Artist 340
Choe U-Ram
Sculpture
U-Ram Choe (born 1970) is a Korean artist who based in Seoul, South Korea. He is a sculptor known for his robotic and kinetic sculptures. Choe's practice uses the mechanic to serve as a both reflection of human desire and an extension of humankind.
Through integrating both mechanical and computerised movements within his sculptures Choe's works have been pushing the genre of moving kinetic art forward since the late 1990s. This has led down the path of robotic art.
Robotic art is an artwork that employs a form of robotic. automated technology. This is seen in robotic installation art where it is programmed to respond to the viewer interactions, by means of computers, sensors and actuators.
The future behavior of such installations can therefore be altered by input from either the artist or the participant, which differentiates these artworks from other types of kinetic art.
His sculptures' skeletal systems often expose the mechanisms of its movement by laying bare its machine of motors, gears, and drives, while minimally relying upon a CPU to direct their system.
Many of these mechanical elements—bolts, nuts, bearings—are all custom-made; at the same time, the external materials are often hand-crafted with special finishes. He is in part inspired by the grandeur of the physical realm, from celestial bodies to earthly organisms, U-ram Choe’s complex kinetic sculptures combine delicate, otherworldly beauty with machines, motors, and steel.
Choe’s shiny biomorphic forms flutter, glow, and breathe inside their metallic bodies, appearing both familiar and entirely alien.
They mimic the gentle movements of animals and plants with his mesmerizing kinetic sculptures. The large-scale pieces are often suspended from ceilings and are illuminated by LED lights that cast glimmering reflections on the metallic components on to all the surfaces below.
Often referred to as a sculptor who creates mechanical life, Choe models the movement of many of his works after living creatures, but also fantastically combines elements of different lifeforms.
Choe's practice has now shifted in focus from animal life to human society in recent years. Inspired as a child by his grandfather who was a car engineer and his parents who were artists Choe took his fascination with machines and science and his experiences of rowing up during the Cold War and also watching many science fiction television programs, Choe aspired as a child to build robots that could protect his family.
Artist Geum Nuri introduced him to kinetic sculpture. Through his studies Choe began to experiment with integrating motorized elements in his sculptures. After graduating, Choe gained work experience in robotics at a commercial company named Microrobot.
When asked on how he develops his artistic practise and navigate the relationship between humanity and technology Choe U-Ram explained, “It is important for me from which perspective the machine is being viewed from. Machines are not separate concepts from human life, they are part of it. All objects are made by human hands, and they reflect the thoughts of the creator and further, contain human desires. Although humans have the ability to walk and run, we invented cars and airplanes to go beyond our physical limitations. Now we can fly to the moon! So I thought that the machines that are considered artificial are also part of us, and that extension of the idea led me to produce the “Anima-Machines” series.
The attitude towards separating humans from the machines stems from the shift of responsibility. Even though machines are made by humans, when there is a problem, it is easy to place the blame on the machines, while humans free themselves from feeling guilty.
Machines ultimately pay for the price for uncontrollable human desires. As a prime example, we can talk about the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. During this period, textile machines were introduced, making the British cotton production increase significantly. Many people lost their jobs as a consequence, and the workers started to vandalize the machines in anger as they firmly believed the machines took their jobs away, despite the fact that it was all humans who led the Industrial Revolution and replaced the workers with the textile machines.
Centuries have passed and things have not changed. In science fiction films for example, machines are portrayed as something completely different from us, desiring not the same things; but it is undeniable that machines and humans are from a single entity. Humans don't use an object only for its purpose, but continue to inject human-like life into it and project their desire. I began to think that the objects that were expanded by greater desires could gain the same life force as humans, and questioned what would happen if they could have the ability to think for themselves and build new relationships with humans.”
for more on the artist check out his YouTube:
Sources consulted: