Glorification of Life, Aesthetics and epistemology of Negative

 

Shim, Sang-Yong (Professor of Dong-duk Women's University, Art Critic)​
 

“They hold the beauty that approaches with unknown mystery.

I walk among others.” (Lee, Yong-Deok)

 

“Life is a precarious thing…(Das Leben ist eine missliche Sache...)”

That was Schopenhauer‟s spat out theorem of life. Are these words true? Sculptor Lee, Yong- Deok answers that it is not. Life is beautiful in whatever place and whatever way people face it. Lee, Yong-Deok believes that people should not deny the aesthetics of life even on a foreign street passing by anonymous people. In any situation, people should not give conditions in realizing the wonders of „life(living)‟ and that people who merely pass by us can become soul‟s companions - this is the motive behind Lee, Yong-Deok‟s creation.

 

Lee, Yong-Deok‟s characters almost never stand still. All of them are walking towards „this way.‟ This physical approach towards viewer is a definite movement towards the communicational accomplishment, even though it is a very brief intersection. Think about it. With this momentary passing of one another, they can go their own ways without being bothered by viewer‟s interpretation (in other words, they do not need to agree other‟s interpretation) in free spirit and without compromising their ways and styles to others. The moment of approach and intersection makes people suddenly realize that they are being surrounded by feelings of existence through small fluctuations of air. Approach and intersection is also the key factor of real characteristic mutual response and a type of intuitive communication. It is not easy to believe that disappearing individuals, who leave such insignificant and un-staged marks as discontinuation of half and communication of half, can encourage such wills of life! As a result, Lee, Yong-Deok moves his characters towards us.

 

Lee, Yong-Deok‟s approaching characters hold the meaning of „relieved disappearance‟ (a few handpicked ones out of disappearance). They currently exist at one place but used to occupy a different time and space. If we are looking at them from a universal timeline, they should have already disappeared. By miraculously letting this different truth exist and collect in one place, the artist is reminding the descriptive level of everyday life and is trying to show diachronic narrative of „Self-consciousness and Persona.‟

A different meaning of such collective method of concreteness is resolutely ordering “from here” to the desire of cogitation, which distances itself from the present situation. It is to bring ontology down from empty space of hollow meta discourse to actually existing ground. From this point, the artist‟s use of earth is more meaningful because it can be seen as his molding is granting body, flesh and bone to ontology.

 

The artist‟s realism is also on the extension of this line. It is a method of showing vividness of existence “as it is, without useless exaggeration or distortion.” Any decoration or abstraction, other than fact, can come into antagonism with Lee, Yong-Deok‟s intention. As understood, decorations are born out of dissatisfying reality and abstraction is more affective at removing reality rather than making it stronger. Then, how about a chain of photo-realism? Because of such excessive tendency to instruct, there is a great possibility that a chain of photo-realism will move towards oppressing even minimum imagination (we have experienced from an example of United States of America degrading ontology to information tank of existence). Therefore, it should be understood that the reason Lee, Yong-Deok‟s form and description is delicate is not because of ideology that assigns importance to an object‟s formalistic reappearance, but because it is the way to respect beings who lived in a concrete space and time. From wrinkles of clothes to hair decorations, his sincere description of characters should be read as the artist‟s desire to reflect the real records of his characters‟ lives. The reason he is staying at the traditional method of modeling is also in the same vein. It is a privilege to handle ontology in such physical vividness by adding clay to pieces a little by little.

 

Aesthetics of Negative: Reversal of Non-Sculpture and Concessive Skepticism

 

If only to here, Lee, Yong-Deok‟s world can be sufficiently discussed in a fairly talented realistic sculptural category. It could have been seen merely as a sincere succession of tradition by putting importance on a chain of lyrical realism. However, in Lee, Yong-Deok‟s creation, the most important part is not it being a sculpture, but it being a dramatically reversed sculpture and it being a system of visual perception that allows reversal. By this system, characters resurrect out of memories or become panoramas of memory and history that pierces through walls from the other side of time.

