New Blog with a New Look!

Hello everyone,

I now have moved my blog over to http://www.gyunhurblog.com/!
A New Blog with A New Look!
Feel free to stop by and say hi.

This blog will be up for now as archives.

Thanks,
G.

Flower Cutting DONE!

First batch of colors in kimchi jars

Our clean basement! We dusted it off!!!

So we are officially DONE with flower cutting!

It has been a long journey... spending countless hours in the basement since beginning of December, we spent about three months preparing flower materials for the Lenox project - Spring Hiatus. 
It is going to be exciting to see all of prepared shredded flowers laid on the floor in the middle of Lenox Mall. My list of possible volunteers is growing... and it is happening in a week!

Proper Medium did a beautiful job capturing the process of flower cutting. You will get a good sense of what took place in the basement, cutting flowers. Click here --> http://www.fluxprojects.org/films/007.html

I will be posting daily updates when the project starts, so stay in tune!


- G.

Lenox Site Visit with Flux

 

Lenox Mall site for the installation (taken from above)

So Anne (Flux Projects executive director), Lloyd (Get This! Gallery), my parents, and I did our last Lenox site visit a few days ago.

This idea of doing the installation at Lenox started about a few months ago with Flux, and it is finally happening! It has been an amazing experience for me to work with Flux to actualize this project on an ambitious scale - 16 ft by 30 ft. For more information on the project Spring Hiatus and Flux, go to http://www.fluxprojects.org/hur/index.html. 

We are almost done with flower cutting (it's been almost three months since we started cutting), and incredibly thrilled to start the installation at Lenox Square Mall. The location is quite amazing. Right between the Macy's entrance and Sephora, it also got the second floor where you can have an aerial view of the installation. Oh fantastic!

For first time, the installation process will be viewed in public. As people are engaging in the process of installation, I hope that there will be curious dialogues and somewhat empathetic silence. We are planning to start the installation on March 1st and finish on March 12. 

We are still looking for some volunteers for installation process as well as docents, so please let me know if you are interested. I will post more details soon!

- G.

Paradoxical Intention (Scott Belville's works at MOCA GA)

Tonight, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia for Scott Belville's artist talk. A great teacher with knowledge, openness, and kindness, he was my former professor at University of Georgia (Lamar Dodd).  I was excited to catch up with my professor, but also delighted to see his body of works that was piling up in his small studio in Athens, Georgia.

He teaches most of his time in Cortona, Italy for Lamar Dodd's Italy Study Abroad Program. His time spent in Italy indeed reflects on his sensibility in techniques and how he sets up the narratives. Scott talked about how he is interested in developing characters and setting them in places as if he is writing a story. Putting 'specific-ness' aside in his work, Scott leaves a room for viewers to navigate in and out of his narratives.

P a r a d o x i c a l   I n t e n t i o n

While trying to convey beauty, one finds himself exuding a sense of sorrow in his work. Then again, one may find himself in the midst of sorrowful images during his happiest time. (paraphrased) 

- Scott Belville

Please go to see this show Trust at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.
You will be able to encounter something that you can only exude as an artist with many years of wrestle and love (oh this sounds too sentimental, but really).

- G.

!!!

Tulip Field

Tulip Field

Jim Lambie

Jim Lambie

Gene Davis

\

Gene Davis street painting

Sol LeWitt

Sol LeWitt

Ah! They are inspirational -

Thanks, Hope H. and Mark L.

-G.

Invitation to Another Cutting Evening

Another (and the last) evening of cutting flowers tomorrow at 6PM! Dinner will be provided, and it would be lovely to have you. It will be a unique time for you to experience my process of cutting flowers and also a great time with a great group of people. E-mail me at gyunhur@gmail.com if you're interested. I'll e-mail you with details for the evening.

Thanks!

Last night, my family watched the Super Bowl. None of us know much about football, but we watched it while eating Korean-style sweet and sour fried chicken (양념통닭). Then my parents went down to basement to cut more flowers and I fell asleep as Packers claimed their championship. -_-;; Koreans' real love for sports is in soccer. Check out this video! 
http://www.spike.com/video/2002-korean-soccer/2739356

Korean-style sweet and sour fried chicken (양념통닭)

School after School

I was sitting in the meeting room at the Fulton County Library in Johns Creek for the Fulton County Arts and Culture Public Art Seminar. As looking at powerpoint presentations by its staff, I suddenly felt as if I was in school again . . . it's painful for me to trace back my MFA schooling, yet I remembered a specific reading from one of my first theory classes regarding 'art institution' and what 'schooling' means . By constantly drawing yourself near people's inspiring presence, critical discussions, and new endeavours, you can indeed find yourself in a mode of self-schooling.

