magazine, one might get puzzled over ads whoseimagesshow

nothing butattitudes,no_product,nodenotativecopy.Moreoftenthannot

whatthoseimagesare

trying

to sellis themode of experience.

Simply

imi

tating

the choreographies ofthemodels with aggressive attitudes, thecon

sumers get thebenefitofthewholepackage oftaste;therefore themanu

facturedidentitiesare realized.As industrialsocieties_mature, we

have

come to thepoint wherea super-express causeforaneffective

identity

is

available at a_slidingof a credit card.

Here,

_claimingone's ownimage is

merely

becoming

an echo ofthe advertisement;onlythecredit cardbillis

real.Whensuch a socialphenomenonisprevalent andevenlooks natural,

talking

aboutkitschwould_only soundpretentiousandfastidious. Itseems

nowtobemoreconsequentialtounderstandkitsch sensibility than todis

coursethe social effect ofkitsch. Oneof_mypreviousvideoprojects,

"Constructing

a

chicken"

wasthe mainlocusofkitschstudy. Inthisproject

Istudied theaspectofkitschsoastoinquireintotheextent ofthe synthetic

nature of_myidentity. Iworked onthisvideo projectforthewinter_quarter,

2001

during

whichIexposed myselftothevarioustheoriesand

histories

of

art.Eventhoughithelps

lifting

the_mistyideaaboutself, _sidlinginsidethe

labyrinthoftheories was,from mypersonalexperience,_nothingeffectual.

Thecriticaltheories andother continental philosophies thatI

had

come

across,appearsin_myview, simplyscandalous. Intheprocess of rediscov

eringmyself onthe _mapof such

historicity,

Iwas_mentallyto experience

thecollapse ofthe

legitimacy

I

had

believedtobetherein thesuccessionof

theKoreansensibility. Like in_anyother thirdcountries, Korean'ssensibili

ty

has been

being

encroached

by

therelentlesstide oftheglobalization whoseaestheticsliesin theeffect of syncretism. ThetraditionofKoreahas

slowly been

losing

the

potency

toinseminate itsspiritsintothe_younggen

eration,

scorning

helplessly

overthecultural mutants ofits

descendants,

the "kitsch-men".*

Conversely,

_younggeneration also suffersfromthe

irony

intheintrospectionoveritsauthenticity. Ina senseitsounds much

likeone ofAndersen's

fairy

tales,the_{ugly duckling:} one suffersfrom his self-reflectionthatdoesn'tresemble

his

mother;howeverthedifference fromthe original

fairy

taleisthatinthispost-colonial situationthemother

istherealbiologicalmother. Insteadof

discovering

one'strue

identity

in

an authentic

background,

a

"kitsch-man"

discovers

his

identity

inthe

process of synthesis.

Along

withthedevelopmentof such

ideas,

Ialso fashioned myvisualidiomtoexplorethe psychological status of a

"kitsch-man"

as a self-portrait. Upon_engaginginpostmoderntheories,Iexam

ined_myideafortheidentificationforitsorigin:ideasaredissectedand get assorted

by

symptomsand

finally

diagnosedsuch as a

Freudian,

a

Marxist,

a

Lacanian,

etc. Itappearsfutiletoproclaim aunique

individuality

ofidea inthearena of postmodern_theories;therefore

having

opinions and atti

tudesbasedon selectedtheoriesis thematteroftaste. Here whatisleftof

the

individuality

is_onlythe styleinthesynergetic approachtodifferent ideas,_sponsoringcultural

hybridity,

Postmodernsocieties,sponsoringcul

tural

hybridity,

_commodifyideasforindividualsto adaptand synthesize.

*

Iborrowedtheterm," kitsch-man"

fromCalinescu,Matei inhisbook,Five Facesof

Modernity. Calinescuusesthisterminhisillustrationofthephenomenonofkitsch,espe

ciallyinhistorico-sociologicalandaesthetic-moral approachforan_{understanding}to the phenomenon.Akitsch-manis,accordingtoCalinescu,

"

onewhotends toexperience as

kitscheven nonkitschworksorsituations,one who_{involuntarily}makes a_parodyof aes theticresponse."