 

This very current event of characters walking towards viewer turns the exhibition space into a tightly wound and tense place of communication. They are like ambassadors of diachronic history (various place & time) advancing towards viewers from all different directions. In an instant, the exhibition space is overflowed by episodes and dramas of characters. By this

abundant approach, leaps of some space and some types of evolution of communication are provoked. Leaps and evolutions - the characters become something more than appreciated objects and viewers receive more than the experience as mere spectators!

 

When viewing Lee, Yong-Deok‟s characters, one must say, “the important point is that they are walking towards viewers”. However, is this true? Are they walking towards viewers? When viewers move closer, people realize that it is not true. Characters are not walking towards viewers but moving away from them. They appear to come out of walls, but they actually walk into walls and accurately speaking, advancing, which looks like coming towards viewers, is actually escaping from viewers. They are negative, not positive.

 

As they seem to approach closer, they actually distance farther away. Walking towards is communication that relies entirely on deception (trompe-l'oeil) and consequently walking towards is an incomplete proposition that is true not in realistic dimension but only in epistemological dimension. Their approach is only activated with unstable vision as „unstable walking towards‟ or „visual subordinate‟ walking.

 

Lee, Yong-Deok‟s illusion is joined in the same context with diffused danger of epistemology. In the artist‟s world, the truth completely relies on visual perception and it is in the same vein as Tarsky‟s skeptical epistemology - “all truth relies on system.” The artist‟s perceptional system can be compared to the preconception of Kantian meaning (understanding of object, in result, becomes different and distorted by it) or Thomas Kuhn‟s scientific paradigm. His negative also makes viewers see and believe by it and at the same time makes viewers not believe seeing is real (truth) and the object makes viewers rely on visual perception, but because of it, it becomes an unstable object. Lee, Yong-Deok‟s, by negative, classifications of walking towards/walking away, this side/that side, approaching/receding and sculpture/non-sculpture is in a moment lost and realism is crushed in the grinding stones of relativism.

 

Lee, Yong-Deok‟s negative as skeptical cognizance questions parts that were, until now, recognized as „actual sculpture,‟ such as mass and volume. Is that sculpture? It is not. Rather, it is more non-sculpture than sculpture that is at zero condition. It is „minus‟ sculpture or „minus‟ of sculpture, therefore fake sculpture. However, this non-sculpture made beyond minus of mass or fake sculpture makes sculpture more interesting. Let‟s remember Popper‟s lesson. “The possibility of falsification in hypothesis, in other words more possible falsification percentage, causes the hypothesis to have contents (more interesting).”

Conscious or unconscious, Lee, Yong-Deok does not only violate the rules of „sculpture as positive‟, but also doubts rules, sculpture as regulation, or paradigm of sculpture itself. Although he is a sculptor who works with the most traditional methods, declining the existence and skeptical epistemology, not the actual existence, reaches the „non-sculpture‟ (inner confession) in the end. The real charm of the artist is his non-sculpture that doubts sculpture. By deciding fake truths or system relying truths, it becomes meaningful inquiry that shows uncontrollable condition of self-imposed cognizance.

 

In some sense, Lee, Yong-Deok can be seen as to retrace dispute points of epistemology back to prior-Montaigne time. By regarding the issue of perception as problem, which was already considered by Montaigne and Descartes as inappropriate means of knowledge, and by establishing perception relying game, which the issue was its core, he announces that he is clearly on an antipode of Descartes-tic „logic and definite standard of reason.‟ Currently the artist is not dealing with cognizance, but with the danger of cognizance. Even in this case, Lee, Yong-Deok‟s skeptical epistemology merely touches the problem of perception - it is not making an issue of truth. In other words, walking towards or not and/or real sculpture or absent non- sculpture, they are still meaningful texts that justify the glorification of life. The foundation,

„affirmation over life,‟ of Lee, Yong-Deok and his world is very strong to the point that it will not concede to any principle of skepticism.

 

Lee, Yong-Deok‟s world is dualistic in a sense that it uses sculptural realism and skeptic dimensions of epistemology, simultaneously. Above the horizon, reflections on realism & epistemology and perceptibility & disorganization are laid out side by side. He is a poet who recites unexaggerated life and at the same time is a formalist who indulges in reversal of rhythm and tones. He also has the side of epistemologist who doubts the music itself. As multi-cords are mixed, the atmosphere that brews tension can only be seen as truly charming.