Congratulations! National Wind Energy Art Contest winners!Finally, the winner of the National Wind Art Energy Contest has been posted on the website. Once again, I would like to send a congratulatory message to one of my students who won the first prize, Iris Yang and the Honorable Mansion Awards, Oscar Bao and Elbert Wei.
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Exit through the gift shop! by Banksy‘Exit only after passing through the gift shop’ refers to the structure of an art museum where you have to pass through the gift shop to exit after viewing an exhibition, and is a criticism of the modern art world colluding with commercialism. Banksy, a graffiti artist from Bristol, England. He is a writer whose real name, name, age, etc. are not revealed. He secretly exhibited his parody works at the British Museum and the Louvre Museum, and painted graffiti expressing his wish for peace on the wall between Israel and Palestine. Image reference: https://banksy.co.uk/out.html <Exit through the gift shop> is a documentary directed by Banksy. His beginnings were strange. His name was Thierry Guetta, a French native who sold used clothing in the United States. Gueta, who took a camera everywhere he went and filmed everything, learned that his cousin, who goes by the stage name ‘Space Invader,’ did street art. Guetta followed him into the world of street art. Street art works and work processes that are difficult to record due to their illegality and one-time nature were captured on Guetta's tapes. The problem is that Guetta was not a film director but a ‘documentary enthusiast.’ Guetta's warehouse was filled with rare materials, but he never looked at the tapes. It's just recorded, not organized. Banksy felt it was a shame to see precious records of street art lost, so he encouraged Guetta to make his material into a film, and after struggling with the tape for six months, Guetta created the ‘work’. Banksy said after seeing the work. “He was not a film director. “He was mentally ill, but there was just a camera.” In the end, Banksy decided to make his own film, and the result was <Exit Through the Gift Shop>. ‘The process of Guetta’s debut as a graffiti artist towards the end is exciting. It shows artists, media, collectors, and the public mired in megalomania turning ‘scrap’ into ‘works.’ Watching this film is interesting because you can vividly see the process of how street art entered the world of commercial galleries and art shows. In addition, you can watch how a famous artist becomes commercially available in an instant through Tierra Guerra, an eccentric camera enthusiast who disguised himself as Mr. Brainwash. Is this just a joke? So, we have to ask ourselves a serious question: What really is art? When I was in Germany, in 2006, one day I passed through a long alley that led to a narrow, dark underground parking lot. In a gray, narrow passageway where no light came in and the only smell was the musty smell of cement, a graffiti exhibition framed with artist tape caught my eye. The exhibition, which was like a child's doodles, conveyed interest, curiosity, and sparkling joy to me as I walked through the boring and dirty aisles. And from that day on, I wanted to express something every day. I carefully took out the dream of becoming an ‘artist’, which I had erased from my memory because I thought it was realistically impossible. From then on, I drew pictures whenever I felt depressed and discouraged, and many such pictures were collected. And with these paintings, I was truly able to live the life I dreamed of as a child: an artist. The inspiration for 'art' that I felt while passing through the underpass was a collection of 'extremely ordinary, boring and simple things that live all around us.' It is as invisible and insignificant as air, so we live as slaves to greed, hypocrisy, and corruption in deep oblivion, without even knowing that we live because of this air. True art awakens humans and allows them to discover very important truths that they have lost in their lives. It is like a twinkling star shining alone in the pitch-dark night sky. I found a single ray of light in the darkness and moved forward. However, as a painter since my debut in 2011, I feel great barriers every day. It is like a large 8-meter-high wall surrounding the Gaza Strip, blocking out all the scenery in the world and making the artist isolated. Although they want to pursue art with a pure and sincere heart, the reality is that there are too many people who interfere with the art of these artists. In fact, the purity of art itself and commerciality cannot mix like water and oil. However, people value true beauty and pay for it. That is why artists are well aware of the moment when a painting turns into money. Artists make a living by drawing and selling paintings. Therefore, except for some very lucky artists who are famous and don't have to worry about making a living, they have to constantly generate ideas to turn their paintings into money to survive. From the artist's point of view, this film feels like watching the growth diary of an unpleasant scammer. It makes you think that you can become a famous artist if you have direct connections and support from famous artists, capital, business sense, and the courage and eloquence to not be easily discouraged by criticism. So what is true art in this chaos? In my case, I don't have time to go all-in on promotion or business. To be honest, there isn't much time allowed to draw. In some ways, it feels like neither time nor money is on my side, and I become frustrated with this reality. Because of practical difficulties, at some point I started practicing drawing pictures in my head, and thanks to that, I was able to draw inspiration that came to me without having to see anything. I struggle like this a little bit every day. And actually, I think there are more artists like me in the world. I think it is important to enjoy the process itself if you pursue true art, regardless of whether you succeed or not or gain wealth and fame. Above all, I am moving forward every day, following the stars twinkling in the night sky.
Live Online Zoom Reception of NWS Member exhibition!The NWS Online Member Exhibition will be held from May 1 to June 30. I was invited by email to a reception held via Zoom. About 60 participants were at the online reception. First, the president, Ms. Watry greeted us and explained about this exhibition and reception. The reception began with a presentation of the works of 100 selected watercolor artists. NWS board members and judge were also introduced. After judging, the top 10 out of 100 received prizes and prizes. The judges briefly explained what made the 10 people's work win the award. Below is my work, one of the 100 works. I first joined NWS as an associate member and applied for this competition for the first time. Everything is first and new. I am posting this in the hope that my experience may be helpful to someone.