Before I go further, I would like to encourage you to apply for Fulton County Arts Registry. Go to http://www.fultonarts.org/forms-and-applications for application (they're in a process of updating the website). If you become a part of its registry, you automatically become a part of pool to be nominated for the Fulton County's public art opportunities. In upcoming years, they are expecting 15 projects with a budget of between $20,000 and $140,000 each. They also have a mentorship program to assist selected artists for public projects. Deadline March 11, 2011 and October 14, 2011.

untitled (body object series) #5-bushhead, 1984/1993, Ann Hamilton

I got home and saw my newly purchased book, Art School: (Propositions for the 21st Century). I am so very excited about reading this book, to re-visit what art schooling meant to me, and how other artists are taking steps to move forward from their art schooling experiences. One of my art heroes, Ann Hamilton, answers to a question in this book:

What matters most in art making for you? Did art school have anything to do with you coming to understand this?

What matters most to me is paying attention. Art is the result of multiple acts of attention, and I hope that art making cultivates forms of listening. It seems to me that making allows one to create a situation to find what one needs to do in the world. It's a way to short-circuit your self-consciousness. I wait by keeping busy, by not worrying too much about whether a project is "good" or "successful." In school I was perhaps too concerned about this, but I slowly began to realize how making something is very different from thinking about it. If you sit around and wait for an interesting idea, you will wait for a very long time. I now believe that making is a form of thinking; experiences are a set of questions that propel me forward. They may be small questions, but they offer nourishment for the long term.

After flipping through a few pages of this book, I ran down to the basement and pulled out some of my early graduate school reading materials. I traced some of my favorite readings with underlines, highlights, and notes on... and was stunned to find how impactful those readings were in my developing body of work. I noted on words like 'stratum : a layer of material, naturally or artificially formed, often one of a number of parallel layers one upon another' and 'iteration : act of repeating.' These words were prophetic of my works to come. I also obsessively underlined and wrote notes on the article Wolfgang Laib: Transcendent Offerings. Here is a quote that is so clear in Wolfgang Laib's influence on my work:

The perishable and ephemeral materials Laib emplys indicate his comfort with impermanence; he cultivates the moment. The labor that goes into Laib's art is a form of meditation, its own reward; he is content to spend countless hours collecting pollen (it can take months to fill a few jars) and then shaping it into tiny cone-shaped hills for a piece . . . that a single sneeze could blow away. Requiring a form of labor that would be impossibly tedious to most of us, Laib's work with pollen, in particular, embodies an intrinsic awareness that it will exist only as long as its creator is available to make it happen.

 

 Ah, love going back to these thoughts and notes!


Today, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center announced Louis Corrigan as a winner for Nexus Award 2011. Being able to work with someone like Louis Corrigan (a founder of Flux Projects and Possible Futures), I consider, is another schooling for me after school. Witnessing someone with a vision to generously and courageously support the art community has been eye-opening and uplifting. I am now challenged to think about patronage, artistic vision, and communal relationships as an artist. To read more about the award and Louis Corrigan, go to http://www.burnaway.org/2011/02/corrigan-wins-nexus-award/.


Cheers,
G.

When people gather for a revolution -

photo courtesy of New York Times

I am from a generation that hasn't experienced such a tension and urgency to take actions for a cause. R e v o l u t i o n ? What does that even really mean?

I am listening to the radio and reading articles about Egypt turning upside and down for a revolution. There is a bit of frustration in me, not being able to relate, understand, and glimpse what it means to be in their state . . .  I tried to imagine a degree of pain, yet a terribly thrilling sensation of being in the midst of such an event.

Is it too self-observed or idealistic for me to post these pictures simply because I thought these people were creating incredible landscapes?


- G.

Cutting Evening Photos

So Flux Projects offered to coordinate a flower cutting evening!   
And we did it.

With 6 paper cutters, 2 scissors, and a bag of green flowers, we went out to cut. It was quite fun for me to share this experience of shredding and to chat and eat together. Thank you for those who came out to help: Louis C., Anne D., Stephanie D., Jane G., Leslie J., , Seana R., Paris, and Laurie W.. . .  You were wonderful.

