On An Gyung-Su’s Drawings
Choosing one after looking at the works of many other people in a short time depends on an instant judgment. In case of An Gyung-Su, it was his little drawings. According to the artist, the drawings were made by combing and casting objects bought at the flea market in Germany in frottage method. The drawings stood out because of its consistency in method and attitude even though objects had a dim sense of presence.
An Gyung-Su’s drawings are, in a way, not drawings. They appear as drawings merely because they are missing colors as they are descriptions of monochrome. Usually, the artist’s bare face is revealed in drawings however, An Gyung-Su conceals it. Actually, either he had no intention of showing it or substitutes it with objects he draws rather than concealing it. Even in the little drawings which the artist says shows himself relatively well and had begun in Germany.
The drawings merely project objects which are made in state frottage, that is, the surface. Other works are also not much different. He draws lines of drawings using the carbon paper. Lines drawn with carbon paper look as though they are printed but the feeling of hand-drawing is also kept alive. That is, it is twofold. This is similar to the blot method - drawing with ink on a smooth paper and coloring it by printing it with highly absorbent paper - used in Andy Warhol’s illustrations. It is an attempt to make it appear as though it is not drawn, yet it is drawn with his own hands.
The interesting part of An Gyung-Su’s drawings is the tension among the artist’s attitude which tries to project himself on objects, the drawn objects, object coming out of the surface to exclaim its presence. Or it may be that the artist is trying to push the objects out of the surface for them. Anyway, I hope that the tension will not stop but continue.