Suchacultural climate oftenincubates an outlandishsynthesisofindividu

ality. In_myvideo_project,

"Constructing

a_chicken",I _mainlyconcentrated

onthe_sensibility of a "kitsch-man" who developsanidiosyncratic

identity

by

puttingtogether fragmented

understanding

of

himself

fromdifferent

perspectives. Iused chicken parts as a metaphorfor fractionalizedselves

whoseformulascomefrom different departments ofthemulticulturalism.

Combining

such piecesintoa wholeistheseriouspersonaltaskof a

"kitsch-man". Inordertoincarnate thisliteralconcept _effectivelyinto

video

images,

I_specificallyturned toone of_myvisual

interest,

the film

noir.SincethevisualmetaphorsIcontrived_principallydeliverthe_concep

tualideaabout

"kitsch-men",

Ihad alsotowork_separatelyonthestyle

thatwould

bring

ontheemotions and

intensity

topunctuatethe kitsch

sensibility. Forthis purposeIstudiedfilmnoir asthe mode ofsensibility.

Sensibility

as a genre(The studyoffilmnoir)

Becauseofits diverse_storypossibilities,and artistic and cinematic

traditions,some filmcriticsdon't_{classify film}noiras agenrelike

they

wouldwiththewesternorgangster movies. Howeverthereisan element

thatpenetratesall offilmnoir its idiosyncraticstylization.Film_noir,in

mostcases,dealswiththemoodof

disarray

andblackness. Its "narrative

methodistwisting,

indirect,

often

deliberately

puzzling."

Theabstract_rep

resentationin thisgenredoesnot_rely onthe _{affinity between}theobject

and the represented,butrather creates contextual_{understanding}ofthe

signedrelationship.

Every

sooftenthe_{story line}ofthisgenredepends on

the_uncertaintyofits

development,

and onsubtleandvaguevisual codeto

maintainitsdistinctivestyle.

Certainly,

clear subject mattershouldbe

The basic

frameofthe

chickenwas

madeof chicken

wire and other

hardwareparts.

Preparingthe

visceral part of

thechicken.

(what actually

wasusedfor it

was a chicken

river.)

Insertingthe

preparedvisceral partinto the

metalframe.

Coveringthe

metalframewith

chickenflesh.

absentin itsgrammar. In other wordsfilmnoirisa genre thatisfree from

theoldideaof agood_text,that the ideaor contentis tobe clearand

employsastyleofintendedmeaning.But infilmnoir therepresentationis

highly

connotative andit isdifficulttodrawa single

interpretation.

However,

as filmnoir

has

beenacknowl

edged as a acceptedgenre, theimpliedcodes offilm

noirbeara certain psychologicalimplication. It doesnot

have

adirectassociation withthe object,butin itsarbi

trariness,

ithasa metaphorical attachment.Sometimes

audiences should_graspthe_{contradictory}cluesinorder

todrawthepsychic-analysis of a character.Forexam

ple, "reflectionsinmirrors andwindows are arecurrent

aspect of noiriconography.The double imagessuggest

schizophrenia and masquerade.

Not_{everymodality}offilmnoir'sgrammarhas

beenestablished withinthe

history

ofitspractice. Film

noirborrowssome ofits codesfrom arthistory.

Early

filmsnoirsborrowsfromtheGermanExpressiondra

mas(rain-sweptemptiness illuminated

by

_{stray flash}

ing

neon signs and afewdesertedstreets) Filmnoir

usesthesamekindof_settingrecurrently: nightclubs,

hotels,

staircases, tenements,police_{stations, offices,}

docksand

drug

stores,

factories,

warehouses,

crumpling

mansions,

boxing

arenas, train stations,restaurants.

Eventhough thesesettings

have

semantic_meaning,

actuallytheseareused as componentsforcertain syn

tax. Eachone offilmnoiris

representing

a certain sensi

bility

thatisgrounded upon a particular_{configuration,}

whichisbound

by

thesemiotics ofthecinema.

