Gangsters Series, Untitled, 2005, © Jang Taewon, Courtesy of Heidi Cho Gallery
In Jang Taewon’s current exhibition, Collusion, he juxtaposes the human desire to conquer and control against the subservient stillness of nature, which submits to our wasteful industrialization and development.
Using both film and digital photography Jang took photos of primarily mammoth structures that had been abandoned due to bad planning, bankruptcy or other unwise decisions. All of his photos were taken after midnight using time-lapse photography across various landscapes in Japan, his native South Korea and the United States.
On Saturday, March 21, 2009 I had the opportunity to speak with Jang about his monumental work. Our conversation follows. As with my conversation with In Sook Kim, I’ve taken some liberty at filling in the gaps with poetic license and an elaboration of what we discussed to create a comprehensive narrative.
Prior to Collusion you exhibited a series of photos called Gangster. Please tell me how these photos came to be.
These are a series of self-portraits, which I did when I first came to the United States in 2001.
I had come to the US to study English at Syracuse, but I knew virtually no English whatsoever, so I initially ended up spending a lot of time alone, in my apartment, watching many hours of Friends.
In the process I found myself becoming rather neat and tidy and almost obsessed with cleaning. As a result of this isolation and compulsion to clean, I began to think about who I was and who I wasn’t. The contemplation of the self led to an exploration of those thoughts through a series of photos in which I juxtapose the standard symbols of super macho gangsters—tattoos, self-mutilating sealing wax beads, knives and swords—against a feminine side of myself which I discovered while alone.
Thus, you’ll see that in the photos the character I embody is a gangster who is torn within himself because although he plays with a knife, stabbing through his spread fingers, his finger nails are painted red. And in other photos you’ll see him brandishing a sword or a knife, but he is wearing bright red stilettos.
Initially, I had produced these photos as merely an exercise for an emerging artist. I didn’t have any intentions of going public with them. I had graduated from art school studying photography in Korea, moved to New York to study English and taken these pictures as both an exorcism of sorts and a way of creatively fighting off the boredom while I was alone.
However, after I had built enough confidence to step outside and utilize my new language skills, I passionately pursued my desire to attend NYU and continue studying photography. I actually sat in front of the director’s office 4 or 5 times, until he agreed to meet with me and review my portfolio. Finally, he did, and I enrolled in the program for a year.
Yet, the program was based on a self-motivated structure, and I needed someone to push me. Thus, I moved over to the MFA program at Columbia University and graduated in 2007. As part of my graduation requirements I had to submit a project, I decided to use my gangster series photos, which caught the eye of Heidi Cho, who agreed to mount an exhibition of them last year. I hesitated, but knew it an opportunity that I could not pass up.
How do you go about choosing the structures you photograph in Collusion?
I often do research first, searching online for articles about abandoned development projects or structures and then I go visit them. I always ask the company that built them for permission to photograph, but they usually say no, but rarely has this stopped me. I have no regrets for trespassing, I think my art is important because it asks questions that we need to be asking ourselves.
Questions such as?
Such as “Is the construction and subsequent abandonment of buildings, infrastructure projects and the like a positive phenomena for our society and our symbiotic relationship with mother earth?” My intuition says “No.”
Apart from bringing awareness about such matters, what is the purpose of art and why are you an artist?
I think as artists we are an important part of history. In a way we document it, much like writers and historians do. And for me, it doesn’t matter if you’re as monumentally successful and celebrated as Jeff Koons or simply starting out as a struggling art student, because as artists, together we are all contributing to man’s understanding of history and in the process we are creating a big circle of influence.
Who are your favorite artists and greatest artistic influences?
The very first time I saw Van Gogh up close-and-personal in Paris, the experience moved me, physically. I also appreciate the Spanish painter Francisco Goya and the video work of the Cuban performance artist Ana Mendieta.
But perhaps the greatest influence I ever had was my uncle, Hyundo Kim, who was the person who turned my life around, because he set my straight and told me I was going to study photography—and so I did.
Please tell me more about your uncle.
Well, I finally got enough courage to tell him about my work and sent him the catalog to Collusion. I still have not told him about the Gangster series though.
He is my mother’s youngest brother, whose development as an artist was supported by my father, who is a successful businessman.
I have a brief anecdote I like to tell about his passion for art, which is only one reason I have long thought he is a genius.
When he was a young man, my uncle brought a girl to our house to introduce her to my parents. My father was ecstatic and encouraged their relationship.
However, a few months later, my uncle returned, but this time—alone.
When asked why he had broken up with her, he answered, “She doesn’t understand art.”
He’s been single ever since, and in fact, he’s a Buddha now. But he’s also a successful painter, art critic, and writer.
Any plans to follow in your uncle’s footsteps as a Buddha?
Oh, no. I’m 33 and still single. But I have high hopes and want to get married and have children. So, I’m still looking.
What is the most interesting Collusion photo you’ve taken?
Well, I’m not sure it is the most interesting, but perhaps the story behind it is the most adventurous.
Last year I had heard about a ghost town that existed on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Apparently, it was a town that had existed and then was subsequently abandoned after a nuclear power plant was constructed near by.
I traveled to where this town was supposed to be located on the map, but the locals claimed to know nothing about it. Eventually, after climbing a mountain with a friend, through the dewey mist of a moonlit midnight I found what I had been looking for. It was if I had come upon the land of milk and honey.
What are you doing now and do you have any future projects in store?
Well, currently I’m an artist full time, thanks to the generosity and support of Gana Art Gallery. I’d like to continue with my Collusion series with photos taken in China and Dubai.
I’ve also started a similar project whereby I juxtapose cityscapes against props of artificial animals, once again asking if what we do as humans is sustainable and a scorn toward nature?
Any plans to return to Korea?
Korea is my home. This is where my friends and family are. So, some day I may return, but for now New York is where I want to be. I am growing as an artist here and have had some great opportunities.
For more information:
www.ganaart.com
www.heidichogallery.com
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