Telephone interview with Soo Jin Lee, NYSS MFA

Telephone interview with Soo Jin Lee, NYSS MFA ’05
Sante Fe, New Mexico
January 21, 2016
Photo David Karshmer.
Geoffrey Stein: Hi Soo Jin. Can you tell me a little about your background?
Background
SJL: Well originally I am from Seoul, South Korea. I grew up there and came to New York around
1994.
GS: Did you come to go to school or did your family move?
1
SJL: No, most of my family is still in Korea, but I was searching for some way of learning painting and
I came to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts (“SVA”) in the mid-nineties. That's how I came
to the U.S.
GS: Did you study at SVA?
SJL: I did my undergraduate work there. The interesting thing is that SVA was very conceptual and I
had this longing, yearning to learn a studio practice. I had no idea what it was, but that sort of naive
romantic search. There was none of that in the drawing classes at SVA. Everybody sat doing nothing.
Not much studio practice going on. If you go to a drawing class there, there isn't as much physical
active drawing, there is a lot more talk.
GS: Talking about the concept of art or drawing.
SJL: Right. There were a lot of installations … like teabags on the wall and things like that. Not actual
life drawing or studio work. I was kind of lost there and ended up doing a lot of printmaking because
there was actual work being done in the printmaking studios. I also went into the illustration
department to learn how to draw and paint. That was kind of a mistake because I didn't understand the
different nature of fine art painting and commercial illustration.
There was a lot of work being done that was not really based in a studio practice and it was much more
… you can do whatever. You can be whatever artist … I think it came out of Andy Warhol's permission
to let everyone be an artist. That was where I was. And then at the end of the century I briefly went
back to Korea for a family matter.
GS: Did you graduate from SVA in 1998?
SJL: Yes, and then I went back to Korea. We had a family crisis. But I couldn't give up. I wanted to
come back and pursue more art. I managed to come back in 2000. I did all sorts of odd jobs in New
York you can think of: Korean deli cashier, waitress … I was introduced to the New York Studio
School by my brother-in-law. It was actually quite a coincidence: he worked as CFO for the Studio
2
School. He said why are you wasting your time out there, this is a great school and why don't you try? I
had a prejudice about the Studio School being a little bit too academic. It was all this figurative work.
Then I managed to do a summer drawing marathon course with Graham Nickson. And that was it, I
was hooked!
GS: When did you do that summer marathon?
SJL: It was 2000.
GS: Had you always been an artist when you were growing up in Korea?
SJL: No. Actually, my family was very religious. Christian Methodist. I was very influenced by that
culture and religion. I went to this seminary in Korea. I was … not necessarily a practical thinker. I
went on that path but I couldn't find my footing.
Visual arts, especially drawing and painting were always inside of me when I was little. I could have
done hours and hours of scribbling and drawing and stuff like that. I never thought that I could be a
painter as a career. I hadn't thought about it much. I always had a yearning to do something … to make
something. Especially painting.
3
Christ Head, oil on canvas, 10 x 10 inches, 2015. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Did your parents encourage you to paint on your own?
SJL: I think, in the conventional way, they had a prejudice about being an artist. They thought it would
be good as a hobby but not a profession. But I had sort of a life-changing revelation. I was turning 19
and had a car accident. Back then cars were not as safe as today. The glass was not safety glass, so
glass went into my face and I was badly injured.
The worst thing was that my eyes were damaged. For two or three weeks the doctors didn't know if I'd
be able to see again or if my retina would recover. I went through hell. Because I was this lost child,
still searching for my path. I took it as a very significant sign to use my vision if I were to regain it. I
asked myself, 'if I regain my sight, how will I use it?'
Thankfully, although both of my eyes were filled with glass, they have almost totally recovered. I still
have some pieces of glass in my eyes.
GS: I'm so sorry to hear that and I'm glad you're mostly better.
4
SJL: Yeah, that was a significant event. I had to find a way to learn how to draw, or somehow use my
vision. That led me to art school and to New York.
New York Studio School
GS: After you took the first drawing marathon did you then enroll in the Studio School?
SJL: Yes. I was so fascinated with that two-week drawing marathon. That was my first experience
spending such an intense time really looking at things. Not only collecting data, but really seeing. I had
to go back. But I had to wait until I could find a way to go back in terms of the application and
finances. I worked a year to prepare to go back. In 2001, I went back as a full time student with some
scholarship help and work study, and started the certificate program. Where I met you!
Summer, 2005, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches , 2005. Photo via New York Studio School.
GS: Yes, we were both certificate students.
SJL: Right, we were both there forever!
5
GS: When you were in the certificate program, were you studying with Graham?
