Hong Seung-hye uses pixels and shapes to express emotions, space

Arts & Design

Published: 12 Mar. 2023, 16:16 Updated: 12 Mar. 2023, 17:15

Hong Seung-hye uses pixels and shapes to express emotions, space

Artist Hong Seung-hye stands in the K3 space of Kukje Gallery, where her solo show "Over the Layers II" runs through March 19. [KUKJE GALLERY]

“I want my work to be like a comfortable chair, where you can sit down and let go of all your cares.”

This is what artist Hong Seung-hye, 63, said during her recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at Kukje Gallery, where her solo show “Over the Layers II” is being held through March 19.

Some might scratch their heads — Hong is the Korean pioneer of abstract art composed of digital pixels, created with computer software. It is easy to presume that her works would all be hard and cold. However, art lovers know that her animations of pixelated geometrical figures slowly moving and changing to music are surprisingly emotional.

In the ongoing solo show, she presents colorful sculptures built with geometrical shapes cut from colored plywood panels, and the scraps, at the K1 Space of Kukje Gallery. Many of her installations push the boundaries of design and art, as they could also be used as tables or lighting fixtures.

The view of ″Over the Layers II,″ a solo show of artist Hong Seung-hye at the K1 Space of Kukje Gallery in central Seoul. [KUKJE GALLERY]

At K3 Space, “all the artist's formal and conceptual exercises join into one holistic narrative,” according to the gallery. According to its depiction, “a ball of pictogram dolls accompanied by sounds and projections sits on a stage embellished with colorful flowers.” Many visitors will find the exhibit emotionally evocative.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat with the artist to talk more about the relations of Hong’s abstract art, space and emotions. The following are excerpts of the interview.

Q. I heard that your work is driven by an interest in space, but when I think of space, I think of three dimensions. And while many of your works in this exhibition are 3-D sculptures, your earlier pixel drawings and pixel animations are 2-D. How do these works relate to your interest in space?

A. My work started with painting, and, traditionally, painting is about using the canvas as a window to look at what is painted on the canvas as a 3-D illusion. But I'm not interested in that illusion — I'm interested in the canvas as an object and how it relates to the space that surrounds it. In fact, it is not necessarily the 3-D object that dominates or occupies the 3-D spaces.

Both paintings and videos are flat, but they can be seen anew in space; a video work can act as an illumination in a space, or it can blend in with other sculptures. The images themselves are flat, but [in the case of images being projected directly onto something else] they are transformed depending on where they are projected in the actual 3-D space, and new effects are created by interacting with other objects. The size of the image is also determined by space. For example, in everyday life, if the size of my room is such and such, I ask the question, "What size table should I put in my room?" The decision of the size and shape is ultimately decided in relation to the space, so in this exhibition, all the objects that appeared here are in some way the size and shape that I made while considering the gallery space.

"When Flowering" by artist Hong Seung-hye [KUKJE GALLERY]

Why did you go from painting to working with computer pixels?

If you're going to paint, there's the question of what you're going to paint. Ever since I was in school, I've been interested in the shapes, colors, positions and sizes of objects and the interaction of the different colors, rather than their literary meanings. In other words, I've been interested in the structural aspects of art.

In music, different instruments have different tones, and there are different volume of sounds, rhythms and so on. Those elements of music don't represent or mean anything, but they work together to create a point where they trigger some kind of emotion in us. Just like that, abstract art doesn't represent anything either, but there's an aura, a feeling that comes from the combination of colors and shapes. That's why painters like Kandinsky compared abstract art to music. I think that my musical sensibility has extended to art as well.

I only used pure geometric forms such as squares and circles in the past. But, in this exhibition, you will see representational shapes began to appear in my works. They are the shapes of stars, clouds, flowers and even the head of Mickey Mouse, all of which I loved in my childhood. The shapes reflect my nostalgia.

A view of ″Over the Layers II,″ a solo show of artist Hong Seung-hye, at the K3 Space of Kukje Gallery in central Seoul. [KUKJE GALLERY]

You used music in your exhibition in K3 Space and in your installation in the Noam Tunnel at the Gangneung International Art Festival in 2022. You composed the music pieces. Have you always used your own music for your works?

I started making Flash animations in 2002, and for the background music, I would use other composers’ music — my favorite music that led me to think, "I want to move shapes to this music." I used mainly classical music — a lot of Johann Sebastian Bach. In the case of Bach, I felt that the structure of his music was similar to the structure of my work. Meanwhile, from 2002 to 2016, I made a series of pixel animations called "Sentimental Smile," and for the first one, I used "Smile," which is the love theme from Charlie Chaplin's film "Modern Times." I made nine animations in that series, and then I thought, "It's time to stop being so sentimental," so I ended that series and started using my own music in the background from 2016.

"Spiral" by artist Hong Seung-hye [KUKJE GALLERY]

It's amazing that abstract music and abstract art can evoke emotions. How is that possible?

Because the process of putting those elements together reflects the artist. When I make a form, it's not about making it objectively pretty, it's about what's pretty to me. For example, when I make a star shape, the outline is not sharp, but rather soft. I think the shape shows the personality of the person who made it. When I make pixel animations, they are very slow. I like very gentle and slow movements rather than fast and flashy ones. In the end, I think making forms can perfectly reveal the personality of the artist and even hint at their way of life.

There are so many different functions of art. It can be enlightening, it can be a political statement, it can be research. It can do what music does. In this case, the essential elements of art — colors, shapes and materials — are important. Geometry becomes an important tool for the ideal combination and positioning of these elements. Art can also be used to send political and social messages, but I believe that formative art itself can be expressive enough.

Matisse painted portraits and still lifes, but it wasn't the people and objects that were important to him, it was the colors and shapes that he wanted to achieve through them and putting them where he wanted them. Matisse once said that he wanted his work to be like a comfortable chair, and I agree with that. I want my work to be like a comfortable chair, where you can sit down and let go of all your cares.

BY MOON SO-YOUNG [moon.soyoung@joongang.co.kr]