A reflection on the work by Christine sun Kim.
Christine Sun Kim is an inspirational artist whose work challenges the conventional boundaries of sound. Her works explore an unconventional visual interpretation of sound, language and communication. Following her journey as a Deaf artist in How I became an artist: Christine Sun Kim and how she uses visual and performative elements to convey sound in our daily life, Kim’s work prompts us to question our senses and see the possibility of sound art.
According to an interview by McDermotte Kim stated, “I’ve used technology for immersive experiences or to give people a new listening skill, and video is about capturing the spatiality of sign language. I’ve also done large public artworks, like murals. These started when the Whitney asked me to do one [in 2018] and then continued with billboards for the collective For Freedoms. I started thinking about public art, what people see every day, and the idea of imposing our Deaf way of being onto hearing people’s everyday lives.” The work allows us to appreciate a diverse way in which we experience and communicate in the world. Her artistic influences push the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of the art world.
My inspiration is to include Christine’s work as part of the Orientation to Design Media and Screen unit. This links in with the assessment criteria under “(Enquiry) Develop, reflect on and review ideas in resolving problem using a variety of theoretical and practical skills to identify and investigate appropriate primary and secondary sources relevant to your chosen field of study.” As within the Unit Assignment “Your Process and Research Document will evidence a body of references that have inspired and are relevant to the work you will produce during this unit. You should evidence a staged progression of design explorations using different methods that are relevant to your subject matter.”
Christine Sun Kim will be an amazing artist to add in the Artist Research Bank on Padlet. I will introduce Christine’s film as part of the brief induction and share my thoughts and reflection with the studio group. This will allow students to consider the possibilities of creating artwork with sensory experience. I believe her work will have an impact and bring a new aspect to the Soundscape project.
In one of The journal Shades of Noire‘ issues on disability, it mentions an important step towards magnifying marginalised voices ‘and to show important data and sharing the intersectional experiences of individuals with disabilities. In the artical Academic Truth I feel the article resonate with my intersectionality and positionality as an academic. “I see and help others like me or different in many other ways and that makes us vulnerable. I use my vulnerabilities as a mechanism – a frame and cannon to illustrate my students and fellow peers that they are all unique too.”
I was fortunate to attend a workshop on “Working briefs using sensory mediation” with Jhinuk Sarkar. The workshop was inspired by Christine Sun Kim’s work to use the seven senses to link and connect with creative practice. It has provided me with thought provoking approach how to work with Sight (Visual), Smell (Olfactory), Hearing (Auditory), Taste (Gustatory), Touch (Tactile), Balance & Movement (Vestibular), Body Awareness (Proprioception). I will look forward to sharing my insight with the studio group and create a workshop that links in with sensory experience.
Padlet:
Reference:
Christine Sun Kim (2012), A Selby Film. Available at: https://vimeo.com/31083172 (Accessed: 1 June 2023)
Sarkar, J., 2022. Why the smell of metal could shed a tear and other sensorial narratives. Journal of Illustration, 9(1-2), pp.181-215.
Shades of Noir (2020) ‘Disabled People: The Voice of Many’. Available at https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/disabled_people (Accessed: 1 June 2023)
UAL: London College of Communication. (2023). CertHE: Preparation for Design, Media and Screen. Unit Assignment. [Online]. Available at Available at: https://ual-moodle-sitedata.s3.eu-west 2.amazonaws.com/e5/30/e530dd251c7f70bd77003670cb82b9fb882b172 [Accessed 19 July 2023].[Accessed 19 July 2023].
Resources:
The power of small in creativity – Richie Manu
Why the smell of metal could shed a tear and other sensorial narratives by Jhinuk Sarkar
https://www.artbasel.com/stories/how-i-became-an-artist–christine-sun-kim?lang=en
The workshop about using sensory mediation sounds amazing! It seems like you have a good opportunity to embed the inspiration from Christine Sun Kim’s work into your creative teaching. Sometimes, we are really stifled by the poor performance of technology (often sound doesn’t work in the lecture halls) and we are not supposed to use paper for anything. I think in a way, sensory learning is not prioritised in the business school where I teach. Your blog has inspired be to experiment more with the senses and to take a sensory approach to teaching and learning. Thank you 🙂
Hi Michelle!
I love the way you are integrating Cristine’s video to an artist research bank on padlet. Is the padlet something you’ve had for a while? Have you found that students engage with it?
We tried creating something similar for our students but found they didn’t really engage so we didn’t continue it, but I wonder now if it was just due to the online teaching fatigue and the fact there were so many activities online with padlet and other platforms, and maybe now that we are back in person we should bring the padlet back. A colleague and I have been compiling a list of diverse fashion resources and I’ve been thinking of how to format that for students (at the moment it’s just a very uninspiring word doc). I’m wondering if turning it into a padlet could work..
Jhinuk Sarkar’s workshop on working briefs using sensory mediation sounds so interesting, it would be great to have more workshops like this across UAL.
Hi Michelle, I too found Christine’s work inspiring and have included it my artefact too! The workshop “Working briefs using sensory mediation” with Jhinuk Sarkar, sounds really interesting.