However,

itshouldbemen

tionedthat thisconfiguration

totally

relies onthe

history

ofthearbitrari

nessin itsrepresentational method asdescribedabove.

Understating

genre as a signifier

Inordertounderstandthelexicalvalue of genres orstyles,it is_very

helpful

torefertoRolandBarthes'

ideaof"metalanguage". ForBarthes

everythingcanbe language as

long

asithasthestructured mannerto_carry

meaning.When _{something (whether}it ispictorial orwritten) evokes a cer

tainimagefromconsciousness, theconnectional process canbeillustrated

as a_{relationship between} "asignifieranda signified".Barthescontinues

"thesignifieristhe acousticimageandthe signifiedthe concept...There

arefunctionalimplications inthisrelationship."

This isthemostbasic

semiologicalsystem andBarthescallsitthe "language-object" system.

Thismode ofrepresentationestablishescondensedlexical meaningas it is

practiced_repeatedlyinthesociety.This iswhatBarthescalls a sign: an

inseparableassociation ofconcept and sound-image. Theembodiment of

signispossible

by

the

history

oflanguage practice andinthis

tri-dimen-sional pattern (asignifier, a signifiedandasign) thesign(aestablished

representation) againfunctionas a signifier.Bartheslooksatthiswholelin

guistic system astheculprit of mythcreation. Below is his owndiagramof

whathecallsasecond-order semiologicalchain.

MYTH

Language

1.Signifier 2. Signified

3.Sign

I. SIGNIFIER II. SIGNIFIED

Stitchingup the

appliedchicken skintosealthe

wrap.

Screwingabolt intoa chicken

legfor bracket

ing.

Anew_identity was created as a result ofthecon struction.

The

functional

implicationsmade

by

asecond-order

chainacquires asignificationandit

has,

_accordingto

Barthe,

"adouble function: itpoints out anditnotifies, it

makesusunderstand_somethingandit imposes iton

us."

The receptionof

meaning

canbeprocessedinmorethan

one way.Thereare various waysto_signifyoneconcept. It

means thata signified can

have

multifarioussignifiers.

"

The concept

is,

_{quantitatively,}much poorerthan thesignifi

er."

Infilmnoirtherepeateduses of_{diverse setting}often

confuses spectatorsintermsofitspostulated reading.This

happens

becausespectators

try

toattaintoa single plotted

meaningthrough themorethanone signifier.

However,

once aninterpretation ispulledout, the_meaningisno

longerobscured onthelevel of myth.Aconceptdrawn out

ofthissystembecomesa_constitutingelement of myth.

Here "conceptualneologism"

isnot generatedinanarbi

trary

way:its_{formation customarily depends}on_a"highly

sensibleproportional

rule".*

Giventhis

idea,

through

using recurringsignifiers,itbecomeseasiertosee_{why film}

noir canbeviewedas adistinctivegenre eventhoughits

consistency liesonly in itsstyle. Itssystem ofcommunica

tionitselfbecomesasovereignmessage:itbecomes a suffi

cientfactorthatallowsone toderivea concept or anidea

from.Thegenre,filmnoir,hasasemiologicalsystemthatis _very

sophisti-catedlyencoded.Thissystem as a messagedevelops intoa sign and then

again asignifier.

Barthes,Roland. Mythologies. Paris:Hilland_Wag,1957.

Thepurpose of_{studying film}noir(itslinguisticeffectas agenre)was

mainly tostylize thevisualidiomswith whichIexecuted_myvideoproject,

"Constructing

achicken".

Adapting

filmnoir'svisual vocabulariesso as

to createthesyntax of_myown mode ofphotography, I broughtaboutan

eccentric pastiche of afilmnoir. Undera singlelight source,as intheinter

rogation scene fromasuspensemovie, two anonymoushandsagainstthe

black background are_moving

busily

and seriously, reconstructinga new

chickenfromprepared carcasses of chickens

(by

_stitching onechickenpart

onto another). The_ghastlyperformanceprogressesinan_unreasonably

crudemanner,_reflectingthenaive and unsophisticated consciousnessof

theconductor.

