Artist: Yeri Hwang
Exhibition: Within Us
Media: Studio Art
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Gatov Gallery West
About the Artist:
For this weeks art gallery, I met Yeri Hwang. Yeri majors in studio art and is an undergraduate in her last semester at CSULB. She came to CSULB straight out of high school and always knew that she had an interest for studio art. Some of her hobbies are writing and playing video games, as well as finding new and creative projects to do. Yeri Hwang also expressed how nervous she was for this art gallery, since it was her senior project. She indicated that her whole senior project took her about two weeks to do and how most of her pieces was last minute. That being said, it was impressive how she put most of her pieces together in such a short time, especially because most of it was mechanical. What motivates her to doing her art pieces is peace. She expressed how when she does her studio art, it brings her peace and she would love to share that with her audience.
Formal Analysis:
While looking at Yeri Hwang’s work, I was intrigued with all the mechanical elements to it. Most of her pieces were not something just to look at, but rather something you can maneuver. I found most of her studio art to be really creative and inspiring. I also found some of her pieces to be complex, such as the first and second art pieces illustrated above. In the first art piece, she blended multiple colors together and was able to change the settings; such as the position of the different color lights. In the second art piece, she incorporated fog. While looking at it originally, I thought it was just a small house in a background that blended into the wall. Consequently, I then saw a small lever and pushed it, making fog appear. I found this whole gallery very impressive, which further illustrates how creative Yeri Hwang really is, especially since she thought to do her whole gallery in about two weeks.
Content Analysis:
Yeri Hwang’s message is peace and her studio art portrays that message. In the first art piece illustrated above, it illustrates progression in life. It further exemplifies how life is a fast moving process with multiple high and low points. It also indicates how one should not dwell too much on the low points in life because even if it seems like a huge obstacle, it will eventually pass by. In the second picture illustrated above, it depicts an individual looking for a destination. In life, one is always at a constant search and sometimes feels lost in a way. When it comes to aspects of life regarding the future; such as what college to attend or say a career, individuals can feel like they do not know what to do. The fog then presents itself as a mystery. The house represents a secure lifestyle and once one leaves the house, it creates mystery about the future. In the third picture illustrated above, it expresses the idea of forgiveness and acceptance. In life, our decision of being liked or accepted sometimes lead us to the wrong path. That being said, it is important to identify our imperfections and ask forgiveness for anyone we hurt on the way. The broken glass identifies are a learning curve, as well as showing how we might have hurt the individuals who we wronged before.
Synthesis/My Experience:
Not only did I think that Yeri Hwang had a good message, but I think that it was executed well. While talking to Yeri, she was very soft spoken and seemed at peace about her work. That being said, I believe her art portrayed different elements in her life that the audience can take away. The idea of moving forward through obstacles, being afraid of the future and the mystery that lies with it, as well as asking for forgiveness for our past is something that everyone deals with in life. What is special about Yeri’s studio art is that it speaks to the everyday person and makes them reflect on the decisions they made, as well as thinking about what their future holds of them.
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