We are going to hold another cutting evening next Tuesday at 6PM. If you are interested in helping, e-mail me at gyunhur@gmail.com for more information.


Thank you!

- G.

Cutting Evening -

Hello everyone,

I am having a cutting evening with Flux Projects team tomorrow evening at 6PM. If you are interested, please e-mail me at gyunhur@gmail.com. I will give you more information how you can join us!

Thank you very much,
Gyun

Saturyday Morning

Saturday morning brunch -

It has been awhile for me to have no events arranged for Saturday. Usually, on Saturdays, I would have to do errands, go to artist talks, participate in some projects, and meetings to catch up. This morning, I woke up not having to worry too much about the schedule for the day, except . . . flower cutting and video recording oh, and evening events at Get This! Gallery and Saltworks Gallery.  -_+

We usually eat a bowl of sticky rice with beans and a soup, along with some side dishes - various Kimchi stuff (fermented cabbages and radish). I was reading some The New York Times articles on my laptop while my parents were catching their news on Korean news channel on TV. Egyptians' protest was a big news in both media, so we talked a little bit about that. My dad mentioned how he was, too, once a part of protest against a militant government in Korea in 1970s and 1980s. Right after Korean War, South Korea also had to go through much tension and sacrificial blood to accomplish democratic government that exists today. To view images of Egyptians' protest, go to http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/28/world/middleeast/egypt-protests.html?ref=middleeast.

The Kwangju uprising of 1980, South Korea

Happy Saturday, everyone!
I will be cutting more flowers today, and oh, Happy 6th Anniversary, Get This! Gallery!!! Thanks for everything -

 - G.

My First Lobby Day at GA Capitol Hill

Mrs. Sandra Deal speaking, First Lady, State of Georgia

It was gloomy and rainy today. I parked awkwardly right front of Capitol Hill and headed to Central Presbyterian Church where people were gathered to be trained for the Arts Advocacy day at the Capitol.

Teresa Osborn from the Hudgens Center for the Arts was right at the registration table. Of course, we greeted each other with excitement. I was quite impressed by the number of people and familiar faces I saw. The room was full with arts advocates and arts leaders!!!

First Lady of the State of Georgia, Mrs. Sandra Deal spoke on behalf of our Governor Nathan Deal. Cool, right?

I was quite confused at the beginning, but eventually got to understand the goal for today's advocacy.


We were there to ask the legislature :

• to support the move of the Georgia Council for the Arts to the Georgia Department of Economic Development in a way that maintains its eligibility to receive National Endowments for the Arts Funding.

• to fund the Georgia Council for the Arts at $1 Million in Fiscal Year 2012. It's an investment of one dime per person in Georgia which makes us 49th in the nation in per capita arts spending. The Georgia Council for the Arts funding earns a return on investment of 7:1, resulting in increased local and state tax revenues. $1 Million of funding at the state level will earn an additional $900,000 matching grant from the National Endowments for the Arts.

Everyone is suffering from this economy, therefore, budget is getting cut everywhere. Non-profit arts organizations got one of hardest hits. Last year in April, 2010, there was a rally to protest arts funding cuts and the elimination of the Georgia Council for the Arts. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution blog, Gov. Sonny Perdue's fiscal 2011 budget cut arts funding to $890,735, down from $2.52 million last year. To read more details about last year's rally, go to http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/hundreds-rally-to-protest-475035.html.

Our point to the legislature was "the $385 Million arts industry in Georgia creates opportunities for tourism, local commerce, and celebration of regional culture in Georgia." Arts industry yields economic profits, not losses. Considering Georgia being 49th state in the nation in its arts spending per capita, today's Lobby Day for the Arts Advocacy seemed urgent.

I went to the house representatives and the state senates with two other people from the Alternate Roots (non-profits arts organization in Atlanta). It took us a long time to find the right representatives and find their rooms... running around the building was quite exhausting as well. Yet this one state senate really heard us. She was encouraged by what Alternate Roots accomplished this past year, and she recognized the need of the support for the arts.

Driving back to Marietta, I was inspired by all the arts leaders who came out for this Lobby Day. Without this mechanism for the arts industry, the city of Atlanta and rest of Georgia would be lacking so much of its identity as a cultural center. With such support in the arts, I was able to benefit from generous arts education, funding, and opportunities.

I did a very small part as an artist. Just to be present at the Arts Advocacy Lobby Day at the Capitol.

