%C2%A9 Do-ho Suh
Some/One, 2005
Do Ho Suhexpand_more
Stainless steel, military dog tags, and fiberglass resinexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and gift of funds from the Sit Investment Associates Foundationexpand_more 2012.77a-d
Not on Viewexpand_more
Do Ho Suh was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1962. After studying traditional Asian brush painting at the Seoul National University and fulfilling his term of mandatory service in the South Korean military, he moved to the United States to continue his study of art and where he received an MFA in sculpture from Yale University.
When the artist first came to the United States to study art, he felt displaced by cultural differences in America. He said he felt as if he were living in someone else's body and didn't know what to do with the stranger's hands and feet. He could have returned home, where he already had begun to make his mark as a painter. Instead, he used his sense of disorientation to create artworks that forge a richly expressive link between historical and contemporary concepts of culture, identity, and politics.
Based on a coat of traditional Asian armor, this sculpture is composed from thousands of polished military dog tags. As the title indicates, the work juxtaposes the collective-represented by the armored sculpture-and the individual-symbolized by the dog tags, each representing a single soldier. The imposing, larger-than-life robe stands in contrast to the thin, vulnerable dog tags, which may also be said to embody the poetic symbolism of fallen warriors.
Details
- Title
- Some/One
- Artist Life
- born 1962
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2012.77a-d
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.
© Do-ho Suh