Ironically

this_visuallyabominable process effectuates a

black,

yetfarcicalatmosphere. It isthe comical strain ofthevideowork

that breda metaphorfora

black,

grotesqueconsummationof self. Forthe

soundtrack to accommodatethevisualsequence, Iemployed the

avant-guardjazzfromthe

60s,

whose saxophone solo doesn'tfollowthemelodic

structureand furthermore breaks upthe conventionalmusictime.The off

beatprogression amplifies the

intensity

oftheblackscene, especially

accentuatingthegravenessofthe artistinhis willtoconstructself. Asthe

emotional _complexitysaturatedintheblackness traverses _alongthe

derangement ofthe free

jazz,

thissatirical video calls fornon-conventional

butsincere_{empathy from}theaudience.I feltelated overthevideobecause

itseemstobea new_waytoarticulate _{my hybridized}identity.

Retrieving

memorythroughphotographs

Nostalgiaformeisan error of consciousness.Forone_consciously

invitesthe mood,yetisnever able todispelthe

lingering

effectofits

whimsicality. It is an obstinate seizure caused

by

theintrinsic incompatibil

ity

betweenone'simagesofthepresence and ofthepast. Howeverdisori

ented one_remains,one alwaysneeds,I

believe,

todabbleintheflowof

such emotional

tides,

sinceit istheseattacks of emotional seizurethat

enable onetolegitimate the_authenticityof one's ownhistory.

-a genuine

waytodistinguishoneselffromeveryone else:_avoidingsuch spasmodic

momentscauses theimpoverishmentof_memory,hence

losing

theground

forthelegitimateidentity. Often in theSci-Fimovies

technology

cansurro

gate allthehuman traits.The_memory isone offewthings leftthatsuggest

atraceof

human

quality. Forexample the movie,Blade Runnerprovides

themoot question about_memory asameasureforthehumanness.The

moviebeginsas the

following

textscrollsup:

Early

inthe21st

Century,

theTYRELL CORPORATION

advancedRobotevolutionintotheNexus

phase-a

being

virtual

ly

identicaltoahuman- known_as

aReplican.The NEXUS 6

Replicantswere superiorinstrengthandagility,andatleast

equalin

intelligence,

to thegenetic engineerswho created them.

Replicantswere usedOff-Worldas slave

labor,

inthehazardous

explorationandcolonizationofother planets.Aftera

bloody

mutiny

by

aNEXUS 6combat teaminanOff-worldcolony,

Replicantsweredeclared illegalon earth-under_penaltyof

death. Specialpolicesquads-_{BLADE RUNNER}UNITS

had

orderstoshoot to

kill,

upon

detection,

_any

trespassing

Replicant.

Thiswasnot called execution. Itwas called retirement.

Inthefilmthephysicalaspectofthe

Replicants,

the

genetically

engi

neered surrogate

human

beings,

is virtually indistinguishable fromthatof

actualhuman being. Inorderto

distinguish,

atestisgiven to the

Replicants. Thetestisdesigned toevaluatethe testee'semotional respons

esbasedontheextent oftheirlife _{experience; the}emotionaldevelopments

oftheReplicantsare limitedat most

by

fouryears, whichisthe_genetically

designedtheirlife span.The_very

interesting

part ofthemoviewas that

therewas an experimental

Replicant, Rachel,

whoisdifferent fromtheoth

ers,because she hasanimplantedmemory.Afterthe test

by

abladerun

ner,

Rachel,

whose emotionhasthe depthof

time,

becomessuspicious of

her

own

identity

and even of

her

memory. Inorderto_{verify her}own

memoryRachel showsDecardan old photographtakenwhenshe was a

child withhermom. But it is useless,

he

tells Rachel thatit isthephoto

graph ofsomeone_{else, the}realowner ofRachel'smemory.AtDecard's

insensitiveutteranceRachelrunsaway, thephotographdroppedonthe

floor.

Thisparticular scene provided me withapsychological paradigmin

whichItried to test the_credulityof_mypersonal premisesabouttherela

tionship

between memory andphotographs.

