aliceonpaper_vol5
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3AliceOnPaper VOL.3Media Art Database & Online Archive AliceOn
What is the current look of our city today?
Through the rapid economic and techni-
cal development, the major cities in the
world has graduated from its one dimen-
sional design and has entered a third, or
even further dimensional space—and we
are witnessing such change with all five
senses. Just with our eyes we can tell in
the darkness of the night what a glow
some of these distinct buildings in the city
can produce. So how are these build-
ing façades changing in relations to New
Media Art?
Before the modern age, building exteriors
were used and identified only as a sup-
porting structure of the body. Thus it was
not independent from its entire composi-
tion and its materials’ usage. Perhaps
that is why the architects of those times
concentrated more on its interiors, which
allowed them to express and experiment
freely, contrary to the outer part of the
piece. But now through the development
of technology and cultural and societal
value’s recognition, architects started
seeing new possibilities in visual and
BIX, Austria, 2003
AliceOn Coverstory TAG.4
been dealing buildings as its canvas. This
states that artistic progress is influencing
the transformation of the architectural or-
der and that New Media Art, which stands
in the center of 21st century’s art world, is
making an important contribution.
In the early stage of building exteriors, it
was simply used for informative purposes
by offering important daily news or weath-
er reports to the public. But architectural
New Media Artists have used LED signs
to invent a new type of signs that opened
them to an infinite options in expression
Ars Electronica, Austria, 2008sensual appeals of building facades. So
as the representation of building facades
itself went beyond modern architecture,
it became a object of design and expres-
sion, transforming into a work of Digital
Media with the support of IT technology’s
development. Such kind of phenomenon
cannot be only be observed in architec-
tural point of view. Artists who refused to
limit their imagination on two-dimensional
canvas have turned their eyes to the cit-
ies—where we live our lives. For example,
New Media Art, which uses the diverse
materials developed by technology, has
5AliceOnPaper VOL.3Media Art Database & Online Archive AliceOn
[TOUCH] Dexia Tower, Belgium
SPOTS, Germany, 2005
[Twists and Turns]
Uniqa Tower, Austria, 2006
Galleria, South Korea, 2004
and imagination; some examples of those
newly invented LED signs are able to react
to the weather in most sensitive level such
as the wind strength or the brightness of
the day. Such inventions are called Media
Facades and Media Skin, and year after
year these art works are gaining interna-
tional popularity that through events such
as Media Façade Festivals. Media Facades
have allowed building exterior expres-
sions to become not only very dynamic
but also a key factor in the identity of
building itself.
Media Facades, which are still in its experi-
mental stage, could possibly be a key fac-
tor for the future design for architectural
design. Yet majority of the Media Façades
that are building in progress seem only to
be a part of a temporary trend. Plus the
fact that it is used more for a commercial
purpose instead of a cultural or artistic
way is a bit unsatisfying. In South Korea
Apgujungdong’s Galleria department store
and last year’s Gum-Ho Asia’s building
set up their own New Media Art facades,
attracting the public’s attention but end-
ing up being used simply for commercial
AliceOn Coverstory TAG.4
purposes. But a lot of the companies are attempting
to gather artists and architects from diverse fields to
experiment with Media Facades. Their projects will
be able to familiarize the public with communication
through building facades and also add new life to
our cities.
Allianz Arena, Germany, 2005
9AliceOnPaper VOL.5Media Art Database & Online Archive AliceOn
Wonderingabout endlessly for Her Very Own Quest
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Self-portrait 10, 2006, scan image
Ah-Ram:
Hello, this is Kwon Ah- Ram. Cur-
rently I am working on painting,
performance, visual media and
other independent works to create
my own outlook on the world.
AliceOn:
In expressing your ideas and
through practice, what message
are you trying to deliver and what
are you interested in?
Ah- Ram:
My works are mainly inspired by
my own inner vibration instead of
outside influences or story-telling.
The world we exist can all be
explained as a type of vibration in
today. I put my focus on the funda-
mentals of an organism and I try to
capture the vibration that comes
within its core instead of forcing
a voice on the subject — its own
music. I also interpret the visual
form of an object as a type of vibra-
tion sent through light. My current
mission is to search what type of a
vibration I am, and how it responds
to other vibrations and how the
relationship forms.
AliceOn:
Since you are known as a New
Media artist and are working in
Korean Artist Interview
that field of art, how do you think
of New Media Art or Media?
Ah-Ram:
New Media Art can accurately
interpret the distinct characteristic
of this era. Also it’s an ideological
space beyond our daily reality. It’s
exact definition cannot be seen
visually, yet it has given us art-
ists new ideas and possibilities.
Through New Media Art we are
able to redefine ‘relationship’, and
have learned how to control time
and space freely.
AliceOn:
Through what experience did you
end up choosing media and photos
as your medium?
Ah-Ram:
Images are able to tell more sto-
ries than my self, who exists in this
world, can. ‘I’ that exists in the
material world float on through
vibration and disappear eventually,
whereas the ‘I’ that exists in the
image expresses the past record
of self that I no longer have along
with that momentary emotion that
I can endlessly explore. I work with
those images and study about
those images and through working
Self-portrait 08, 2006, scan image
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11AliceOnPaper VOL.5Media Art Database & Online Archive AliceOn
with a scanner I am pushing that
process. The ‘I’ that is produced
digitally is like the self within the
real self that I pulled out. I some-
times look like I am acting as I
tell a different story in every other
photo. If a mirror reflects the outer
form of self, my scanner tells the
inner reflection. Media is another
way to express myself and it is hard
to expect further. Works such as
<In The Mirror> or <Coevolu-
tion> is a transformed image that
scanned the moment of an action,
exploring the new possibilities of a
vibrating image.
AliceOn:
I didn’t realize that the two were
not digital video image but a work
produced from scanning. The dif-
ferent between a photo and a scan-
ner is that a scanner allows you to
intercept while it is producing an
image while the other produces an
image that is completely separate
from your influence.
Ah-Ram:
Yes, <In The Mirror> or <Co-
evolution> are both moving
images made from scanning(by a
scanner). When a photo records
an image of a moment, a scanner
lets you deform the body structure
through use of time and move-
ment. My works are still like my
self-portrait series which explored
my inner self. The world of ‘I’ that I
don’t fully understand yet has been
the foundation of my work.
AliceOn:
What is your plan for the future?
Ah-Ram:
<Coevolution> was invited to
the FRESH (video art and other
short independent film festival) in
Bangkok. Also I am planning on a
private exhibition.
Self-portrait 09, 2006, scan image
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