iPad Pro

As a young digital artist, the iPad Pro has transformed my understanding of art in ways that remind me of Walter Benjamin's ideas about mechanical reproduction—though in this case, it's digital reproduction that's changing everything. Originality and intertextuality go hand-in-hand with the iPad. I can take a stock image and then transform it into something entirely original, something uniquely my own. I can use the iPad Pro’s Copy/Paste function a la the Dadaists, surrealists and Andy Warhol, taking what already exists and reconfiguring it through one’s imagination.

Working with Procreate and Apple Pencil has revealed interesting contradictions about artistic creation. While the iPad offers unlimited "undos" and perfect reproduction capabilities, it paradoxically makes each piece feel more experimental and less precious. This freedom from permanence has actually made me braver in my artistic choices. The ability to layer my work and easily modify it in any way I choose has expanded my understanding of the creative process in ways that traditional media never could.

What's particularly fascinating is how the iPad Pro bridges the gap between classical and contemporary art practices. I can study Renaissance techniques through digital brushes that perfectly mimic oil paint, then switch to creating entirely new forms of digital art that wouldn't be possible with traditional media. This hybrid approach to artmaking seems especially relevant to our generation's experience of straddling both physical and digital worlds.

The iPad has also democratized certain aspects of art creation, making sophisticated tools accessible to young artists like myself. Still, such accessibility raises interesting questions about artistic value and skill—questions that remind me of John Berger's discussions about how we perceive art in the modern age and how we approach the very nature of seeing.

While digital art does lack the "aura" of traditional media, it has given up its prestigious light for 100% RGB coverage that gives regular users like me an expanded appreciation about art’s possibilities. The iPad Pro might have sacrificed the art’s sacred place in the museum but resurrected it in the bedrooms of aspiring young artists throughout the world. Art has truly become a democratic medium. It has become an instrument for artistic expression that, for a future Walter Benjamin, will surely present intellectual conundrums and ramifications that we have yet to fully consider.

Asian Film and Video Art Forum

The 4th Asian Film and Video Art Forum at MMCA Seoul presents an ambitious examination of identity and nationality in our post-pandemic world. As a young observer particularly interested in how art reflects social change, I find this exhibition remarkably relevant to our generation's experience of borders, both physical and cultural.

The forum featured five prominent Asian artists and numerous filmmakers who offered their unique perspectives on the nature of belonging and displacement. What makes this exhibition particularly compelling is its timing—emerging from a global pandemic that forced us to confront questions of nationality and borders in unprecedented ways. The inclusion of the "10 Years Project" series from various Asian countries (Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and Myanmar) adds historical depth to contemporary concerns.

The exhibition's strongest aspect is its exploration of multi-layered identities, something many young people today understand intuitively. The works of Kim Sejin and An Yuri from South Korea, Churayarnnon Siriphol from Thailand and HSU Chia-Wei from Taiwan, all addressed themes of national identity in unique and galvanizing ways. Their perspectives feel especially relevant to those of us who have grown up in an increasingly interconnected world.

What distinguishes this forum from typical art exhibitions is its focus on pressing social issues - migration, discrimination, and the aftermath of colonial rule - through the accessible medium of film and video art. The curators have created a space where complex political and social discussions feel approachable rather than overwhelming.

For students interested in understanding how art can address contemporary social issues, this exhibition offers valuable insights into how artists process and respond to major societal changes. The chance to hear filmmakers and artists discuss their work was an added bonus that made me realize how art is frequently a mixture of intention and happenstance.

Ugo Li

At the Gallery Bisunjae in Seoul, Ugo Li's "Picking Flowers" exhibition is a thought-provoking yet accessible collection. On display are 50 paintings by the French artist, created over the course of a year specifically for his Korean debut, presenting an engaging exploration of a seemingly simple subject matter.

Through a succession of thematically similar images, I could appreciate how Li transforms the ordinary act of picking flowers into something more meaningful. As anyone who has taken still life in art classes will know, these paintings go beyond mere representation. The works become inquiries into the relationship between beauty and time, a concept that resonates particularly well young people like me, who sense the onset of changes in their lives, physical, mental, and emotional.

Spanning from September 26 to the end of October, the exhibition seems to have been timed to coincide with Seoul’s beautiful autumnal season. Such a felicitous schedule creates a natural connection between the artwork inside the gallery and the seasonal changes occurring outside, enhancing the exhibition's themes of transformation and impermanence.

While some of the gallery's philosophical explanations about human consciousness and mortality might seem complex, the paintings themselves communicate directly through their visual poetry. Li's work expresses profound ideas through familiar subjects, making this exhibition an excellent introduction to contemporary art for viewers of all ages.

The exhibition exposes the gap between accessible subject matter and deeper artistic expression, which in many ways undercuts the power of the images. The artist’s statement seems needlessly profound whereas the images, in their simplicity, carry a power that was incapable of being encapsulated by the artist’s intellectualizing. His brush was mightier than the pen. offering an educational experience that encourages viewers to look beyond the surface and develop their own interpretations.