The+Wing+--+Xooang+Choi

__**Introduction: **__ Xooang Choi’s sculpture, //The Wing//, is a hyper realistic sculpture which displays dismembered hands arranged to form fleshy, angel-like wings. It is constructed using polymer clay, stainless steel, oil paint, and resin. The combined imagery of both hands and wings have political and social roots in the culture of South Korea; the piece gives metaphorical shape to real issues in modern environments. //The Wing// represents the power that comes from working together, supporting one another, and freedom. While the messages are positive and hopeful, there is a disturbing overtone to this piece, as there are in many of Choi’s other pieces as well. The severing, deforming, and suturing together of parts can be seen as a representation for the wounds and scars that the people of South Korea bear as a result of their past, but also as a mark of their endurance towards a better future.
 * **Title:** The Wing (2009)
 * **Artist:** Xooang Choi
 * **Period:** Contemporary
 * **Country of Origin:** Seoul, South Korea
 * **Medium:** Sculpture- Polymer Clay, Stainless Steel, Oil Paint and Resin
 * **Dimensions:** 200 x 45 x 66 cm
 * **Museum:** Galerie Albert Benamou, Paris
 * **Current Location:** Korean Artist Project

__**Descriptive Analysis: **__ When confronted with such a large and well rendered object, the first thing that is noticed is the overall shape and texture of it. A glance at //The Wing// gives us the impression of a large set of wings, which are suspended from the ceiling by thin metal cables and connected by a central metal bar. Looking at the details of the work, the viewer is met with the sight of multiple hands, whose wrists wrap into the work and recede into obscurity. The hands open more as they move from the center out towards the tips, and their fingers also spread naturalistically as an analog to feathers. At the tips of the wings we see that there is a hand on each completely opened, fingers spread wide, as if the sculpture were trying to fly. Each hand is rendered expertly, painted with many thin layers of oil paint in a way that creates the illusion of living flesh. This sculpture features over 30 polymer clay, life-like human hands, assembled closely together to form the image of a pair of wings. Choi often works with molds made from human body parts in his work, which reinforces his hyper-realistic style of painting, and results in believable pieces of the human body in his work. //The Wing// is 200 x 45 x 66 cm, and is displayed suspended in the air by visible hanging hardware that also plays a visual role in the piece. The hardware creates a look that is industrial and somewhat medical in nature, contrasting starkly with the natural representation of human hand forms. Choi’s fine craftsmanship of //The Wing// was not designed to shock, despite its severed hands. Rather, the work conveys the expressions of the hands supporting each other, lifting themselves up, instead of making it look as if they are cut off corpse hands (Fullerton, Jamie). None of the hands appear to be strained or clenched, each seems to fall naturally as a part of the whole. The work, when considering all its’ parts and how they were assembled, gives a sense of weightlessness and calm, which is surprising given the subject matter. This dialogue between grotesque and beautiful, serene yet destructive, and similar contrasting themes seem to be at the core of Xooang’s works, and the key to their appeal.

**__Formal & Contextual Analysis: __** Xooang grew up during the economic reform of South Korea into a Democracy, and witnessed what kind of implications this had on the lives of every day Koreans. In 1987, South Korea became a democracy. The scars from the turbulence and struggles of the past are still visible and remembered by many South Koreans today. Choi addresses issues of societal groups and the struggles they deal with, self-awareness of existence, and the conflicts that arise from viewing others as objects. Choi studied sculpture at Seoul National University. The majority of his work is tied to his Country’s political history. It’s the threat of tyrannical rule that blends with Choi’s work, “it’s more like I’m working to portray questions to society and the public living in the obscure situation” (Hossenally, R). He mentions that his process is destructive; he tries to respond to social and environmental changes that he can use to evoke emotion through sculptural forms. In creating hyper-realistic figures, he hopes for the audience to engage personally with his works. He lets on that //The Wing// was originally thought of as an analog to be put on the back of an earlier sculpture, a humbling portrait of his father, called //The Hero.// Instead, he uses //The Wing// as an idea that can be used to directly oppose the sentiment engendered in //The Hero//. His fine detail and grotesque style has helped Choi to stand out among South Korea’s diverse Contemporary art scene. Choi’s declares, “If one feels uncomfortable physically or mentally when viewing my work, I would say it worked.” His sculpture shows his deep concern for the human condition in society and how something needs to change. People are held captive and speechless by the piece (Hossenally, R). The amount of stunning realism deceives the mind into believing that //The Wing// is constructed from actual hands. By separating the hand from the rest of the body in this sculpture, we are forced to see the hands as individual objects. Despite the separation of the hands from the body, there is little suggestion of severed body parts. Rather, the elegantly composed piece suggests support and assisting others, and giving power to people. Choi is focusing on the expressions of the hands in this piece. Even his sketches and drawings appear as a duality between the literal and the metaphorical. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Do-ho Suh is another South Korean artist working with similar cultural themes and ideas. For example, his piece //Floor// addresses the theme of collective existence in society, and is made up of thousands of miniature plastic humans. The hands of the figures are raised up and support panes of glass, which the viewer is invited to walk on. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Korean artist Yeesookyung, focuses on concepts of deconstruction, reconstruction, and rebirth in her ongoing series of ceramic "trash" sculptures. She collects discarded and imperfect ceramic pieces, then reassembles many of them together to create new abstract forms. This idea is not dissimilar from some of Xooang Choi's sculptures and concepts. As mentioned earlier, Choi describes his own process as intentionally destructive. He takes parts of figures and bodies and reassembles them in new ways to create new meaning.

