In fact, even though Happy World - Scattered Crumbs hangs on a wall, it’s considered a sculpture, made up of 225 wood squares in mixed media (a term for art that includes a variety of materials). It’s a museum favorite, says DIA Gallery Teacher Andrea del Rio, even for her. “I see something new every time I look at this piece.”
Kang’s art often incorporates a mix of objects, colors, and images drawn from his life and personal history. For Happy World - Scattered Crumbs, he slowly gathered objects that were significant for him: a toy from his son, the tiny taxicab, a flute. “Adding to the collection became a routine in his daily life,” says del Rio. “A sort of diary, recording his surroundings and experiences.”
Making a lot of small parts into a much larger whole is Kang’s general approach to his art. Born in Korea, he moved to New York City in 1984. He studied art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn while holding down part-time jobs in Manhattan and Queens. In order to use all that subway-riding time more creatively, he started carrying 3-inch-square canvases in his pockets, so he’d always have something to sketch on. “My lengthy commute became transformed into work time in a mobile studio,” he once said.
Kang brings together ideas, memories, and images from his two cultures: the US and Korea. One shape in particular appears frequently among the squares of Happy World - Scattered Crumbs: the oblong silhouette of a Korean ceramic called a moon jar. These are incredibly important in Korean culture; moon jars have been made in this same shape for hundreds of years, and have come to symbolize ideas including hope, simplicity, and unity. They are a recurring motif for the artist; in fact, he once created a 13-foot installation composed of 1,392 tiny moon jars.
What’s something in your everyday world that could be art for you?
See how Ik-Joong Kang transforms the ordinary in Happy World - Scattered Crumbs, on view in Korean Art, Level 1, North Wing—then dive deeper through an audio tour or video.