Rachel,

holding

outherpho

tograph towards

Decard,

triesto_{verify her}privatehistoricity. Wasthisges

ture_reallytowardsDecardortowardsherself?Inthe same _empathythat

has

beeninvoked

by

the scene, Iaskedmyself:what significationdoes it

havewhenIam

looking

at animageofmyselfinaphotograph? From_my

pointofviewwhatIseefromphotographsofmyselfisan ontological con

nectiontoapast, asopposed toananalytical example ofhowIwas. The

history

of_photographyand the theoriesofreductionismare,fundamental

ly

speaking, extrinsicto_myrelationto_myown photographicimages.

Whenoneturns to theseobjectivestructure,onedoes nothing butskews or

impoverishesthe memory,because themore one objectifies

his

imagesof

the past, theless

he

becomes abletoexperience

his

subjective selfhood.

Rachel,

turning

to the scientificexplanationofherphotograph,starttodis

trusthermemory,

her

past,therefore

her

identity. Roland Barthesonce

wrotethat_readingtimefrom a photographis_{reading from}itthemost

poignantdetail thatpricks one's vulnerable emotion. Inthisfictitious

exampleitcouldbeinducedthat the_way aphotographsisperceivedas a

mnemonicdeviceismoredirectand sensationalthan_anyotherlinguistic

system.

Revisiting

old photographs and

tracing

backthepersonal course

oftimethrough_them, one cultivates on anontologicallevel his own mem

ory (withitsemotionalscars,joysof smallachievements,ineffable feelings

about small_{moments, etc.)}It isaninimitable _wayof_experiencing

person-hood,

whose signification systemoperates

directly

onthecorporal _percep

tionwithout recourseto_anysymbolicmeans.

Thelaughablepathos

This openingscenedoesn't

providea clue about whathe is

doing.

Asanintrospective inquisitionforself,Isetoutanothervideo _project,

"Self-portrait"

(spring,

2001).OnthisprojectIutilized againthefilm-noir

traits Istudiedontheprevious projectforthephotographic approach.The

visual composition consistsoftheimageofmyself,

some old photographsof mine andthevideo footageof

Korean Warfarethatwas superimposedontheback

ground. In fades an_assiduouslygrim

face,

_probably too

sedulousandrigidtobereal.Asthescenezooms _out,

themanwith theface is_{pathetically struggling}

(keep

ing

one

leg

jumping

over a

toy

while theother

leg

is

orbitingthe

toy

aroundhimself). What is

happening

in thesceneisquite

comical,yetthesuperimposedbackground imagesof warfaredidn'tmake

He isout of

breath_doing

whathe is doing.

Anold_family

photograph

beingexamined witha magnifier.

Footageof

Korean\Aaras

thelastscene.

thesituationhumorousorfarcical. This ironicaljuxtapositionmakesthe

video evenfunnier. Onthesurface of publicinteresttheworkisnot about

humorat_{all, nonetheless,} when_zoomingonto anindividualgrain ofthe

historical event

(Korean

War),

the audienceisto experience

certain

humor

as an_{empathy for}theindividual' awkward

struggling. The

humor

here, however,

isnotaboutenter

tainment,

butratheritbears the_qualityofunderstanding.

Thesceneisfollowed

by

theblurredimagesofold photo

graphs,which are examined with a magnifier.

Rhetorically,

themagnifier signifies a_verypersonal mean for struggling withtheemotional woundsleft

by

a particularhistorical event.Regardless of such sincere struggletocultivatehis

identity,

itseemsimpossible foranindividualtoremain untaintedfromtheruthless commodification ofthewestern

industrialsociety.Asan appendix _{to the video,}Imadeeight

blackandwhite still photographs. Eachphotographisa

medium shot ofself-portrait, posingnaked asifa_pin-up model.This_{laughable parody}wasintendedtoadd a satiri cal_mockeryinordertogivetheworka complexfinish.

Even if_mytwoprevious worksdon'tseemtobe

the-matically relatedto the

installation,

"Understanding

photograph

A",

the

foundationalcontextandthe stylizationof

"Understanding

photographA"

hadbeen

developed,

to thesubstantial_extent,intheprocesses ofthese two

projects.

