Trickeye Museums of Korea: Trompe l'oeil Interactive Art With Guest Art Journalist from Hong Kong, Jonathan Chan
Art surrounds all of our lives… but not necessarily the way we think. A sculptor can mold a block of alabaster into a recognizable form. An artist’s brushes and color can put a scene or a portrait into a frame. A photographer can snatch a moment of time and freeze frame it forever. Even though such creations of art may be stunning, they are not reflections of the inclusive spirit of what art really is and how art dwells within the hearts of us all. They are often merely re-creations or interpretations of the common, shaped by talented eyes.
That’s not to discount true artistic talent by any stretch of the imagination, but to point out that what brings any media of art to life is that artist’s internal vision that not all of us are born with being able to translate into art. Sometimes art is all about those certain artistic types of talented eyes that look past the ordinary and share with the rest of us the resulting living breathing art. And it can be an especially poignant experience when both the artist’s and the art appreciator own joys join, interacts, and merges with the art.
In art there is a technique called “trompe l’oeil” (French for deceiving the eye) where the artist paints imagery in an optical illusion 3D manner. The technique has been around since the 1400s, but Eye on Life Magazine recently became aware of a new twist in that centuries old art form that completely delights the mind. In South Korea there are three Trickeye Museums, one of which is in Seoul, and the others in Busan and on Jeju Island.
Recently, a group of young Hong Kong residents traveled there and revealed in their own photographic efforts what certain types of talented eyes are all about -- when they captured some fun in their own interactions with the paintings found in the Trickeye Museum in Busan, Korea Without realizing it, their artistic eyes have captured spontaneous talent in photography that many adults would envy simply because they knew instinctively how to stage themselves enjoying art as it should be enjoyed.
One of the young travelers, Chunyin Jonathan Chan, is someone that I predict will emerge as one of Hong Kong’s talented eyes regardless of what profession this teenager chooses in life. He is a person who will share with everyone he comes into contact with living breathing art of many forms through his own creativity in his own unique view of the world.
Here in his own words, Eye on Life Magazine is proud to share his thoughts on the joy of interactive art and what he and his friends learned at the Busan, Korea Trickeye Museum:
How Much Fun It Is To Have Interactive Experiences With Art
by Chunyin Jonathan Chan (Guest Art Journalist in Hong Kong)
Looking back to the places that I have traveled to, it was my first time had a visit to a museum that is full of wonderful three dimensional pictures. It absolutely broadens my horizons and stimulated my own creativity!
I used to draw different things like flowers, cartoon characters, trees, etc. But I never thought of a drawing on a flat paper in 3D and how it can become that interactive with some special technique. It was such big fun to have interactive experiences with art.
Other than enriching my sight-seeing, more importantly, it made me appreciate how a piece of art can be an entertaining activity if you try to take a look at the details of the drawings.
Living in such a noisy, crowded environment and rapid lifestyle in Hong Kong, sometimes I will find it difficult to take a fresh breath. Therefore, interactive experiences with art are a valuable time for me to calm down myself into a peaceful emotion and to release my stress from busy studying or working days.
It is definitely important to have such interesting and interactive museums like the Trickeye Museum in Busan, Korea. To be honest, drawings of art mostly give people a boring impression, especially for teenagers. But changes are happening there!!
At the Trickeye Museum in Busan, Korea there were a lot of art that included some humor elements, it highly attracted many people to hold funny poses with lots of facial expressions and take photos of the drawings. In my opinion, if more these kinds of museums can be established, I am sure more and more people will enjoy developing their interactive experiences with art.
There is a saying that:
''Just the paintings become famous to the public when the painter passed away.''
However if this type of new art concept and technique can applied to different creative drawings, instead of the painter will be appreciated when he/she is alive, many people will be interested in having interactive experiences with art either.
And this unique technique can also be passed to the next generation later on. Besides that, it can also be a piece of education material to draw student’s attention and raise their concern and love of arts.