Page 14 - 강명자 작가 (1968-2021) 화집
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Peaceful recollections and records of life, and the healthy work
The artist Kang Myung-ja's work has a form of colored picture based on flowers. The artist's work that accepts images
captured through serious approach to objects and delicate observations in a calm and stable color is outstanding in
principle and academic aspects. Before the transformation or distortion of the object, it faithfully responds to the objective
conditions it has and expresses it very seriously and immersively. In some cases, this immersion and concentration is
expressed in excessive expression on the canvas, but the essence itself is very healthy. The artist's painting is characterized
by a unique depth of color that is realized through repetitive work processes. Unlike other materials, this is a characteristic
and advantage of colored picture.
Flower has been used universally as a material for painting for a long time. Among them, in the East, flower has been treated
as a symbol that metaphorizes human virtue through it. The peonies symbolizing the splendour and honour, and the Four
Gracious Plants ( plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo ) representing integrity and fidelity are good examples. On the
other hand, the position and perspective of dealing with the artist's flower are different. The artist evokes visual pleasure
by observing flowers commonly found in everyday life from a calm and serious perspective and expressing the results
objectively. It is not only the colorful and beautiful appearance peculiar to flowers, but also the expression of the healthy
vitality it possesses. This is based on the expansion of materials and expressions of modern meaning, premised on a rational
and objective perspective. The artist's way of expressing the beauty of the flower itself rather than the meaning of the
originality possessed by the flower is understood in this context.
The flowers that the artist is taking, such as daylily, evening primrose, and brier flowers and hammock flowers are common
materials in flower painting. Yet, the artist touches them with delicate observation and expression, and settles on the
canvas. The sincere touch conveyed from petals to stamens as well as from leaf to leaf is the artist's consistent way of
working. In principle, the canvas is faithful to the objective aspect of the flower, but in some cases, an implicit expression
with subjective interpretation of color appears. It can be understood that this subjective interpretation of color suggests
the process of changing into an added interpretation and expression. The lyrical and emotional words such as longing,
waiting, and smile as the title of the work are the points that the artist's interest is not merely staying in the objective stage
of object reproduction but is leading to the expression of emotion and sentiment. It can be explained that this is a process
of subjectivity and individualization that is inevitably experienced in the development of objective conception.
The flowers taken by the artist are general, but through this, the artist draws far-fetched stories that lie deep inside her. It
is not a symbol emphasizing a special value but a sentimental emotion such as longing or waiting as the author took the
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