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Jihae Kwon
~Hawaii |
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| Jihae Kwon: " My inspirations come from unexpected places—seemingly unimportant conversations with friends, something glanced at for a moment, a forgotten memory. A bit of shared history, a phrase or an image may trigger a chain of thoughts that lead me to the subject of my work. Through travel, I experience new cultures and gain different artistic perspective which are used as themes or visual language in my work." | |
A Way Back Home Measures 9” x 7” closed. Double sided accordion structure extending from back pastedown 14 pages of illustrations and text on one side; 13 pages of hibiscus illustrations on back. Pronto-plate lithography, screen printing, and typography on Rives BFK. Writing, illustration, printing, and bookbinding by the artist. Bound in black book cloth over boards. Signed and numbered by the artist. Jihae Kwon: “A Way Back Home was inspired by my dad’s life as a civil engineer and him being in the middle of the rise of South Korea’s economy. I wanted to make a book about him building a portion of Gyeongbu Highway. One day, I watched the Korean movie Ode to My Father about Korean miners and nurses that worked in Germany. I didn’t know it was the labor contract with Germany that funded the building of the highway. Then the idea for the book finally came together. The book is an ode to my father. Special thanks to the College Book Art Association (CBAA) for 2023 Member Support Grant to produce this book.” "A Way Back Home" was inspired by the history of South Korea rising from the devastation of the Japanese colonization and the Korean War. In the text Kwon describes how West Germany came to the aid of South Korea with a loan and a labor exchange contract. Koreans were able to travel to West Germany for jobs as miners and nurses. Over the span of ten years they sent home about $101M. This money, along with the German loan became an economic foundation for South Korea. The loan enabled the construction of Pohang Ironworks and the first highway in Korea. But it took the blood, sweat and tears of many dedicated Korean citizens to complete the highway - 77 people died. Tools were primitive. Construction started in 1968 and was completed in 1970. The front of the accordion has illustrations of Korean citizens leaving to travel to Germany to take jobs. Other illustrations relate to flowers of significance to Koreans. White flowers, hibiscus or rose of Sharon is the national flower of Korea. Red flowers, camellia symbolizes longing for someone who is missed. |
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Homeless Chickens 8.5 x 9.125"; 15 pages. Double-sided accordion extending from front pastedown. Lithograph images. Digitally printed text. Cut-out patterns on the front cover and back side of the accordion text. Signed and numbered by the artist. A book about free-spirited feral chickens in Hawai'I where the artist now lives and teaches in the Visual Arts program at the BYU campus. Jihae Kwon, colophon: "The first time I saw feral hens and roosters on the side of Kamehameha Highway, I thought they were cage-free chickens raised by someone who trusted them enough to let them roam around during daytime. Then I saw more of them on the beach. Then in the grocery store parking lot, on the school campus, in my neighbor's yard, and on the hood of my car. These homeless chickens were everywhere. I realized then they didn't belong to anyone. "They eat anything and they live everywhere. Locals don't eat them. Kids in the neighborhood use them for chicken fights. Sometimes chickens and chicks get hit by cars like other wild animals. They cluck at all hours of day and night. they are wild and free-spirited. When I see them around, I chuckle a little." BIMA: “In this episode of Artists’ Books Unshelved, Jihae Kwon’s ‘Homeless Chickens’ and Sandra March’s ‘FELT FELT’ shift the context of ordinary chickens, presenting humorous personal perspectives and stories.” |
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| Bending By Jihae Kwon Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington D.C.: Jihae Kwon, 2014. Edition of 10. 5 x 6" closed; 12 pages. Accordion fold extending from front pastedown. Lithograph printing on one side. Screen printing on reverse side. RiverPoint papers. Signed and numbered by the artist. Bound in paper over boards with cloth spine. Jihae Kwon: "Inspired by a trip to Ladakh, India, Bending is about how Ladakh is modernizing while holding on to their beautiful traditions." While politically part of India, Ladakh has more in common culturally with Tibet. The effects of development and globalization in the region, which began in the 1970s, have been studied by Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder and director of Local Futures. $425 |
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| Jihae Kwon Out of Print Title: | |
