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Michael Craig-Martin stands in front of his work which is on exhibit at PKM Trinity Gallery, Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.
/ Korea Times Photo by Cathy Rose A. Garcia
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
Pop Art might be the first thing that comes to mind when people encounter the bright, candy colors and floating chairs, buckets and sandals in the paintings of Michael Craig-Martin.
The renowned Irish conceptual artist is quick to say that it's not Pop Art. Instead of taking images from popular and consumerist culture like what Andy Warhol did with Marilyn Monroe and Campbell soup cans, Craig-Martin makes paintings of objects that people use in daily life.
``I've never thought of myself as a pop artist, but it's true that many people do… Pop Art is based in the use of images that exist as popular images in ads and photographs. It's images of images. My interest comes from objects and I make the images myself, I don't find the images,'' he said, in a press conference at PKM Trinity Gallery, Cheongdam-dong, last week.
Not that he has anything against Pop Art. In fact, Craig-Martin likes the idea of bringing art to a wider audience. This led him to focus on objects that are familiar to everyone.
``I thought who was more familiar than Marilyn Monroe? Chairs, tables, shoes, all of these objects are even more famous than Monroe. These are simple objects that have become the language of our time. I'm not interested in objects of consumerism or kitsch. These may interest other artists, but not me,'' he said.
Playful colors and black line drawings of ordinary objects are splashed across a 15-meter wall mural, as well as 20 canvas works, at the PKM Trinity Gallery for Craig-Martin's solo exhibition.
Craig-Martin focuses on the concept of the object, not the object itself. ``I deliberately made drawings that are very simple and impersonal. This is because my drawings have the same character as the object they depict. Mass produced objects have this look, that it's perfect. When I make drawings, I see how perfect, elegant, lyrical and complex they are. I am also interested in the physicality of the objects. I make an image of a chair but it's not a chair. So I try to make this painting as physical an object as it is,'' he said.
Initially, Craig-Martin used only black and white colors in his paintings. It wasn't until an exhibition in Rome in 1993 that he began experimenting with color.
``I had an exhibit in Rome in a room in an old building that wasn't built to be an art gallery. I thought I wanted to make the work to be specific to this place. So I painted the walls of the rooms in three different colors. Then I drew the images on the walls. The change it made to my work was fantastic. I have never made a work without color since that day,'' he said.
Craig-Martin acknowledges the irony that his paintings look mass produced, when in fact it entails a lot of work. First, he sketches his ideas on paper, then finalizes it on a computer. The image is then projected on a canvas, where he uses black tape to outline the image. He uses layers of color paint, without mixing or diluting it.
Craig-Martin, who has a bachelor's and master's degree in Fine Art from Yale University, is widely considered as the ``godfather'' of the ``Young British Artists.'' The YBAs were a group of rising artists that included Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume, most of whom studied under Craig-Martin at the Goldsmiths College in London between 1994 and 2000.
``I never wanted students to make works that look like my work. But I did want to influence what they thought about art. I thought that the center of each artist's work is his own ability and character. Very often students have little confidence.
I tried to encourage them. … I found most interesting were students with little talent but enormous desire to be an artist. To be an artist, they had to find something inside themselves to be their art,'' he said.
To get there, get off Apgujeong Station Subway Line 3, Exit 2. PKM Trinity Gallery is located near the Galleria Luxury Hall. Visit www.pkmgallery.com or call (02) 515-9496.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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