Hyunju Lee

In general an art or design museum, is compiled of numerous rooms of exhibits. However the particular design museum at the University of California Davis has but one room on display at a time. Currently, the artwork on display is all by Korean artists. The work is part of the modern age of digital artwork, where the artists were aided by computer technology to enhance and produce the prints.

There are fascinating pieces hanging on the walls, yet there is one piece which stands out above the rest. The painting is by the artist Hyunju Lee, composed in 2009 and it is an inkjet print on paper. Lee's artwork displays a white envelope near the bottom of the print, and the flap is opened allowing a variety of strange symbols and icons to escape across the page. The background is entirely white, the only markings covering the page are the black printed icons flying upwards escaping the envelopes shelter. The artists decision to keep the print solely black and white gives the viewer an greater appreciation for space, noticing the intentional areas of blankness. The icons themselves appear somewhat archaic, the markings are seemingly etymological, of another time in the past. The print is paradoxical for it is a modern piece of artwork yet is appears greatly aged, as if the icons came from an era similar to those of hieroglyphics.

An additional print was surprisingly striking among the other prints on display. The piece was also by artist Hyunju Lee, however this piece was incredibly colorful and dynamic possessing a feeling of rhythm. The multi-colorful symbols were displayed across a black background in a circular pattern, somewhat resembling a tribal tapestry. As the unusual shapes continuously circle around each other, they began to nearly bleed off the print in every which direction. The movement resembles flight, or possibly dance, and the it is this style which is reminiscent of Lee's first mentioned print.