Contemplastic III

Artist list

Wan Hee Cho, Sooyeon Kim, Yong Joo Kim, Joo Hyung Park

When we create our artwork as jewelry artists, we must be able to make firm decisions based on our philosophy. In addition, we must also be able to digest outside input with an open mind and be flexible enough to let them develop and grow our decisions. During this process, we not only face conflicts of the subjective kind — deciding what concepts we want to express, where on the body should the finished work be located, and what the finished form should look like —, but also of the inter-subjective kind — ensuring the work is comfortable enough to be worn and that our work communicates and dialogues with the current discourse of our society, culture, the field of art, craft, and contemporary jewelry. 

Since 2014, we have regularly engaged in and documented our conversations around a variety of subject matters. By publicly sharing these conversations, we had hoped to facilitate an opportunity for the audience to empathize with an aspect which would normally be inaccessible by mere observation of the final art form. Our goal in sharing our personal, social, and cultural points of view was to increase the intimacy between the viewer and the artwork as well as the artists, however minutely. 
 
After our second exhibition, we continue to face various concerns and conflicts that we strive to navigate through contemplation and plasticity. In preparation for our third exhibition, we engaged in further in-depth conversations around our future direction. As a result, we decided to contemplate the essence of craft and fine art, so as to pursue a path that integrates them together in our own unique plastic way. We, the artists, thereby present to declare our intent to take responsibility for carrying out the following five actions from here on out.


The Contemplastic Manifesto 
We, the artists, hereby declare to take responsibility for carrying out the following actions.
1. Make our artwork by using our hands to directly interact with our chosen materials. 
2. Strive to articulate the often ineffable reasons why we make.
3. Leverage forms of media familiar and acceptable to the general public so as to make it easier for our audience to connect with us and our work.
4. Present our work in such a way that they and we both receive the respect and applause deserved.
5. Provide sincere support and encouragement to artists reaching out in difficult times so as to help them recover equanimity and develop one’s self.