SJL: Yes, I tried everybody. I studied with Carol Robb for one semester. Then, she took off and John
Lees took over the class. I also studied with Rosemarie Beck and Charles Cajori. Mercedes Matter was
still alive and she came a couple times and I even met Andrew Forge. Also Joe Santore. Then I went
into Graham Nickson's atelier with Elisa Jensen for the rest of the certificate program.
GS: While you were at the Studio School the MFA program started. Were you invited to participate?
SJL: Yes. I was finishing the certificate just as the school was going through that transition. They
invited me to apply. I thought 'Ok,' if I could do more painting in this great environment, why not? So I
went onto the next level – to graduate school.
GS: When you started at the Studio School, were you interested in getting an MFA?
SJL: No, not necessarily. It's kind of interesting, and contradictory. When we were in the certificate,
they were saying this is not a school for a career, this is a school for work. I was always charmed by
that idea. Thinking back, it's very romantic and it shows that I was naive in a way, not worrying about
career stuff. Most of my friends from SVA went to graduate school and then onto their careers. Even
when I was in the MFA at the Studio School, we were still not encouraged to think very much about
professional practices.
GS: When you were in the MFA, were they talking about using the MFA to teach or was it mostly
about painting?
SJL: There was not much talk about that sort of practical stuff. They did not talk about being an artist
as a career.
GS: Who did you study with in the MFA?
SJL: So, it's a little complicated. When we started the MFA, we were given to Graham. For art history
6
and criticism, we worked with Karen Wilkin and Carter Ratcliffe. The studio time was pretty much
Graham. Then Carol Robb was involved. A lot of guests and visiting artists came through too but I can't
name all of them.
GS: Did you study with Bill Jensen at all?
SJL: Oh yes! Bill Jensen. Actually I studied with him and he was very influential and Margrit Lewczuk
too. Chris Martin often came to visit the class. They let me be in their class later, which was very
helpful.
North Benton, ink, charcoal, and chalk on paper, 22.75 x 35.5 inches, 2004. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Have you been back to the Studio School since you graduated?
7
SJL: No. I met my husband, David Karshmer at the Studio School. He came for the certificate too. As I
left the school, we got married and he wanted to pursue his MFA at The Slade in London. So we went
to London and since then I haven't gone back to New York much. We returned to the States in 2010.
GS: Is that when you moved to Santa Fe?
SJL: Yes. We've been there since.We came to Santa Fe thinking 'we'll have more space, it's more
affordable and there are blue skies.' You know London was three years of gray skies. We thought Santa
Fe would be a good stop. Just for a year or so.
GS: Do you teach?
SJL: No, not at all. This town is very strange. It lauds itself on being the third major art city in the U.S.,
but I don't see that. The art here is very touristy and folky. There is a variety of native and folk art here,
but not much contemporary art, or established artists showing. It's the kind of town where you can go
out and see emerging artists.
GS: Are you interested in teaching?
SJL: Yes definitely. I think if there is any chance to associate with young studio minds, that definitely
would be beneficial for my own practice and I think what we learned at the Studio School can carry on
in many beneficial ways for young artists.
8
Winter, 1943, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches, 2005. Photo via New York Studio School.
Studio Practice
GS: Can you describe the work you are currently making?
SJL: In Santa Fe, I came to the realization I needed a space outside of the house to make work.
Somewhere where I don't get distracted with the household or taking care of my daughter. It has been
about a year since I got a studio. David and I share. I started to work on some paintings. Being back in
the studio was amazing. I was struggling, because I just wanted to paint and see how it goes. What I
focused or struggled with is the … well you know I appreciate the tradition and research I did at the
Studio School and after. That's a great reference. I wanted to try to marry the formal language and
formal training, which can be structure, plasticity … with a more gestural, free associative way of
working. There is always a tension between drawing and color in my work. The work became more
abstract but was still based on the perceptual experience of daily life or weather or events. Whether it
looks abstract or figurative, for me all painting is abstract. But my thinking process and how I approach
the work is becoming more non-objective. I want my painting to become a thing: like a body. The
physicality of painting which has to do with the notion of the work extending into the viewer's space
9
interests me a lot. Bill Jensen used to talk about a painting coming off from the wall.
Color Deaf, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches, 2016. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Are you becoming less concerned with the narrative?
SJL: I don't have a narrative at all actually. Not anymore.
GS: Can you tell us about your studio routine?
SJL: I strive to go there as much as I can. If I can be there three days a week, that is great.
GS: Once you get to the studio, how do you start?
10
SJL: I just jump in. I lay out my materials, I set up the studio, I just look at the four corners of my
canvas. I look at it and look at it and touch it and just throw the paint at it and build the painting up.