From theeightimagesthatwere addedto thevideowork,self-portrait 15"

x 19"

Narrtological

aspect of

the

installation

Theart practice as a_wayof narration

Walter Benjamin inhis famous essay, "Theworkofartinthe age of

Mechanicalreproduction",quotesPaul Valery:

"Ourfineartswere

developed,

their typesand uses were

established, intimes_{very different from}the present,

by

men

whose powerof action uponthingswasinsignificant incompari

sonwithours... Inalltheartsthereisa physical component

which can nolonger beconsidered ortreatedas itusedto

be,

which cannotremain unaffected

by

our modernknowledgeand

power..."

Still thisquoteslingersunresolvedin_mymind.

Probably

it isthe

mostfundamentalyetthemostformidablequestionfor any artpractition

ershowto

identify

fineart within capitalism whose mode ofproductionis

uniformly

governed

by

the rationalconsciousnessofscience. Lyotardonce

put "scientificknowledge doesnotrepresentthe

totality

of

knowledge,"

by

whichLyotardimpliesnarrativeknowledge(theold, customaryformof

knowledge). Thepatternofknowledge inthetime "whenfineartwere

developed"

would require_verydifferent intellectualpraxisthan thatin

today. Itssuccession was_mainly dependentonthe transmissionofnarra

tive without

involving

_anyscientific proof. Since itsvalidationdidn'tneed

anyevidentialsystem, itcould,in itssimplicity, achievethe

totality

by

itself. Fineartisnow

losing

its indigenousground,ifs_{suffering from}

anachronismintheprevalenceof scientific

knowledge,

whose structural

clarity only explains

fragmentary

information about art.Insuch anunset

tledsituation our artisticimagination is crippled.Our_{understanding}of art

is_gettingeven more nebulous

by

the advent ofpolitical correctness ofthe

multiculturalism,whichhas been brought

by

thevibesof postmodernism.

Postmodernismreflects_{positively every}contour ofitsparticipants

and establishesitsgrid

by

juxtaposing

each and_every

individuality

side

by

side. Itsaestheticslies inthepanorama of

diversity

without_{any distinc}

tive centralpoint. In thissociallandscape themeta-framework(thetotal

structurethatcontains and legitimates_everysingle constituents ofthesys

tem) is_growingweakin itscommand andjustice. Lyotard oncediagnosed

thiscondition as

"incredulity

towardsmeta-narratives."

Inordertoprevail

insuchanintricateconditionone needsto_modifyoneself_constantly tobe

comparableasheis situatedindifferentcontexts. Itseemsthatone also

needto trainoneselftoenduretheisolations causedfrom such conditions.

Postmodernconditionhas broughtabout such a psychological state where

voyeurism(eyesonothers) plays_very importantrolefor one's ownidenti

fication: nomatterhow bizarreone_mayappear, itdeterminestherelative

geographicallocationof anotherin the grid ofitsown game. Howpeculiar

andcomplex eachone_appears,postmodernist_society

has

its_waytointer

pretitas anumberof

human

possibilities.In allfairnessone could appre

ciatetherange of

diversity

asthewhole underthenameofthepluralism,

whichthe rhetoric ofpostmodernismvindicates.

Lacking

thenarrative

knowledgethatonce strengthenedthesocial

bond,

today's_societyoften

emphasizes

superficially

thevisualeffect ofitsmechanical structure.The

museologicalconcern of_{postmodernism,stressing merely}thevisualinter

est ofthe

diversity,

_{brings down any}subjective

individuality

to theequal

objective ground. In suchacondition_{everything becomes nothing}butan

instanceofthepostmodern possibility.Thetotalshowcaseofmulticultural

ismdoesn'tseemtocare much about thecause ofindigenous cultures and

theirsentimentality. Itseems tobeinfatuated_onlywiththe

displaying

effect ofthediversity.

Conceiving

the

totality

inthepostmodern condition

becomes sodifficultthatone_readilytends to extend_{understanding only}

towards theinstrumentalaspect ofthesociety.

