Do-Ho Suh was born in 1962 in Seoul, Korea but he received his Fine Arts degree in painting form the Rhode Island School of Design and another Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Yale. His art brings together the feelings of contemporary society using three dimensional objects. Sometimes Nature is a part of his art. For example his piece which is called ‘Net-Work’ (2010) is a shimmering metal net raised along an ocean’s beach, leaning almost upright in the sand following the curve of the seashore. In sunshine or even when there are clouds in the sky, the light shimmers along the net which moves and undulates like waves in the ocean. The work has no set height or length. The base of the net is ABS plastic nylon fishing net which has been plated with gold and chrome then coated with a polyurethane protective layer. The piece sits at the seashore and mimics the waves so it is very fitting that it should be made from fishing net. The name of the piece ‘Net-Work’ is certainly a good description. The name it also alludes to the Internet Network which is always changing and moving as well while it carries information all around the world in all directions at once. The relationships that the Net-Work may be visually describing could be the anonymous identity of people using the Internet, or the whole collection of users at a given time like the grains of sand under the Net-Work or one person at the seashore contemplating the waves. The Lehmann Maupin Gallery which has the piece ‘Net-Work’ describes his artistic vision in this way “Interested in the malleability of space in both its physical and metaphorical manifestations, Do-Ho Suh constructs site-specific installations that question the boundaries of identity” (LM, 2012)
One of his greatest (in size) if not the greatest works of art is a collection of thousands of little orange men in a tornado vortex. He has titled the piece ‘Cause & Effect.’ The men are three dimensional sculptures of thousands of the sculptured men sitting on each other’s shoulders, making long strands that are assembled into a tornado shape. Do-Ho Suh explains the piece “’Cause & Effect’ evokes a vicious tornado. This vast ceiling installation is a composition of densely hung strands that anchor thousands of figures clad in colors resembling a Doppler reading stacked atop one another. . . . (The piece is a) physical realization of existence, suggesting strength in the presence of numerous individuals. The work is an attempt to decipher the boundaries between the single identity and a larger group, and how the two conditions coexist.” (Suh, 2012, ThisIsColosa.com)
Now that I have seen the work ‘Cause & Effect’ I hope one day to be able to view it in person. I understand the message from the artist of what he is showing us visually but I think I would like to lie on the floor and look up into the installation. I think it would make me laugh. The piece has its serious side but I find it to be very humorous.
The artist’s piece entitled ‘Some/One’ is another amazing piece. The shape is a coat and it is made of something metal, first seeming like an Egyptian Pharaoh’s coat or a Jacob’s Coat of Many Colors. The jacket is rigid yet curves onto the floor. It also has a shimmery look. On closer inspection the coat is made of thousands of dog tags. This work more than the other two discussed here is a reflection of Do-Ho Suh’s artistic vision. In fact he says
I wanted the viewer to have an experience with these little dog tags, these thousands of dog tags. It symbolizes each individual’s identity. . these many dog tags create this one, larger-than-life figure. It’s ambiguous whether you’re a part of it or not. Whether you are the owner of this robe when you see your own image over there. So that’s why I had the mirror inside. (Art21, 2003, Suh)
Here the individual is represented by the dog tag which could be anonymous or could be part of a person’s identity if the person had served in the military. Then there are the thousands of dog tags all constructed together in one organized object. That is how the military is organized, plus our taxes go towards sustaining the military and military hardware is a very big part of the nation’s exports. So the citizens both inside and outside of the military are all collected and organized together. Then there is the great touch of adding a mirror to the inside of the coat so the viewer becomes a part of the whole too.
Do-Ho Suh has a great imagination and understanding of contemporary culture. He is able to construct with excellent skill three-dimensional art pieces from a variety of materials.
References
Art 21 PBS. Do-Ho Suh. Season 2. 2003.
Art 21 PBS. Do-Ho Suh. Season 2. 2003. Web. Accessed 24 April 2012 from <ww.pbs.org/art21/artists/do-ho-suh>.
[LM] Lehmann Maupin Gallery. 2012. Web. Accessed 24 April 2012 from <http://www.lehmannmaupin.com>.
Do-Ho Suh. Cause and Effect. This is colossal. Web. Accessed 24 April 2012 from <http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/02/do-ho-suhs-cause-effect-a-vortex-of-little-orange-men/>.
Net-Work. Photo of the art piece Net-Work. 2012. Web. Accessed 24 April 2012 .
