Dog and DoGma, DoG-matism

 

Art Critic / Gang, Taesung

 

 

   Artist Cho Youngaah addresses different subjects and events like burial, marks, or dissection in a series of <DoGmatisam> (1999-    ). Especially in <DoGmatism / after that-01.soil, Cho photographed movements of men on green soil, and their different traces transform into horizontal angle. The space of a journey that constitutes of time and a white cloth on various scenes disappears, re-appears and stuffs the traces. Thus 'forfeiture, meeting with lapses of memory' is suggested as a space of death.

 

   Cho's series of this work hide an extreme contrast and a word play. DoGmatism that involves two different kinds of stories creates ironical narration. DoGmatism means 'becoming a dog' in one sense, while indicates a principle (ism) of DoGma on the other. The thing we can find among this word that means this DoGma, dogmatic assertion, an established theory, a doctrine, or a creed is 'ideologic faith' of a great society. The artist also addresses this part like 'hardly visible violence', 'covered brute force.' This story is 'the great social discourse' and thus express a prejudice, faith and so forth that comments people. On the other side, it includes various meanings of being a dog.

 

   Dog's bones indicates various things on more humble state. As one can see in <DoGmatism0.1/collection -01..Bones>, Cho makes a room in many folds with various curtains. While the space connected with the dog bones one another is lifting, and it forms a figure of women that seems in form of confinement, being tied up. Of course, this work also reflects aesthetic aspects of a woman whose body is tied with crossing lines. This sort of dual construction suggests the artist's aesthetic sense in complexity, and it indicates marks of violence like a tiding up, bone, men's touches and so on, while simultaneously opens to different expressions that is an aesthetic approach in various moments.

 

   Violence, examined by the artist is the sign of 'dog + matism', and this is also found in her <anatomy>. According to the artist, dissection is the prevailing and visible violence, occurred within our ordinary life, and thus it can be the covered and unrecognized truth.

In fact, the violence with this meaning indicates Uis violenti, (…) uenti, 'uncontrollable elements are animal forces', as stated in Koyré. The 'fact' can be seen in a relax sense within her works. This is similar to cutting a dog's throat, gutting internal organs and fat while preparing foods. This can indicate the artist's attempt to see covered truth in our society. We take diverse foods for living, and especially for meat-eating, we shell the part of meat and divide between meat and bones. This is easily found in our daily life, but there is also violence and man's brutalness covered behind in the other context.

   The artist focuses on the ironical contexts between covered and explored violences. In the series of her works, the subjects, for example a tied woman, numerous beings, brutally slaughtered, 'a formative barricade, organized with dog bones' and so on have this narrative function. These objects are suggested in a fairly signal form, and they are close to a metonym rather than a metaphor based on similarity one another. In addition, an object like a rope indicates a part of group that represents brutality based on its related function.

 

   This violence begins from the same etymology with viol. This also means 'against one's willingness(Bia tinos). According to Homer, this word originally represents a strong power at once as one can see in this following sentence, "This is a land of time violence and at the same time, time itself for a while."Derrida also mentions the rough power as he accounts E. Weil. Derrida's notion indicates "other's willingness or something that returns to otherness" and stresses on the idea that contrasts to the self. In this context, can we see the artist's drawing idea as the notion of otherness? If not, is this the 'violence' as the invisible form of great discourse under power, as stated in M. Faucault? According to the artist's observation, this can be a delicate story based on a fairly personal trauma and violence.

 

   Of course, in <remember 2008>, we can see the individual's cultural and social consciousness against FTA that was the big issue in Korean society in 2008. The work deals with various subjects like resurrection of the political situation considering public welfare and the artist's account about 'Myungbak castle.' (This work focuses on events in a documentary context in general, and holds the observer's viewpoint for searching for social meanings of violence. Such scenes like public movements of carrying white a clod of styrofoam and shouting a slogan out is namely a public willingness to stand over 'Myungbak castle' and represent viewpoints of viewers and jointers of the gathering on the protestant scene. Furthermore, she makes figures of men and dark shadows appearing from the ground in a subjective form like a ghost of the world. This gains the characteristic that formalizes 'a general form and a discourse of violence.'

   The artist's viewpoint holds universality but at the same time particularity as well. One can relate this to a general characteristic about Weil, previously mentioned, and F. Guibal points out Weil's denial of emphasizing on sensual characteristic in rational generality.

 

   This context can be seen as the starting point of reflection about the great discourse, and the self-examination is addressed within various post-modern discourses. In the other context, this can be also seen as an experience of this sort of recognition, that is l'experience de la conscience" (Hegel), and the matter of the great discourse. This is the matter of visual art in the post- modern contexts as well.

   However, the artist clearly recognizes the personal situation, ethical side, and cognizance of the right, and thus makes personal context harmonize with social context. Cho's works suggest various circumstances of control, repression, and violence that put across man in a method of direct narration or a metaphor, metonymy. Therefore, I expect her works to form a new formative sign, and psychological and more personal molding.