Today'sartingeneral,I

believe,

resemblesmore andmorethesoft

scienceinordertobeparallel withother social apparatus ofthecapitalism.

Eventhoughtheestablishment of societies

today

is_{mainly based}onthe

scientific

knowledge,

it is_myconvictionthat the functionof art should

maintaintoprovidethenarrative_understatingofthehumancondition.

But,

canthefine arts

today

evadethe structure of capitalism andtheinflu

ence ofitsmodeofproduction? As Marxpredicted, the

technology

and

its_velocityofproductionhastamedourimaginationand creativity.

Technology

even

has

expelled_absurditythatusedtoenable usto thinkina

simpleandtotalsenseoutsidetherigid and complicated order of reason.

Reasonisnowthemostdominantinstitutional

methodology

we apply. It

hasexcluded _{mythology from}the

history

anddifferentiated

alchemy

from

chemistry, and_{astrology from}astronomy. Alltheancient

understanding

of

human beingsand ancientculturalpractice

have

beenseveredfromcon

temporary

culture. Thematerialtreatofthescienceisnowthemost pow

erful stimulationto the cultureprogression.

Theabundanceofkitschowes its_veryexistenceto themassproduc

tionof westernindustrialism.

Generally

kitschisregardedasbadtaste ora

failedsubstitute forart.

But,

if

kitsch,

bearing

nospirit oftheartistin a

total sense,is justafailureofart,itmightberelevanttoreckonthatthe

history (utilizing

theobjective point ofviewas narrative

level)

isalso a

failure of

mythology.*

In otherwordsit is impotenttopassonthe indige

nous spirit ofthe culturedowntosubsequent generations. Is kitschthe

capitalism version of art?Doesfine art needthe sametreatmentas mythol

ogy,alchemyand astrology? Thequestions sound allabsurd,nevertheless

itseemsthat theconception of art neveryieldsto the

lucidity

insucha

condition.All_mypersonal efforttowards_{understandingart,}

however,

remainsinthesametrack, atrackofcommunicationin itstotality. Itmight

be_{merelymy limited}

faculty

toconceive_anyartworkintheformofanar

rative,evenabstract artthatattempts toavoid_anyplot. Even if it ispossi

ble nottohaveanarrative withinthe frameofartwork, theprocess ofdis

play alwaysinducesadesigned access_{to the work,}whichIthinkof as a

mode ofnarrative. In this

light,

_myvideo andstill photographshave

alwaysbeen in_my own_wayofnarration.

Considering

howthe

display

effects would generatethecascade of

instances,

Iplannedthenarrative

*The formulationof_myideaonkitschisbasedon reading: Adorno,Theodor. Thecultureindustry.New York:Routledge,1991.

Calinescu,Matei.Five FacesofModernity.Durham: Duke

University

Press,1987.

Greenberg,Clement.ThecollectedEssaysandCriticism.Vol1;Avant-guardandKitsch.

Chicago: The_UniversityofChicago_Press, 1986.

Kulka,Tomas.KirschandArt. Pennsylvania: ThePennsylvania State_University,1996.

Kundera,Milan. The Artofthe Novel. New York: GrovePress,1988.

Norberg-Hodge,Helena. Ancient Futures. New York:Sierra ClubBooks,1991.

Olalquiaga,Celeste.The Artificial Kingdom: A

Treasury

ofThe Kitsch Experience. New

structureof

"Understanding

photograph

A"

SceneandActionratio

Inordertobuilda

hierarchy

ofinstances to_convey a_narrative,I

neededto_study themediaIwas

dealing

withandhowmedia generates

modes of expression.To

being

with whatIhadtoconsider was wherethe

narrative starts and whereitendsintermsofitsnarrativelevel (the levelat

which an_{existent, event,} or act of_recountingissituated). Thenarrative

level of_my particular case was_closely relatedto thespace oftheinstalla

tion. Asthe installationtook theconventional_{gallery space,expecting}the

customary

interplay

betweentheviewerand_{the artwork, the}finaln