Art Event 2 of 3

Heeseop Yoon: Found In Lost
Sheppard Contemporary Gallery
UNR
10.8.2013 through 11.30.2013

The first thing I notice as I enter the Sheppard Contemporary Gallery on October 16th is that Yoon's work is installation art, or site specific art (whichever term you prefer). Thousands of thin stripes of black tape make up one huge interconnected drawing. It creeps along the walls - sometimes seeping onto the floor or inching up onto the ceiling.  I'm sure it would plaster itself across the windows if the gallery had any.

Yoon's work is inspired by photographs she takes of cluttered areas such as basements, workshops, storage spaces, and miscellaneous piles and stacks. She takes the photos, then recreates them with her thin black strips of tape. Taking everyday items, taking chaos, and then playing with line. She doesn't erase as she works, as she's trying to portray her altering and evolving perception of the "junk" she's recreating.

I note that up close the work is messy - crude even. Yet farther away the work is stronger, more purposeful seeming. It reminds me of the incredibly busy, yet very sharp and clean, sharpie art I've previously seen. Another thing I notice is the excessive amount of negative space in the gallery - the room is bare beyond that black tape and the initial table at the entrance displaying informative handouts. It aids the work more than I expect, countering the overwhelming persona the lines might take on if the negative space was absent.

I can't help but think of the Matrix as I stare at Yoon's work. There's cables, wires, plugs, fans, what looks like a work station hand saw, computers, remote controls, and various other machinery. There is a slight science fiction feel to the work, surely. And that other worldliness brings about a child like urge in me to reach out and touch the tape. Good thing I pull my hand back as I realize the inappropriateness of such an action, because another gallery patron is giving me an accusatory glance as I hastily make my way out.