**__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Personal Interpretation: __** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This piece embraces the beautiful with the grotesque. It shocks you and makes you think about what is beautiful. The hyper-realistic skin tones on the work, the way that light falls naturally over its ‘feathers’, gives the piece an animated quality, especially when one realizes that the feathers are fingers and hands. They can represent the strength that lifts a collective out of their current situation, into a life empowered; this work offers a feeling of freedom from restraint. Other hands are positioned holding one another which provides a suggestion of helping, support, and working together instead of a vision of gruesome dismemberment. The imagery of hands, wings, and the combination of the two holds symbolic meaning. The hands can be interpreted as symbols of hard labor, helping others, and potential for the future. The imagery of wings suggest freedom, an escape, power, and perhaps something divine. Though, the hyper-realistic style of each hand gives a somewhat disturbing or dark feeling to the piece, as each hand is without a body. This aspect of //The Wing// can be interpreted as physical labor that has been either given or taken from masses of individuals. //The Wing// seems to have two clear sides or personalities to it, one that is uplifting in nature and the other having a more disturbing overtone. In the face of adversity, of some gruesome truth, if every hand can come together and work towards a common goal, the people they represent will soon be lifted from their struggle.
 * __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Other Works by Xooang Choi: __**





__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Referen **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">c **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">es **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Jung, Jaewook. “Xooang Choi.” Akive.org. < <span style="color: #2340cb; font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|http://www.akive.org/eng/artist/A0000071/Xooang%20Cho][|i] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-Korean contemporary arts archive, over 300 selected Korean artists & their previous exhibitions. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Xooang Choi.” Artsy.net. <[]> (accessed November 1, 2017). -Find the latest shows, biography, and artworks for sale by Xooang Choi. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Fullerton, Jamie and Han, Sol. “Choi Xooang’s Sculptures Test the Boundaries of Human Form.” CNN.com. <[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">-CNN Style magazine online article about Choi Xooang's sculptures test the boundaries of human form. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Choi, Xooang. “Xooang Choi.” Facebook.com. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><[|https://www.facebook.com/xooang.choi][|/]> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">-Choi’s Facebook home page. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Buermann, Caro. “Xooang Choi’s New Hyperrealistic Figures Are Dreamy And Unsettling.” <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Hifructose.com. <[] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">> (accessed November 1, 2017). -Article by Hifructose on Choi's new works. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Huffington Posts online article in Art and Culture <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. "These Creepy, Beautiful Sculptures Are Forever Engrained in Our Memories." Huffingtonpost.com. <[]> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -Brief article by Huffingtonpost.com on Xooang Choi's sculptures. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Hye-kyung, Ki and Hanseung ,Ryu. “A Shaman of Our Time, Xooang Choi.” Koreanartistproject.com <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. <[]> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;"> (accessed November 1, 2017). -Art critic Ki Hye-kyung discusses Choi's work, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> and Ryu Hanseung writes on Choi's solo show 'The Vegetative State'. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Kang, Yoewool. “An Interview with Xooang Choi.” Myartguides.com. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"><[]> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;"> (accessed November 1, 2017). -My Art Guides online, an interview with Xooang Choi by Yoewool Kang. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Widewalls article. “Xooang Choi.” Widewalls.com <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. <[]> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">-Webpage with biography on Xooang Choi and links to additional articles and videos.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Xooang Choi.” Xooang.com. <[|http://xooang.][|com/]> (accessed November 1, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">-Choi’s website with images and information on a wide range of his works. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Hossenally, R. (2014) "The Blind for The Blind: Choi Xooang Talks to Yatzer." Yatzer.com <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">.<[]> (accessed October 25, 2017). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-Interview with Choi and images of his work.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Youngna, Kim. //Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea//. Hollym International Corporation, 2005. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This book presents work of modern and contemporary artists of Korea. It also discusses issues on tradition vs. modernity, and the political struggles of Korea. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Kim, Miki Wick. //Korean Contemporary Art//. Prestel Verlag, 2012. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This book features some of Korea's most well known contemporary artists. It presents each artists' unique bodies of work and discusses their concepts.