Next time I participate, I will post more information so that you can be a part of it, too.

- G.

GACAA Arts Advocacy Afternoon at the Georgia State Capitol

ad.vo.ca.cy: The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause or policy (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

lob.by.ing: Activities aimed at influencing... members of a legislative body on legislation (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law).

It's rainy and gloomy today. This is my very first time participating in advocacy and lobbying at the capitol. I have no idea how it is going to be, but I will share more stories about the experience tonight.


- G.

Late Night Thoughts - placeness, blogging and twittering, Lenox project, writing, this weekend . . .

Studio calendar to keep track with schedule and number of cups of shredded flowers

So I'm up late tonight - with so many thoughts on my mind. To process my mind, I turned myself to blogging - oh dear. Where did that good, old writing on a journal go?

I, in fact, have been thinking a lot more about my blogging. As it is my resolution to polish up my blog this year, I also want to get more serious about writing as well. English is my second language, so I know my writing is lacking in its correct grammar. I also would like to see if I could improve my creative/critical writing, considering myself becoming a consistent art blogger and a commentator. Hey, I wanted to be a writer as a young girl, and if not a serious author, I still could be an interesting blogger at least!

This thing called 'social media' is changing the way artists represent themselves. We definitely have more control over our representation and persona. And this blogging activity allows an artist to process happenings around her, promote art events in community, share about art making with others, and critically develop an artistic voice that is valuable to the community as well as to other artists. 

According the website Zitzsolution, "Facebook has over 250 million users globally. On an average, 70-100 tweets happen by the second. An average user on Facebook has 120 friends." Now, that's mind boggling for real.  

I haven't quite figured out twittering thing yet. Well, I do not have a smart phone, so that explains much of it. Yet, I just found out people check out my blog via tweeter more than I expected! So I just changed the background of my twitter, so that it looks nice. Check it out and follow me! http://twitter.com/#!/gyunhur 

 

Placeness - is also on my mind. I want to revisit Miwon Kwon's One Place After Another.  I will do a post about her writings and thoughts on placeness and site-specificity, which will become essential in developing my conceptual approach to the Lenox project with FLUX in March. Here is great a quote regarding issues of an individual's contextualized identity in community/place. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~sttwn/vzc.htm

How is it possible to throw light on individual and community fragmentation: of the loss of the traditional definitions of identity, community/"place" and "site"? How do we frame our identity, whether as the exoticized subjects of the community where site-specific art is created, or as the exoticized persona of the interventionist artist, and who is left out?

Korean journalist Ms. Kim called me this morning to ask me about my artist talk at the Hudgens this Saturday. She asked me what I would be presenting during the talk and if it would be all right for Korean speaking audience to come. I said, "of course!" To her question, "what would you like for people to get out of your talk?" I mentioned how I would like Korean immigrants like my parents and myself to have an opened mind and curiosity about contemporary art. They should not feel intimated or distant just because it is unfamiliar. Ultimately, where my art stems from isn't too different from their life stories. I hope they can somehow relate to my story and artwork.


* * *
Lenox project is coming up in a few weeks.  I had a meeting with FLUX and Lloyd (Get This! Gallery director) and I am getting excited about this ambitious project. There will be a lot of logistics to figure out, but it's an incredible challenge and opportunity for me. I will be posting about 'volunteering' and 'installation process,' so stay tune.

FLUX projects are funding a few more artist projects this year. To check out more about their projects, go to http://www.fluxprojects.org/projects.html.

To Do List for me this weekend:

Friday, Jan. 21, 2011

The Museum of the Contemporary Art of Georgia

Movers & Shakers: MOCA GA Salutes the Rising Stars of the Georgia Arts Scene

Exhibition Dates: January 22 - March 19, 2011

Opening reception: 6:30-7:30pm

 

Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011

The Hudgens Center for the Arts

Artist Talk at 11AM
For direction, go to http://thehudgens.org/?page_id

Get This! Gallery

Life Iconic

Print show curated by: Jiha Moon
January 22 - March 05, 2011
Opening reception: 7-10pm

Rich Theater, Woodruff Art Center

Iranian Film Today

Women Without Men

8 pm / To buy tickets, go to

http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=4,3,2&eventId=742&eventTypeId=8

   

Maybe I will see you around this weekend! Just don't judge me if you see dark circles under my eyes and say 'hi.' -_-;

- G.