Event 1

       On April 11 2017, I went to Youjin Chung’s solo exhibition at the Broad Art Center. The exhibition is called Dead Wood, “Useless, for use.” The first thing that attracted my attention upon  my entrance to the exhibition was a structure with mechanical parts that can move and three lamps illuminating the structure from different angles. As the mechanical parts moved, the shadow casted on the wall also changed.





I was totally fascinated by not only the mechanical parts, but their shadow. Watching the mechanical parts move regularly and their shadow changing with that movement in a way that can be calculated through geometry and optics, I was reminded of unit 2’s lecture which discusses the connection between math and art. Although I could not tell what exact sequence the mechanical parts moved in, I knew instinctively that they were programmed by mathematically arranging which part moves for how long and which part moves next. The lamps also seemed to be posed at carefully calculated angles to show the most variability in the shadow. I kept appreciating this amazing work combining math and art, until the other piece of the exhibition drew my attention towards it.




The second piece of the exhibition was an interactive 3D game. The game was set in a world without human beings. There were only mountains in unnatural shapes and robot-like creatures that were composed of mechanical parts, and the world looked quite desolate. There was background music going on with this piece that would change as players interact with objects and creatures in the game world.





Various scenes of the game

I was a little confused about this piece so I talked to the artists who made it, Youjin Chung. She told me that the idea that inspired this piece was the quote in the title of the exhibition, “Useless, for use.” Chinese philosopher Laozi once proposed the idea that seemingly useless things can actually be useful if we take a different perspective. For example, a bottle is useful for its emptiness. From Laozi’s idea, Youjin thought about how human beings in the modern world perceive a lot of things as useless so she created a world containing only those useless things such as the creatures made by mechanical parts.




Me playing the game

The idea of zero suddenly occurred to me when she brought up the idea of usefulness and emptiness. Zero is an important mathematical concept that has inspired artworks, which was discussed in the lecture of unit 2. Zero means emptiness in mathematics. It is a seemingly useless number in the math world because if one adds zero to a number, the number is still the same and if one subtract zero from a number, the number still remains unchanged. However, it actually carries much conceptual significance. To illustrate, zero is the boarder number between all positive numbers and all negative numbers. Therefore, zero materializes the idea of useless things for use in the world of mathematics. Youjin’s work provided a great example of how the concept of zero can combine with art and helped me understand how the broad connection between math and art can take shape in specific artworks.
In addition to helping me understand how mathematics has inspired art, the exhibition also provided some unique experiences beyond the immediate world I reside in. For example, I would never spend half an hour watching shadow moving or playing in a game world that seemed so desolate. The exhibition reminded of how many various entities and existence there are beyond our world and our perception. It reminded me to be curious, to be open-minded, and to explore unknown possibilities. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this event to my classmates to open their mind for all the possibilities awaiting.




Youjin Chung and I


Event link: https://dma.ucla.edu/events/calendar/?viewDate=2017-04-11




Works Cited

Me playing Youjin Chung’s 3D game, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.

Various scenes of Youjin Chung’s work of a 3D game 1, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.

Various scenes of Youjin Chung’s work of a 3D game 2, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Youtube, Uploaded by uconlineprogram, 9 Apr. 2012, https://youtu.be/mMmq5B1LKDg

Youjin Chung and I, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.

Youjin Chung’s work of a 3D game, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.


Youjin Chung’s work of mechanical parts and their shadow, UCLA Broad Art Center. Personal photograph by author. 2017.

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