brilliant 30: Yongseok Oh
Video Collage Artist Stitching Two Worlds Together
Yongseok Oh’s Cinematography: Without Ending, Without Editing
In his essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” (1936) German cultural critic Walter Benjamin estimated the role of film and photography in the decline of autonomous aesthetic experience. This statement might seem to somewhat passé in light of recent cinematography, with its emphasis on outstanding narratives and spectacular visuals. Contemporary viewers' expectations are high in this regard. Despite Benjamin’s skepticism about the use of avant-garde montage techniques, today's audiences are receptive to new ideas, the development of avant-garde artistic manifestos - and memorable visual experiences.
Yongseok Oh’s ‘Without Ending’ re-creates a continuum of uninterrupted horizontal lines from its original 1:1 square format. Ironically, this placid landscape signifies the destruction of cinematic intentions and narrative and a critique of subjectivity. The artist calls out perceptual subjectivity within contemporary media, and exposes it for criticism through reciprocal interactions between existing movie scenes and video footage.
Yongseok Oh’s video portrays social change and the shift from humanism to materialism; it marks an attempt to impart a sense of augmented reality in a fictional, cinematic context.
Vilém Flusser’s “Vampyroteuthis Infernalis” stipulates that what was created as “datum (biologically given)” eventually shifts to a “factum (cultural product)”. In other words, we are able to imagine cultural structures in an artificial environment even when our natural environment has been done away with. This inevitable choice stems from the survival instinct in the midst of conflict between given and created environments; that world must be conjured up and governed under somebody’s will. What Yonseok Oh seeks in his work is not a denial of that will. Rather, he highlights the need to maintain a critical distance from the “factum”. Yongseok Oh’s work discloses the cultural products generated by the media in order to expose the reality immersing society.
Interview
Q. Could you briefly describe your body of work?
A. My work includes single and multi-channel films. More specifically, my project is an experimental multichannel film collage. I take scenes from major motion pictures or soap operas and stitch my footage together with the movie clips. Past and present co-exist in a single frame. I also created a stereoscopic installation by offering separate images to the left eye and right eye, resulting in a single three-dimensional image when viewed with both eyes.
There was something intriguing about the fact that viewers were unable to see outside the square frame. My curiosity eventually led to extending the scenes outside the square format. My sources are various random pictures, scenes from soap operas and film productions. - Yongseok Oh -
Q. Tell us about your most recent project, ‘Without Ending.’
‘Without Ending’ stems from the last scenes of classic foreign films. I used these films - in which the last frames overlap with the credits - because the scenes I look for just aren’t available in Korean cinematography. ‘Without Ending’ is distinguished by the visual continuity of these closing scenes. A well-known film motif from the past is the use of landscape long-shots as the final frame.
One common compositional trait of these long shots is the horizontal ("horizon") line dividing the sky and the land. This is an important feature helping to merge multiple perspectives. As for music, I decided to stick with the original soundtracks. Aside from my footage inserts, I tried my best to exclude subjectivity in my work by showing the entire frame of the final scenes, without editing.
Q. Is there a certain message you wish to convey to your audience through your work?
A. Even at the planning stage, I didn't set an agenda for my project. I didn’t want to limit my audience to a singular interpretation of what they see; I wanted to leave plenty of room for viewers to explore various meanings. Rather, I focused more on the properties of the media. I studied painting at college, but I was also an avid film fan. I got a buzz from the aspect ratio of movies, especially those produced in 1:1 square format. There was something intriguing about the fact that viewers were unable to see outside the square frame. My curiosity eventually led to extending the scenes outside the square format. My sources are various random pictures, scenes from soap operas and film productions. The nature of my work lies in dismantling the geospatial limits of the cinematic framework.
Q. What inspired you to pursue cinematography?
A. As I mentioned, my major at college was painting. Since I was young, I had been told that I had a knack for drawing; I thought it was only natural that I pursue painting. Once at college, I developed a newfound interest in cinema. I immersed myself in all aspects of film production. Due to practical matters such as project financing, I worked mostly with videos. 2002 saw the beginning of my career as an artist and film producer.
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Memory of the Future. Ed 5. 2009. Installation View
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Memory of the Future. Ed 5. 2009. Single channel video. 2mins 10sec
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Memory of the Future. Ed 5. 2009. Single channel video. 2mins 10sec
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Without Ending. Ed 3. 2011. Single channel video, loop random
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The Horizontal Line Without Cut Part 1-4. 2012-2014. 3 Channel video, loop random
Profile
Born in Jeju, Yongseok Oh acquired his B.F.A. and M.F.A. in painting at the College of Fine Art at Suwon University, Korea. Memorable solo exhibits include New Artist of 2005: Drama at Alternative Space Pool, Classic 2010, 16 Bungee at Gallery Hyundai, Square and Square at Federation Square, Melbourne in 2011, and The Horizontal Line Without Cut at Artspace Jungmiso in 2014. Yongseok Oh has participated in group exhibits including Edition 6 of Shanghai Biennale at Shanghai Art Museum, and Edition 4 of Seoul Media Art Biennale in Seoul Museum of Art, both of which took place in 2006; Thermocline of Art at ZKM Center for Art and Media at Karlsruhe in 2007; The 3rd Edition of Seville Biennale, CAAC, Seville and CINEMA SIM, Itau Culture, San Paulo both in 2008; The Imaginary Line at Gallery Hyundai in 2009; The 4th Edition of the Moscow Biennale, at Artplay Design Center in 2011; (Im)Possible Landscape at Plateau, Samsung Museum of Art in 2012; and Future is Now at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon in 2013, and more.
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