1 Day of My Art Festival!

Introduction of the most impressive debut film

  ​Today is the first day of my art festival.

 Festivals are a celebrating way to memory glorious heritage, culture, and traditions. In other words, it does not mean simply eating and drinking and having a party, but rest for new production activities and a monumental event for re-creation.

Art festivals are held together with local festivals, mainly art and culture-related performances, exhibitions, and seminars at art galleries, museums, or other related organizations. An arts festival that is not limited to the visual arts but may feature a mixed program that includes music, literature, comedy, children's entertainment, science or street theater.

They are usually offered at venues over a period ranging from a day or weekend to a month. Each event within the program is usually ticketed individually.

I've decided to hold my art festival on my site for a week. And I created a timetable like below.

   Today's title is " Introduction of the most impressive debut film". 

  I lived in the small suburban in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany for about eight years. At that time, I made my debut in the Poly Gallery. Still thinking about that time, I think it was a turning point that changed my life, a brave and good decision, and a precious time. I put the pictures below in my portfolio bag and took the interview.

  I drew all of these paintings one by one to shake off the thoughts of hometown and loneliness that came to mind as I left Korea for the first time in my life and lived as a stranger and outsider in an unfamiliar land.

  ​Most of the above pictures were created between 2006 when I first arrived in Germany, and 2010 before I was interviewed. Mostly, I drew on A4 or B4 and Letter paper with watercolors or acrylics. There was no particular theme, and I drew many things right away as I remembered to overcome the difficulties and struggles I face in the daily life of immigrants.

  I drew some paintings during the watercolor process at the art museum. Looking at these pictures, I can feel how much I missed Korea. And realise now the colors and tones are still Korean.

  ​The opinions of the artists who judged me during the interview felt like a message of encouragement and support. "Why did you draw on a small piece of paper? Draw bigger!"   And also I remember they told me that it feels something with the creativity". Some painters offered to rent an atelier for as low a price. I still regret not responding to that offer at that time.

  The screening process was really fun. It was a gallery run as a cooperative of painters, and all of them were sincere and passionate artists. They placed each marble into a glass jar like a goldfish tank, which had to be above a certain level. A lot of marbles were put in, and I was able to get my first exhibition opportunity by passing a certain level.

Poly, Karlsruhe, source by http://www.poly-galerie.org/navi.html

   In the first exhibition, the following paintings were exhibited. I thought a lot about drawing a cool philosophical drawing with one tone and one theme. But there was a philosophy that the most honest is the best. So I drew what I wanted to draw. I like to capture the movement and energy of objects and draw them.

  When I was young, I tried to capture the movement of fish while looking at it. I wanted to capture the fluttering of wings and the birds' energy I feed them at home. I also wanted to capture the trees swaying whenever the wind blows. I tried to stuff the vividness and dynamism of that energy into the canvas. Like the wind, energy is invisible, but it exists. The emotion we speak of, love, has different visible results but is invisible. I wanted to draw this kind of energy.

 Currently, out of the 19 paintings above, I have only 3 paintings so far. 16 paintings found their owners. 
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  I love all the pictures, but there are some that I personally think are the best.   

Tow fish, 2011, Myungja Anna Koh

  That's the picture of the two fish above. As time passes and I draw, I feel that the direction of what I am pursuing and what I want becomes clearer. In the beginning, there was a lot of fear. It's because I wanted to draw better than others, and I had wanted to draw a picture that would come and wonder when others saw it. And when I did the first exhibition, I thought that there was a visible path from then on, and I felt that I would go on that path vigorously.

  However, looking back, I realize that it was all an illusion and that, in the end, it was a way to walk like a monk with the sincerity of art. And, of course, there is no road, so I am well aware that I have to take a big shovel and dig up one step to make a way at a time. Perhaps what would have happened if I had known this in advance during the initial exhibition? I probably haven't been able to work for such a long time. I guess I gave up halfway and tried to find another way because it is much easier to walk a path someone has made than building a track from scratch.

  Still, I think it was fortunate that I didn't know anything. And I still go through trial and error, but I know very well that I will continue down this path in the end. In this sense, the picture of two fish is the world I want to draw in the future because I drew the fish in my dream and tried to capture its energy and movement.

With this My Art Festival as an opportunity, I hope this year will be a year where I can go back to my first feeling and think about what kind of picture I should draw, and above all, I look forward to drawing a lot of images I like.