Abandoned Cars 7 13/18" x 10"; double sided accordion book. 8 pages each side. Lithography, digital printing, and paper cut. Hard cover binding with title on front board. Signed and numbered by the artist on the colophon. Jihae Kwon: "A book about abandoned cars in Hawaii. Cars were abandoned on the side of the road or in the field. They were covered in plants outgrowing around and over them, and it looked as plants and cars became co-habitants. The cars found their final resting place. Healing and peace were what the natural habitant was to them. " |
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Stratum 17.25" x 9.25" with wooden board covers and sewn binding. Papercutting. Jihae Kwon: "Inspired by Queen Lili'uokalani's song' Ku'u Pua I Paoakalaui'. 'Stratum' is about the importance of land and soil." Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, Lili'uokalani was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. Wikipedia, accessed 8/21/2020: " u'u Pua I Paoakalani, often referred to simply as Paoakalani, is a famous song composed by Queen Lili'uokalani while imprisoned in 'Iolani Palace. It is about her garden in Paoaokalani, from which a loyal haole supporter, John Wilson (whose mother, Evelyn T. Wilson, went into voluntary imprisonment with the Queen) regularly brought her flowers. These flowers were wrapped in newspaper, through which means she was able to read the news that was prohibited to her during her imprisonment. The song is a tribute to this young man, whom she held in very high esteem." While the words of this song were written in the 1800's, they ring true as we struggle with COVID-19 and the chaos it has caused in our lives.
(SOLD/Out of Print) |
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| To the New Land By Jihae Kwon Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington D.C.: Jihae Kwon, 2014. Edition of 5. 5.5 x 7" closed, opens to 11" diameter carousel book. Three layers. Hand-painted in gouache. Screen printed. Text written by the artist. Bound in paper over boards with cloth spine and ribbon closure. Signed and numbered by the artist. Colophon: "This book is inspired by a trip to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and the explanation about Canada de la Virgen* by archaeologist Albert T. Coffee. 'To the New Land' is a carousel book about a journey that indigenous people of Latin America made through the land and water to come to the new land, the Americas. They built places of worship, made sacrificial offerings, and observed the movements of the sun, moon, and stars, remembering they were not alone." *A pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. (SOLD/Out of Print) |
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| unhappily ever By Jihae Kwon Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington D.C.: Jihae Kwon, 2013. Edition of 7. 3.75 x 5.5"; 14 pages. Lithographs. Pamphlet binding then bound in paper covers with long stitch binding. Signed and numbered by the artist. Laid in four flap paper case with slip-and-slot closure. Jihae Kwon: "Unhappily Ever was inspired by a conversation with colleagues about fairy tales with altered endings and how many people were not familiar with the original endings. "While I was researching fairy tales from the 18th century at the Library of Congress, Jacqueline Coleburn [Rare Book Cataloger LOC] showed me a small children's book called 'Histories or Tales of Past Times: Told by Mother Goose, with Morals' (1780) by Perrault which became the inspiration for the size of this book. Unhappily Ever brings the medieval children's fairy tales to adults in a modern book structure. "Unhappily Ever contains five well-known fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault with the original endings. There are more to the stories than what people know, and these stories were not lost in translation. Although the endings have been altered, the moral of the stories remains relatively true." (SOLD) |
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| you are with me By Jihae Kwon Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington D.C.: Jihae Kwon, 2014. Edition of 10. 9.75 x 14" closed, extends up to 6'; 36 pages. Flutter book. Lithography, pronto plate, and letterpress printing processes. Drum leaf binding. Bound in black cloth covered boards with titles stamped on front board. Text in English and Korean. Slipcased. Signed and numbered by the artist. Poem by Jihae Kwon with translation by Jiyon Kwon. Jihae Kwon: "In Korea between 1945 and 1953, many radical choices were made to stabilize the political situation. The first president, Syngman Rhee, used extreme measures to secure his power by removing any opposition, communists or non-communists. Estimates as high as 300,000 people were falsely accused, imprisoned, and executed. They were taken to hills and mountains, shot, and dumped in ditches. Two of my grand uncles were victims of being falsely accused and executed. This book is about the mass killings of innocent people during the tragic time in Korea." Introduction: "There are still many people who have not been able to bury family members and friends or openly mourn their deaths. This book is to remember all those innocent victims during this tragic time in Korea." (SOLD/Out of Print) |
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Page last update: 10.31.2024
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