Sunday, January 17, 2010

En-Uk's Art Blog

Web
En-Uk Sequoya Hwang
(Image from En-Uk's Art Blog)

My ten-year-old son has started a blog that he's titled En-Uk's Art Blog. I helped him a bit with that title. He wanted to call it En-Uk's Blog, but since he plans to post an artwork of his every day, I suggested adding the word "Art."

He adds a brief comment appended below each day's image. Although he writes these himself, I proofread them before posting to ensure that his spelling and grammar are correct.

The image above reminds me of Jackson Pollock's abstract expressionism, but I don't know that En-Uk has ever seen an online reproduction of Pollock's works, although he's probably seen similar art, given Pollock's influence on popular culture.

En-Uk, however, doesn't seem to conceive of the image above in especially abstract terms, for he explicates this work of art somewhat concretely:
This drawing is about a world that is very hard to live in. This drawing shows that as you get older, life gets very difficult. So, you have to think about what job you should do, and study for the job.
Although he doesn't say so explicitly, En-Uk seems to mean that we get caught up in our web of responsibilities. I was surprised that he's already thinking in these terms at the tender age of ten. Perhaps he's heard Sun-Ae and me talking about work and earnings, which have never been entirely stable for us since I'm that proverbial "gypsy scholar" who's moved from place to place for mainly contract jobs and never finding tenure . . . well, almost never, but let's not go there today.

Anyway, En-Uk intends to put up a work of art every day, but I see that the first two images have posted on the same day even though he put the first one up on Wednesday and the second one up on Thursday. I think that this confusion comes from the fact that his blog is officially posting on the other side of the International Date Line even though we're living in Seoul. I'll have to look into this problem and fix it.

At any rate, go take a look at En-Uk's Art Blog if you're interested -- and I assume that most of his relatives will be -- and keep checking regularly for new postings of other images.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the artistic side of my daughter, Sa-Rah Ahyoga Hwang, her musical work is more difficult to post, though I might try to post her playing classical guitar sometime if she wants me to and I can figure out You Tube.

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19 Comments:

At 1:52 PM, Blogger Kevin Kim said...

If Sa-Rah doesn't want video of herself posted on YouTube, you can use software like MovieMaker (for Windows) or iMovie (for Mac) to paste a still picture onto the screen such that the viewer sees only that still while Sa-Rah's music is playing.

YouTube itself isn't hard to figure out. Set up an account, then use the video upload feature to upload your vid.

 
At 4:37 PM, Blogger Hathor said...

Did you choose the template? I think there are some templates that would suit En-Uk's art better. My two cents.

 
At 5:50 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Thanks, Kevin. Last that I heard, You Tube wouldn't allow users from Korea to set up an account because the government here had placed restrictions . . . but that might be changed by now.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 5:53 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Hathor, I guess that En-Uk and I both decided. At first, he wanted one exactly like mine, but I suggested a different template, and he chose the one that he has. I'll let him know your opinion.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 11:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

En-Uk, I enjoyed looking at your art work.
You have a real talent.
I thought your scene regarding the world we live in looks a great deal like a schematic of my brain cells' connections at work while I am trying to type.
I look forward to seeing more of your art work.

Cran

 
At 2:04 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tried posting a comment on En-uk's blog but had difficulty, so I'm leaving it here:

Congratulations on your new blog, En-uk. Blogging about your art is a great way to reflect on your work. Art communicates to anyone with eyes to see, so it is a wonderful thing to share.

Some of my favorite artists are Frank Stella, Georgia O'Keefe, and David Hockney. I love the interplay of colors, shapes, and lines in their works. Do you have a favorite artist?

 
At 2:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Art communicates to anyone with eyes to see, so it is a wonderful thing to share."

Let me revise that thought. Painting communicates to anyone with eyes to see.

 
At 6:07 AM, Blogger Hathor said...

Just like Dad:)

 
At 6:48 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Uncle Cran (and others), you can also leave comments directly on En-Uk's blog if you wish -- and he will reply (which is good for his English).

Jeffery Hodges

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At 6:50 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Sonagi, I'll pass your words on to En-Uk.

Do you know what the problem was in posting on En-Uk's blog?

Jeffery Hodges

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At 6:52 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Hathor, yeah, just like me . . . except more talented, smarter, better-looking, and much younger.

Dang, I'm jealous of that kid!

Jeffery Hodges

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At 7:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The problem was with the ID. I wasn't able to get En-uk's blog to accept the post under my Wordpress ID, Sonagi. It would only accept the comment under my registered default Blogger ID that I do not use anymore.

 
At 8:05 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Well, that sounds annoying. I wonder how to alter that default fault.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 8:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tried to post a comment on En-Uk's blog, but I didn't know how to make my identy, and it kept rejecting it, as I couldn't be identified.

Cran

 
At 8:42 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Uncle Cran, you seem to have had a similar problem as Sonagi. I'll look into this.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 8:43 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Sonagi, En-Uk has read your question and admits that he has no favorite artist.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 11:20 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

I think that I've fixed the comment problem, so try again at En-Uk's Art Blog, and if there's still a problem, let me know.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 2:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have you and En-uk ever visited modern art museums or outdoor sculpture parks? I always enjoyed strolling through Olympic Park in Jamshil. Qingdao, the city where I lived in China, had a sculpture park by the Yellow Sea and other sculptures dotted around town, giving the city an artsy feel. If your son ever visits our nation's capital, he would probably find plenty of inspiration in the modern painting and sculpture collection on the ground floor of the National Gallery. Frank Stella's blazing geometric lines and colors will make you forget Pollock's splattered scribbles, En-uk! In Seoul I recall that Hoam Art Hall often held interesting exhibits by contemporary artists. One collection in particular was memorable and might have appealed to En-uk: an ethnic Korean raised overseas created large paintings with English text written in the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, and Korean text written in Romanized spelling. These paintings expressed her complex and intertwined languages and identities.

 
At 5:47 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Sonagi, I'll pass your suggestions along to En-Uk (note capitalization).

He and I haven't visited many art museums, but I've been thinking that he ought to get more exposure.

Jeffery Hodges

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