I applied for the competition and the president directly notified me by email whether I was selected, We exchanged emails several times and I personally think she is a very kind and thoughtful person. Of course, I've never met her in person. However, compared to my experience participating in other competitions, I feel that this competition was very responsive and well-organized. I think the reception lasted about 30-35 minutes. All subjects enter with video and sound muted and can simply watch the proceedings. It was a new experience for me. The reward for the experience of participating in this exhibition is the opportunity to take a close look at the work of other master artists. And I can analyze for myself what I need to work on in the future. You realize how big the world is and how many geniuses there are. And as an artist, I can discover what I need to do more to differentiate myself compared to other artists. This is a valuable experience for me. High tea party!My daughter was recently invited to her 8th birthday party by her best friend. Her party concept this year is a high tea party. In the West, afternoon tea is known as a tea time enjoyed mainly during the day as a tea culture for nobles and the imperial family, and it was a form of culture that was difficult for the common people to participate in at the time. However, as the popularity of tea culture gradually spread, people from the working class began to enjoy tea in a form that they could enjoy. It is said that the representative characteristic of high tea is that people start drinking tea mainly in the evening when work is over. My friend Freya transformed her daughter's 8th birthday party into this high tea party format. Whenever I attend her daughter's birthday party, I feel like I have escaped the hustle and bustle of everyday life and been invited into a magical world like a fairy tale. And this birthday party consists of only a small number of members. We spend enough time listening to the beautiful birdsong, talking, drinking tea, and hearing the happy laughing and giggling of children.
Thought about the paintingI recently started another painting. The story of this painting is a storytelling painting about the connection between the Altamira cave paintings and modern times. I paid attention to the story of the moment when the Altamira cave paintings were discovered. The first discovery was made by a little girl. This is because the child's eye level and height were the only conditions for discovering the hidden mural. I believe that this fact helps a pure, undistorted mind like a child find the value of art and provide direction. I drew an image that came to mind when I thought of this type of inspiration and story. For this work, I thought and thought. To me, painting is beyond technique or creativity. I believe that invisible inspiration, stories, and energy create visible objects. So I meditate and concentrate for a long time to gain the power to make the invisible world visible. If I think about it, the time of drawing is more fleeting than the time of meditation, reflection, and thinking. The white paper placed in front of my eyes is more than just paper to me. It is a door that allows me to move from the space of reality that surrounds me to another space, and a window that shows a new world. And I have the amazing experience of this white space showing itself to me. A new image appears in a place I didn't intend. It is an amazing secret and experience. So I sometimes fall into the illusion that the paper is alive. As an artist, I often feel anxious because I am trying to capture invisible inspiration and energy. When I compare myself to other artists who are much more advanced than me technically, I often think that I should also focus more on skill and discover and practice my own techniques. And every time that happens, a slump sets in and I lose energy. If I look at a well-made sample or photo and draw it, I will end up with a much more elaborate and perfect drawing. Every time I look at those paintings, I think that my paintings are too raw and unsophisticated. However, since I draw on dreams and imagination and they cannot be processed with computers or photos, I have to develop my paintings further while remaining raw. These concerns are currently ongoing. So, I think a lot when I draw dreams or inspiration. If I think a lot, I can find your way. Even though this method may be different from other artists, I know my ultimate goal very well. I want to focus on the invisible energy hidden within the objects that create the visible objects. If this energy were not present, the artist would have to draw only what the eye sees. If things were things themselves, artists would lose their jobs. However, when artists draw portraits, for example, they do not draw faces as they are. Even on a person's face, there is individual feeling, experience, and energy that moves the facial muscles and eye light. Artists capture this energy and leave it in paintings. This energy is more than a thing. So I don't try to draw things accurately. Because things are more than just their visible form and composition. There is clearly an energy within it that makes such objects visible. So, as an artist, I consider inspiration important and try to express it. The paintings I submitted to this NWS member exhibition are my empirical narrative paintings about the spirit of living life. Before I became an artist, I was tied up somewhere like an elephant that had learned helplessness and was weakened. The chains that bound me were given to me when I was very young. The chain was weak and thin, and could be broken by a little strength without anyone's help. However, the learned fear and hopeless that had been given to me from the time I was first chained for a long time prevented me from trying anything independently. I lived passively, constantly generating countless helpless and depressing thoughts such as ‘I can’t do anything’, ‘I will be safe if I listen to my mother or someone's advice’, ‘I won’t be able to live independently’. But through painting, I was able to look straight ahead at the reality I was trapped in. So I can confidently say that to me white paper is more than paper. Paintings showed me my own world. It was purely my own world where I could think for myself, make my own decisions, and create my own path. When I was constantly distrusting myself, doubting myself, and mistreating myself, the picture comforted and supported me like a ray of light. And one day, a great realization came to me, like a child who listens to the sound of waves in a piece of paper he picked up on the beach and gains memories of the ocean, its source. And after that realization, I was finally able to boldly break the chains that were binding me. That is the orange bull drawn on the left. I was truly happy after drawing this picture. This kind of happiness is probably something that no photograph, computer-processed image, or artificial intelligence generator can give me. That's why I don't trust photography, computers, or artificial intelligence. I only trust the inspiration, images, and dreams generated within me. That is why I believe that paintings have value as art. This is because anything generated from what is visible is likely to distort something and lose its power. As an artist, I want to continue working with this message. And what I always realize during this work is the story of 'authenticity' that is necessary for enlightenment. It can be completed when you can draw with a childlike mind. Therefore, I am trying to include this message of authenticity in my recent paintings.
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