The Gate of Sky
Park. Choong Heum2011
Korean Art Museum Association
Seoul, South Korea
Light, the solemn sound of silence.Park, Choong Heum’s ‘Mountain-The Gate of Sky,’ placed in the center of the Sky Park, Seoul, makes the audience meet themselves on the untrodden path and strains their ears to the sound in their mind. Leaning on the deep winding valleys and standing under the rose window skylight, the light penetrates to the body and recalls forgotten times. The light emerging from cracks penetrates their bodies and reflects a shadow on the wall. It is the moment of becoming unified with nature and the human with the light. In the scene, once they let their body to stay in the magnificent space and stillness, it opens a door to the new world. It embraces their tired body with warm light and leads to a primitive time.
- Title: The Gate of Sky
- Creator: Park. Choong Heum
- Creator Lifespan: 1946
- Creator Nationality: Korean
- Creator Birth Place: Seoul, Korea
- Date Created: 2011
- Physical Dimensions: w9400 x h4200 x d8900 cm
- Type: Sculpture
- Medium: Stainless steel
- Critic's Note: Park Choong Heum’s work consists of triangle and square shaped copperplate pieces. The crack between the plates creates the tension and a flow of currents. The light connects the inside to the outside and the visible to the invisible, which reflects Park’s desire to communicate with the world. To complete one work, Park arranges and joins a number of copperplates in order. This process demands a thorough calculation and meticulous care. The crack between the copperplates symbolizes the modesty between accepting the rule of nature after drying up from secular greed. Moreover, it is the device to open one’s mind towards the world and universe. The light reflected from the lighting equipment installed in the middle of the installation, which looks like a big bowl or a UFO-like discus or even an object which resembles a Pyramid, goes through the cracks and is refracted when it hits the gallery floor, ceiling, and walls. The light is embroidered with triangular, quadrilateral, and pentagonal beams. The piece of light, to be exact the variation of light in the space, is completed by the original shape of the installation, which is the ultimate source of the light. In the early 20th century, Moholy-Nagy’s ‘Light-Space Modulator’ (1930), altered the stage space dynamically by using a beam projector powered by electricity. Kim’s light installation shows a delicate and peaceful vision by creating a lonesome exhibition space like a field with the light of dawn or dim starlight. The penetrating light has a power to make the audience be a part of the installation and the space.
- Collection: Sky Park, Seoul
- Artist's Education: Seoul National University, Korea. M.F.A., Sculpture.
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