Re: More to see in NYC (Hint: Sookang Kim)

[Keith Gerling <keith.gerling@gmail.com>]

Judy,

I'm not being skeptical here, as I certainly trust your impressions,
but why the need for 5 coats of one color?  What do you think
physically is different about a print when the pigment is added in
small doses?  Not that it isn't intriguing...

Keith

On Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 10:01 PM, Judy Seigel <jseigel@panix.com> wrote:
>
> A while back --- who was it??? (someone on the list) marvelled at Sookang
> Kim's gum prints. She's in a group show at Sepia Gallery that opened last
> Thursday, so will still be here when you come for f295... And highly
> recommended.
>
> The theme of the show was something like "Dark and Light," that is,
> photographers (including "names" like Lois Connor) working either primarily
> in the dark register, or in the light. I myself (knowing how to make friends
> and influence people !!!) confess I found that a strained premise for a
> show, tho some of the work was terrific.  Most terrific of all was Sookang,
> whose (very) large plain and simple gum prints on Rives BFK are exquisite.
>
> Her images (IMO) gained power from being SO plain and simple as to ALMOST
> pass for mundane (for dummies). That is, plain white chinaware (cups,
> dishes, platters, etc.) sitting on a white table top. Meanwhile, however,
> the gradation and contrast are delicate and beautiful enough to become a
> kind of drama, almost a shock.
>
> For me, personally, the revelation that these plain and simple one-color,
> black and white (black pigment only) prints in a deceptively simple range of
> grays actually required 5 or more coats increased the hit. (There's an old
> German expression, something about "verstandlich" -- if I remember the word
> rightly -- meaning that *understanding* inflects response.)
>
> Sookang's handling seems to open an area of gum hardly explored, (while
> being a tour de force in itself).
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Sepia International Inc.,  148 West 24th Street (near 6th Ave). NYC
> 212/645-9444
>
> Judy
>