Origin of the Modern Man
Written by Park, Pyeong jong (photography critic with aesthetics major)
Nanda's photographic works series, 《a pilgrimage to the Holy Land》 and 《Citizen's Daily Life》 which have a modern girl as a main character, are kinds of works that treat the influences of the Western culture into Korean contemporary daily life in various angles. It has been mostly agreed that Korean modernity was a process of accepting the Western culture. And warm welcome to the Western culture is closely connected with mimicry desire for the Western culture.
Nanda creates 'Modern Girl' to understand Korean modernity and the extension of the modernity. A kind of her avatar, 'Modern Girl' is the symbol of who can enjoy the modern culture. She is an embodiment of a person who hungers for new things endlessly, and a follower who cults the new things at the same time. 'Modern Girl' is undoubtedly fabulous and refined, and she accepts unfamiliar things willingly because she is so generous to them. She feels less strange with exotic culture for her cosmopolitan outlook as she is nobel and elegant, and as she is so agile, she changes herself with the trend rapidly. She recognizes circumstance changes for instance then makes that culture changes into herself own. After that 'Modern Girl' is located as a new culture possessor in avant-garde trend. In brief, once you see 'Modern Girl', you would know the newest trend. In one sense 'Modern Girl' is a portrait of the modern generation who has shown up continuously during Korean modernity and contemporary.
It is difficult to say definitely where an origin of the modernity culture, having strong influence on now, comes from. History likes a continuous tide, but there are many severance opportunities in real. In spite of those difficulties, there are some universal features, deciding contemporary life, so called thoughts, sensitivities, values and tastes. Nanda tries to find the origin in modernity. History of Korean modernity, separated with past and based on the Western model, is fulfilled with imitation of the Western system, the Western values and the Western culture etc. There were proper reasons, and in other hands there were so many critics and regrets in various levels. 'Modern Girl' opening the new period, is a subject of modernity. The embodiment of modernity accepting actively the new for future potential, at the same time is used to the modernity negativity gradually, there is an irony. This negativity is connected to the contemporary still, thereby 'Modern Girl' leaves the self-contradiction as a legacy to the descendant continuously. In this view, 'Modern Girl' is a origin of the contemporary people. However the contemporary is too corrupt, the people is the Lost Generation. Is it exhausted the modernity dynamic energy for birth of 'Modern Girl' ? Does spend or waste all energy by the modern people themselves? It is true that we are the descendant of 'Modern Girl'. so we could find out the clue to the solution from her. She has the key of secret contemporary.
Nanda
BFA in Fiber Art, Duksung Woman's University, Korea
MFA in Visual Art, Graduate School of Culture & Art, Sangmyung University, Korea
SOLO EXIHIBITIONS
2008 Modern girls, Kyungseong pilgrimage, Gana Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2009 Santa of Masked & Anonymous, Kunst Doc Project Space, Seoul, Korea
 ▲80×100cm, Archival Inkjet Print, 2008  |
Park, Pyeong jong (photography critic with aesthetics major)
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