The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 16, 2024
Rediscovery of Poems
2011
(Korean, b. 1974)
Location: not on view
Description
Sungsoo Kim found his inspiration in discarded Styrofoam pellets, a type of packaging material, and utilized them as molds for casting glass. Kim was fascinated with the different shapes of the pellets as well as their short life span—after boxes are opened, pellets lose their value and are discarded. Upcyled Styrofoam here is transformed into a powerful poetic line.The title of this work was inspired by Korean poet Yu Chi-hwan’s poem “Rock.” As the poet challenges the commonly accepted binary between life and death and rebirth and extinction, Kim transforms each Styrofoam pellet into a line celebrating renewed life.
“Rock” by Yu Chi-hwan (1908−1967)
When I die, I will become
a rock, never touched
by compassion, joy, or anger.
While being torn down
by wind and rain,
that rock will only whip itself
inwards in eternal, impersonal silence,
and at last forget its own existence.
Floating clouds, distant thunder!
Though it may dream,
it will never sing,
though broken in pieces,
it will never utter a word—
I will become such a rock.
- Artist; Cleveland Museum of Art
- Material and Immaterial in Korean Modern and Contemporary Art (Korean art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 28, 2023-February 25, 2024).Old and New in Korean Art (Korean art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 28, 2022-April 23, 2023).The Lure of Painted Poetry: Cross-cultural Text and Image in Korean and Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
- {{cite web|title=Rediscovery of Poems|url=false|author=Sungsoo Kim|year=2011|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.135.k