[비즈한국] The Korea Art Promotion Project, which began as an initiative solely to support artists, has been running for 10 years. Staying true to our initial intent, we have supported around 230 artists. It was a unique endeavor, the likes of which no media outlet, cultural organization, or state institution in Korea had ever attempted. We take pride in the belief that this decade of persistence has been etched into the 21st-century Korean art scene as a distinct value. Consequently, the project is recognized for having established a perspective from which to observe the flow of contemporary Korean art throughout its 10-year history. Now, in Season 11, we aim to pave yet another path for Korean art.
In general, we use the word "dimension" when discussing the principles of the world. By definition, it refers to "one's position or perspective in viewing or thinking about things, or the level of thought or knowledge that forms a certain opinion."
An easier way to understand dimension is through its mathematical meaning. The 0th dimension is a point. Connecting points creates a straight line, which is the 1st dimension. Connecting lines vertically and horizontally creates a plane, which is called the 2nd dimension. Connecting planes creates space, which is the 3rd dimension. The world we live in is 3-dimensional.
Beings including humans living in the 3rd dimension can sensually perceive and understand lower dimensions, and thus, can dominate them as they please. However, if there were any beings living in the 1st or 2nd dimensions, they would neither be able to see nor understand us living in the 3rd dimension.
If there is a world different from this one that we perceive physically, we would neither be able to feel it nor understand it. Among such mysteries, the world after death is the greatest question for humans, as it is intrinsically linked to life.
Life is a series of problem-solving without clear answers. There are many formulas to find the answer, but no definitive solution can be found. As long as life continues….
Then, how can we find the answer to life? Perhaps the answer lies in death, where life ultimately arrives. Because our lives cannot solve the problem of death, humans have created worlds beyond our capabilities—in our imagination. To solve problems that the human mind cannot solve. That is God.
The world of God is clearly a different dimension. Exploring such a profound world is what religion and art do. Therefore, imagination regarding other dimensions has acted as a driving force for human art and remains a captivating subject today.
The theme of painting pursued by artist Yang Ji-hoon is also a challenge to these very questions. He sets a rectangular empty space on a canvas filled with clouds and utilizes it as a metaphor for passing into another dimension. It is a ‘door.’
Even in daily life, a door is a passageway connecting different spaces. We are curious when looking at a closed door. And there arises a desire to open it. Starting from this simple idea, the artist captures questions about other worlds on his canvas.
The reason Yang Ji-hoon’s doors evoke such a feeling is because he sets them against a background of clouds with a mysterious atmosphere. This is also why we keep returning to his work, even though the idea itself is not particularly unconventional. The shapes and colors of the clouds are diverse, and sometimes he incorporates the gentle movement of waves into the canvas as well.
Through this, the artist says he hopes his work “becomes a painting that helps people escape the vanity of a finite life and gain energy for a fulfilling daily life.”