U-Ram Choe
New Urban Species
February 19–May 16, 2010
Korean artist U-Ram Choe’s kinetic sculptures are made of delicately curved sections of wrought metal, joined together in movable parts that are driven by motors to expand, contract, or otherwise suggest the autonomic motions of such primitive life forms as plants and single-celled aquatic creatures. The intricate workmanship and graceful movements of these mechanical sculptures offer viewers an unparalleled visual delight. At the same time, they have profound philosophical implications, inviting consideration of the subject of life’s origins, evolution, and future. Evoking new developments in genetic engineering, prosthetic technologies, and robotics, these graceful and disturbing works propose the existence of species that, while constructed of inorganic materials and powered by light and electricity, mimic the behavior and appetites of living beings. Appropriately alluding to the methodologies of biologists or botanists from the Age of Discovery, Choe uses a Latin nomenclature in titling his creatures, and provides detailed pseudo-scientific descriptions of their habitats and behaviors. This allusion to a system of taxonomy that reached its height in the nineteenth century aligns with the works’ evocations of early science fiction—Jules Verne’s fishlike Nautilus submarine, for example. The charm of yesterday’s seemingly organic automata gives way to a chill accompanying the uncanny recognition that today, botanical or animal hybrids are under development by scientists who are less concerned with the unintended consequences of manipulating nature than with expanding the boundaries of life.
About the artist:
Born in 1970, U-Ram Choe lives in Seoul, Korea. He has had solo exhibitions at The Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, and bitforms gallery in New York. His work also has been exhibited at the Shanghai Biennale, Seoul Museum of Art, Samsung Museum, Sungkok Art Museum, Busan's Metropolitan Art Museum, Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Bologna, Seoul Olympic Art Museum, and Seoul Forest Open Air Sculpture Symposium. Choe’s works are in the Crow Collection, Sungkok Art Museum, and the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, and the Manchester Art Gallery.
Copied from the Frist Center for Visual Arts!! And from MB Shaw at The Common Denominator . Check her out. Great blog!!!
Amazing work..almost Steampunk like!! Enjoy!
Hugging you
SueAnn
17 comments:
Very intriguing. Such patience to coordinate such movement and such intricacy of gears and yet such beaty of light in many of the works. Are the motors driven by batteries or is it based on balance and weight?
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am glad you shared that. That is utterly amazing. I am in awe of the mind that could conceive and create this.
Wonderful work. I could see the mention of flowers and water animals in these works. Just fabulous.
Simply Amazing! I find it hard to even think about something so intricate!
Very cool. Thanks for showing us. I especially liked the first one with the flowers opening and closing.
that is amazing. incredible art work...yeah it must take quite a bit to put those together...way cool.
Absolutely AMAZING!
Seems to be living objects!
Maggie
Nuts in May
VERY COOL!
Oh my goodness! That's amazing!
I am speechless!!
I watched the entire video. That is amazing.
Very cool SueAnn! Love it. Thanks for posting. You're right, almost steampunk, in an elegant, moveable way! Thanks so much for your visit, appreciate it. Hugs, Riki
That was fascinating, and the work is beautiful. I always wish I could borrow an artist vision for just a minute or two...perhaps when they are sleeping...just so that I could see the world as they do, see what draws their focus. Live in his or her mind for just long enough to see through different eyes.
The entire time I was watching that Youtube video, that's what caught. Not merely that someone created that, although that's impressive, but that it start with a thought, an idea. A visualized thing made real.
Just lovely.
Wow! WOW! WOW!!!! Simply incredible! I LOVE it!!! He's brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing this!!! Love, Janine XO
Very, very cool...so intricate!!
Great video, my eyes were popping out. The marvels of technology.
Thank you very much for being at my site, I truly appreciate it. :)
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