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Julian Opie talks to reporters at Kukje Gallery New Space, Monday.
/ Courtesy of Kukje Gallery
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter
In British artist Julian Opie's artwork, human figures are depicted in minimalist forms. It's just a circle for the head and few curvy lines for the body.
Opie says his art is not about depicting humans realistically, but about finding a realistic quality. ``My main aim to find some realistic quality, not photographic detail. It's about how you feel in the world. When people ask why am I only using a circle for a head. When I view a crowd, I don't take in the details. You are a circle. I see a bag, glasses, or long hair. This is the discussion of realism I'm talking about, not photographic realism,'' he told reporters, Monday, at the Kukje Gallery New Space, downtown Seoul.
Opie, known for his use of computerized images, is holding his first solo show in Seoul. Opie was born in London, raised in Oxford and graduated from Goldsmiths College. For over 10 years, he has been drawing these minimalist human images, which stemmed from a conscious attempt to find an artistic language that allowed him to depict humans.
``I found the universal symbols for man and woman. I took the symbols and tried to superimpose it on a photograph of a friend. I pulled and pushed the two things until they met somewhere in the middle. It was 10 years ago and the language continues to develop... In the very latest works, I hope to have captured to a much greater degree of movement and personality while retaining the language,'' he said.
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``Caterina dancing in balck dress'' by Julian Opie
/ Courtesy of Kukje Gallery
The first floor of Kukje Gallery New Space is filled with works that are all about movement. A majority of the works feature a Spanish ballerina named Caterina in various dancing positions and outfits such as jeans, denim skirt and black dress.``Throughout the works I've made, I've always tried to see where it is possible to bring in movement. Some of the works actually move, while other ones don't move themselves but they depict movement,'' Opie said.
Opie has always been involved in portraiture, and his exhibition in Korea only focuses on portraits of people. ``For me, part of the reason of making art is to engage the world, Through the process of drawing people, I've learned how to look at people, and how others have depicted people, and I try to bring that in with my works,'' he said.
In recent years, Opie has created more detailed figures in his portraits, and used LCD screens to make ``moving portraits'' and 3-D lenticular prints. His new works are on the second floor of the gallery.
``I put a small computer on back (of the frame), so I am able to present something like a traditional 18th century portrait but make it alive like the Harry Potter movies. Like the paintings in Hogwarts, where the eyes of the portrait figures follow the students around the school,'' he said.
Some might be surprised to see some of Opie's works taking on a distinctly Japanese manga flavor. There are several pieces, which look like they could have been right out of a Japanese anime series or a comic book. Opie says famous Japanese ukiyo-e or woodblock printmaker Kitagawa Utamaro had inspired him, and he also collects hand-painted animation cells from 70s and 80s Japanese anime series.
Four pieces feature a Japanese print dealer named Ken and his pop star wife Yayoi, while other works depict Caterina and Opie's two young children. ``I used the anime cells as a kind of dictionary on how to understand and approach a certain way of drawing. I was breaking my own rules, introducing whites in the eyes, shadows on the skin. … There is also an emphasis on the TV screen quality, like the dimensions and metal frame like a TV,'' he said.
With the rapid technological advances in the world today, Opie's computerized works could be easily reproduced, copied and downloaded from the Internet. He acknowledges ``timeless rarity of images has disappeared in this generation,'' but he is not one to hide from technology.
``You can try not to be affected by this or plunge into the pool and see what value can be taken from this and not become scared by the usability of images that are now there but rather use it and see what it can be done. I wonder what would artists like Utamaro would have done if it were no longer necessary to cut wood? Now it's much easier to get an inkjet machine and out comes beautiful prints with archival inks that last 100 years. My choice is to take this path and see where it goes,'' Opie said.
Opie's exhibition runs through May 31. Visit www.kukjegallery.com or call (02) 733-8449.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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