{"id":2381,"date":"2022-06-13T13:57:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T13:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dartmagazine.com\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2022-06-13T13:57:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T13:57:46","slug":"the-artificial-beauty-of-jaiseok-kang-a-k-a-jason-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/?p=2381","title":{"rendered":"The Artificial Beauty of Jaiseok Kang a.k.a. Jason River"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Mary Hrbacek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bubble
Bubble wrap no.23 (Mermaid), 2021. Archival Pigment Print, 60×34 in. frame 66×40 in.\u00a0Courtesy of Paris Koh Fine Arts and the artist<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0The newly reopened Paris Koh Fine Arts presents, \u201cartificial. Beauty: Jaiseok Kang a.k.a. Jason River,\u201d an exhibition of six new (2021) large scale archival pigment prints and six smaller gelatin silver prints. The large daring staged images are startling and fresh, evocative and dynamic.\u00a0River\u2019s nature-inspired vision is augmented with colored bubble wrap, repurposed to replicate the leaves of trees and to function as the scales and fins of a male merman and female mermaid.\u00a0 He configures dancers from the New York City ballet, as he explores experimental artificial environments by positioning the volunteer nude models in composite relationships with the reimagined plastic substance of bubble wrap. River plays out mythological themes of transformation into human Bonsai trees; human-fish and jellyfish morph into forms with extended meaning and potential.\u00a0 Bubble wrap, a signature material in River\u2019s creative vocabulary, adds a heightened emotional charge to the imaginative scenarios that stir in some works euphoric feelings of flowing freedom to be found in the movements of ocean-going creatures. These creatures are perhaps the next step in human evolution, as the Earth\u2019s surface becomes increasingly uninhabitable.\u00a0The freely floating pieces of bubble wrap, functioning as algae or other sea organisms, evoke the weightlessness of forms that thrive in the wind or in water. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bubble
Bubble wrap no.27 (Black Resilience), 2022. Archival Pigment Print, 48×44 in. frame 51×47 in. Courtesy of Paris Koh Fine Arts and the artist<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The extreme realism of the figures, made possible exclusively by the camera, creates a marked shift in vision and contrast in feeling compared with the artificial material. The hybrid combination pushes the boundaries of imagination to the limits of belief by asking the viewer to consider two distinctive means of image-making that are especially provocative in the Bonsai pieces. The human elements of the Bonsai group diverge from the realm of evocative reality into a fully blown rendition of female anatomy. This effect overtakes the natural suggestiveness of the bio-forms.\u00a0The bright supporting colors of the backgrounds and the tree \u201cleaves\u201d transport the works into a heightened non-naturalistic environment that speaks to an unconscious need for reverie and celebration by rejoicing in life\u2019s ever changing vocabulary of experiences. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bubble
Bubble wrap no.25 (Merman), 2021. Archival Pigment Print, 60×34 in. frame 66×40 in.\u00a0Bubble wrap no.27 (Black Resilience), 2022. Archival Pigment Print, 48×44 in. frame 51×47 in.\u00a0Courtesy of Paris Koh Fine Arts and the artist<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The male and female underwater fish figures that glide through the depths with tail fins and tendrils swirling behind, provide a lush sense of the buoyant ephemeral character of underwater existence.\u00a0 Nothing is static or rigidly fixed; every aspect of deep-sea life as seen in the photographs moves and undulates perpetually, beckoning us to escape our inflexibility and rejoice in life. The \u201cBubble wrap no. 21 (Jellyfish)\u201d piece entices the viewer to realize the nature of the Id which can cause us pleasure and pain with its insistent desire and consequent burning sting. The warm enveloping range of light and dark red-orange tones in the \u201cBubble wrap no. 23 (Mermaid)\u201d photograph stirs a sense of both water and fire, while the deep blue hues of the \u201cBubble wrap no. 25 (Merman)\u201d expand our consciousness by presenting cool realms where a freshly created being, the Merman, dominates.\u00a0\u201cBubble wrap no. 27 (Black Resilience)\u201d presents a trio of naked men grouped crouching on a mountain peak, where ominous clouds hover overhead.\u00a0 The men express their ascendency by relating to each other with outstretched arms, having conquered their worldly challenges. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bubble
Bubble wrap no.21 (jellyfish), 2021. (Behind the scenes series).\u00a0Bubble wrap no.27 (Black Resilience), 2022. Archival Pigment Print, 48×44 in. frame 51×47 in.\u00a0Courtesy of Paris Koh Fine Arts and the artist<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBehind the scenes\u201d series of 10\u201d x 10\u201d (frame 15\u201d x 15\u201d) gelatin silver prints gives the viewer insights into River\u2019s creative working process by providing varying possibilities that add to the richness of the final visions, as seen in the large pieces.\u00a0Here the Merman and Mermaid photographs have lights that suggest planets in the darkened \u201csky,\u201d to provide a cosmic or otherworldly dimension to these new forms.\u00a0The three male figures in \u201cBubble wrap no. 27 (Black Resilience)\u201d seem to be resting from a difficult struggle, contemplating their current position.\u00a0 The standing figure appears to be the chief in charge (River himself) who makes the fatal decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These pictures are strange and beguiling; River has created unique narratives that touch the realm of fairytales peopled with creatures who may initially alarm us, but who ultimately stir our awe, empathy, and curiosity.\u00a0 He works intuitively, allowing the exploration process to spark his engagement, providing unconscious ideas and relationships that augment each other. River takes photographs before he assigns theoretical underpinnings to his endeavors.\u00a0 He focuses on what is unfolding in the \u201cnow,\u201d moment by moment.\u00a0This extreme commitment infuses the hybrid works with authenticity; the imagery may initially seem contradictory as the nude body reveals all its forms in contrast with the abstracted structures of the re-purposed bubble wrap, transformed into tree leaves, clouds, fish scales and flying or floating ephemera. By creating these diverse means of expression River takes the photographic genre into a more creative arena using wire, a flashlight and bubble wrap to augment the lush beauty of the nude figures.\u00a0The artist considers the series \u201cbizarre yet fun,\u201d but it goes further than fun, it introduces the viewer to a surprising universe of visual ideas in artificial scenes that open unexpected doors to future explorations. These ideas have acquired their own ingenious reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mary Hrbacek \u00a0The newly reopened Paris Koh Fine Arts presents, \u201cartificial. Beauty: Jaiseok Kang a.k.a. Jason River,\u201d an exhibition of six new (2021) large scale archival pigment prints and six smaller gelatin silver prints. The large daring staged images are startling and fresh, evocative and dynamic.\u00a0River\u2019s nature-inspired vision is augmented with colored bubble wrap, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Artificial Beauty of Jaiseok Kang a.k.a. Jason River”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2386,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions\/2386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}