Page 52 - 권숙자 개인전 2025. 10. 1 – 11. 15 권숙자안젤리미술관

The Beauty of Humanity Harmonizing with Nature Seeking Har-

monious Rationality between Objects and Humans through the

Consciousness of the Infinitesimal (無限小)

Park Myung-in Art Critic

Humans are said to be the lords of creation. Yet, there is something greater than humanity: nature. Kwon Sook-ja’s
work, presented through unique methods in both technique and motif setting, embodies the beauty that comes
from the harmony between nature and humanity. The message on the surface is the fact that humans are merely a
part of nature and cannot truly be its lord. Flowers, trees, and animals are all parts of nature. This naturalistic concept
allows her to discover herself before the great power of nature while creating her work, and in doing so, to discover
the Republic of Korea.

In her 2004 exhibition, themed “A Walk Through This World,” she articulated an awakening she experienced on the is-
land of Sardinia. Amidst the islanders, who were fundamentally different in appearance and skin color, she discovered
the true face of Korea. While contemplating the meaning of nation and people, she emphasized that within the great
embrace of nature, everything possessed a shared identity, and that this was the harmony of the universe. This, she
stressed, is the “Aesthetics of Harmony,” where even the essential human solitude and sorrow are offset and transmut-
ed into joy when harmonizing with nature.

Lao Tzu said, “Wéi wú wéi zé wú bù zhì” (爲無爲 則無不治), meaning: If you act without action (non-action), nothing is
left ungoverned. In the modern era, humans strive to humanize nature. This endeavor persists stubbornly, despite
resulting in the destruction of nature. However, nature, even without human attempts to govern it, harmonizes and
changes on its own. Ultimately, nature establishes the laws of Yin and Yang, which gives birth to all things. Because
of this, nature is absolutely characterized by harmony. Kwon Sook-ja, in particular, orchestrates this natural principle
onto the canvas through her exceptional sensibility. Kant’s aesthetics explains sensibility through intuition and affec-
tion based on temporality and spatiality. Here, Kwon Sook-ja’s sensibility expresses the definition of intuitive harmony
and nature’s assimilative (同和的) affection, thereby emphasizing the beauty of both humanity and nature.

Kwon Sook-ja, who particularly praises the beauty of humanity, finds all her motifs in her daily environment and
expresses human figures that assimilate with nature. Being creatures of perception, humans recognize and live with
beauty. However, it is not easy to think of the objects constantly surrounding us as beautiful. This is due to the tenden-
cy of not seeing beauty as beautiful because there is too much of it. While we distinguish colors, shapes, and tastes,
we forget what true beauty is. Kwon Sook-ja’s work emphasizes what true aesthetic consciousness is to the affluent
mindset of modern people.

The countless objects that exist in nature—whether natural or artificial—are all imbued with aesthetic value. A stone
tossed into a stream, a dead tree standing as if abandoned on the ridge of Nogodan Peak in Jirisan Mountain, the
blazing sun pouring down in the summer heat, the daytime moon rising before sunset in winter, and even ferocious
beasts are all beautiful depending on the viewer’s visual cognitive ability. That is the eye that sees the beauty of the
natural ecosystem.

However, a philosophy that respects the naturalness of nature is indispensable. André’s definition of aesthetics is di-
vided into essential beauty, natural beauty, and artificial beauty. Essential beauty is independent of human or divine
systems; natural beauty depends on the divine system and is independent of human systems; and artificial beauty
depends on human systems. While André’s aesthetic theory is based on order, it merely creates an ontological essen-
tial distinction, as the concepts of beauty can be mixed (honjae) regarding the same object. What is crucial here is the
act of “creation,” whether by God or man. It is not about what or how it is made, but the form of God’s law of world
creation and human cultural rules or conventions.

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