Art Allows Me the Freedom to Choose Poverty
A project by Sylbee Kim
In the framework of 39 Art Day 2011, an opening action
Walk and A4 sheets hanging, starting up from and coming back to AAA, Hong Kong
9 March 2011, 3 - 4 pm
Concept Sylbee Kim
Design Vik Lai
Curator Nana Seo
The action will happen as an opening event in areas around Asian Art Archive Hong Kong, the venue in Hong Kong for 39 Art Day, an international art event originally to foster the appreciation of contemporary art. This year's theme: "Be Linked/ Collective Synergy", "Positive Collectivism", "Failure", "Alternative".
It is dedicated to the death of a young screenwriter in South Korea, who was recently found dead in her room, sick without cure and food. She basically starved, because her weakened physical condition couldn't survive from hunger and cold.
She was highly educated and won a prize for a short film that she wrote and directed. She was an active art worker, but never came to earn enough money out of her labour, due to the generally exploitative system of art labour.
As a foreign artist working in another country, I often face the moments where young artists struggle having to prove the intensity of their artistic production through incoming money. But we have often no chance to ask for honorarium when participating at a show, we work for other established artists who have this phase in life behind them, still suffering from insufficient income for further productions. As a young artist, selling art is rather unusual, unless you have a commercial gallery that represents you.
But we keep on working, identifying ourselves as artists, as past Ko-eun Choi did. We do with our own will, even though the state won't recognize us as part of the small number of artists who can live successfully on their art. Our decision of being an artist may result into less income, but we choose to go further. We allow ourselves the luxury to choose. We choose poverty. We may be poor, but not our art.
Each of simply printed A4 sheets contain text variations on poverty as capital for art that promote a deeper social and political recognition of young art labour. Hong Kong based designer and artist Vik Lai made the surface of the hanging sheets for this project with a light, neutral and airy look. Around 300 copies of these sheets are to be hung in urban environments, conveying poignant sentences, as Choi's last note to the world did.
Artists and art students in Hong Kong are invited to participate in the labour of hanging the A4 copies. The group don't need to stay together but could spread out freely and regather again and again. An open and random structure, a walk. After the action the sheets are to be discovered out of context, all of sudden, hidden in tiny paths as well as in main streets, as the site for a treasure hunt. As the rules for the hygiene control in public spaces is strict in Hong Kong, it is probable that the sheets will be removed within hours and on the next day, it will be hard to find them. The traces will be to be seen at AAA where a corner will be dedicated to some copies and at Experimenta, non profit art space in Hong Kong, during my residency, and maybe, in some more hidden corners of the city if they will survive. This secretive scattered action may lead additionally viewers to this website, if they will notice the copies and will take the effort to visit.
This is either a demonstration nor a mourning ritual in memory of the tragic death. This shouldn't appear as an emotional demonstrative getogether. It is rather an action that reflects on our every day life as young artists. It will be more than wonderful if it could evoke any further discussions, as if talking about an insignificant discovery. Luck will play a role. It will be more like a labour, an ephemeral labour. Yes, labour is the correct word for this. Shadow boxing after Choi's last note that was hanging outside her apartment door.
The sentences go as following, and at the bottom of each sheet the URL of the webpage are noted:
ART ALLOWS ME THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE POVERTY
I CHOOSE TO BE POOR
MY DAYDREAMING WILL LEAD YOU TO YOURS
ALLOW ME TO TALK ABOUT 'OTHER' THINGS
YOUNGER GENERATION FOR ART CHOOSE TO BE POOR
I WON'T BE DISCOURAGED BY MY POVERTY
MY DEVOTION FOR ART, MY LUXURY TO BE POOR
I ALLOW MYSELF THE LUXURY TO CHOOSE POVERTY
DON'T KILL MY IDEALISM
YOUNG IDEALIST ART CHOOSE POVERTY
YOUNG ART, YOUNG POVERTY, YOUNG IDEALISM
ART IN COST OF BEING POOR
MY POVERTY WON'T DISCOURAGE MY ART
FINANCES ARE JUST A CONDITION OF MY ARTISTIC PRACTICE
MY ART IS MY LARGEST CAPITAL
MY FINANCES ARE NOT EVERYTHING OF MY ART PRACTICE
YOU MAY CALL ME POOR, BUT NOT MY ART
I MAY BE POOR, BUT NOT MY ART
POVERTY MAY KILL ME, BUT NOT MY ART
POVERTY WON'T STOP ME MAKING ART
MAY POVERTY COME, I WILL MAKE ART
I WON'T SURRENDER BECAUSE OF POVERTY
MY ART AND I WILL SURVIVE FROM POVERTY
MY ART MAKES ME STRONG TILL THE END
I WON'T BEG YOU, BECAUSE I HAVE MY ART
I WON'T GIVE UP ON MY ART BECAUSE OF POVERTY
MY ART MAKES ME POOR, BUT NOT MISERABLE
MY POVERTY IS NOT MISERABLE
CHOOSING ART, I ACCEPT THE RISK OF BECOMING POOR
YES TO ART, YES TO POVERTY
MY ART GIVES ME THE COURAGE TO CHOOSE POVERTY
THE COURAGE TO STAY POOR
MY ART COST MY POVERTY
I RESIST TO KILL MY ART AGAINST POVERTY
YOU MAY CALL ME A POOR ARTIST, BUT NOT A FAILED ARTIST
DON'T DARE TO CALL MY ART POOR, JUST BECAUSE I AM POOR
YOU MAY CALL ME POOR, BUT NOT MY ART
ART IS LABOUR
I WILL FACE MY POVERTY WITHOUT FEAR
I WON'T NEGLECT PEOPLE DYING INSTEAD OF US
DO YOU EVER COME TO THINK OF DYING FOR ART?
DON'T LET MY ART LABOUR KILL ME
I DON'T SURRENDER, I CHOOSE ART
MY LABOUR WILL SUGGEST YOU ANOTHER VIEW TO YOUR DREAMWORLD
RECOGNITION NOT DISREGARD: ART LABOUR
FANTASIZE, GIVE FORM, TALK ABOUT IT: ART LABOUR
I'M SO SORRY TO ASK YOU AGAIN, BUT WON'T YOU FEED ME A BIT, I'M A LABOURER OF ART
To be hung next to each other, as series:
MY POVERTY IS BEAUTIFUL
MY POVERTY IS SUBLIME
I WILL SHOW YOU
I WILL LET YOU LISTEN
I WILL LET YOU TOUCH
I WILL LET YOU WALK THROUGH ME
I WILL SURROUND YOU
I WILL DANCE TO YOU
I WILL TALK TO YOU
WON'T YOU LET ME?
With friendly support of AAA, students of Hong Kong Baptist University, 39 Art Day Hong Kong artists