That's pretty much the work I've done.
Escaping Gravity, oil on canvas, 36 x 72 inches, 2016. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Has your studio routine changed since you studied at NYSS?
SJL: You mean after Studio School? Yes, it's changed a lot. I still have, you could call it a tradition or
foundation, of that very focused studio time. The life drawings, those still-life set ups … my practice is
not about life drawing any more but those many hours of looking and putting marks on a canvas and
working still continues, even if I don't work from direct observation. That carries on. So when you are
working, it changes. I don't use a life model, I don't go into the landscape.
GS: Do you paint from direct observation anymore?
SJL: No, not much. I look at the progress of a painting a lot and carry that on in my mind, but I don't
copy nature anymore.
11
GS: What motivates you in your studio practice?
SJL: The urgency of the creative energy!! I can't find satisfactory words to answer that. It's based on an
every day routine. It's almost more like a work ethic to just keep going. The last few years when I didn't
go back to an actual studio practice, I think life experience adds up but something was missing. I need
to work in the solitude of the studio space. Alone. Solitude makes me the person I'm supposed to be.
The studio work is definitely my way of being. But motivation comes in various ways. What I learn at
the Studio School still carries on in either drawing or painting, using the actual material, through the
mark and finding a point of view. The evidence in front of me makes me want to learn. That's the way I
learn. How to understand the world around me. It's like a plumber learning how to do plumbing or a
surgeon learning to do their work. I think painters put the paint mark on with what they see and what
they learn. That's the motif I guess, the motivation. The work.
12
sonofabitch, acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14 inches, 2015. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Do you experiment with different materials in your work?
SJL: I tried some collage and stuff but no, my practice gets much more narrow and focused actually.
Oil is … I mean there's a bit of acrylic … but I still like the substance of oil paint and what it does on
the surface. What the surface and space does is pretty much my concern, so I stay with oil.
GS: Can you describe your studio space?
SJL: It's quite big. We just moved in a month ago, on the south side of Santa Fe. There are lots of
shops, my next door neighbor is a plumber. It has a nice amount of space and good light.
Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Do you think your studio affects your work?
13
SJL: The physical studio environment? Definitely. Painting requires a space and an artist needs a
studio. Having a studio for your own work makes a huge difference.
GS: Do you think the light and the space in Santa Fe changes the work you're making?
SJL: Since I don't look for the light hitting an object in my paintings anymore, that is not as much an
issue for me. I really appreciate natural light and the high ceilings. It's beautiful. Light in the studio
could be important. What I realize about being in Santa Fe, actually, and being in the mountains and
different cities … New York, London and now Santa Fe … is that the light affects color and as a painter
it's amazingly important.
GS: Do you think the light in Santa Fe is affecting your work?
SJL: Yes, my palette is changing a lot. I remember those cold rainy days of London and that gray light
which permeated my work then. In Santa Fe, I love the sunlight and bold colors.
14
Mine, oil on linen, 48 x 60 inches, 2015. Photo David Karshmer.
GS: What artists are you looking at?
SJL: I can't get rid of DeKooning. Before I left New York in 2006, I discovered Louise Fishman,
through Bill Jensen, whose work I love too. It seems that Louise Fishman is working with structure and
formalism and also with her free spirit; it's abstract and gestural. Also, I look at calligraphic works. I try
to marry those elements in painting as Louise Fishman does. Now I'm thinking “damn! She did it first!”
I still want to see her work in person. When we stopped in New York for a few days, we went to the
new Whitney and that was awesome. The Frank Stella retrospective was great. So baroque. That got me
to look at Rubens and then back to DeKooning.
GS: Do you have any projects you're looking to make in the future?
15
SJL: Of course, tons. But I need to discover as I go through and work on more. Work generates work.
But I don't have a grand plan.
GS: When you're painting, do you make drawings first or do you go right in with paint?
SJL: I don't make a preparatory drawing for paintings. I just deal with the painting as the painting is.
Conclusion
GS: Soo Jin, you have been incredibly generous with your time and I know you're busy. What advice
do you have for people thinking of studying in the New York Studio School MFA program?
SJL: Anyone who gets into the Studio School MFA is blessed. It's a great opportunity to explore a lot of
tradition and a chance for research. One thing you can get is the work ethic. Those many, many hours
of work and studio time that give you a back bone. When you get out of school and end up in the
middle of nowhere, like me, it will give you a way to get going. But they don't teach or advise you
about how to build your career. That part is up to you.
Summer, 1973, oil on canvas, 66 x 48 inches, 2005. Photo via New York Studio School.
GS: Would you have liked to have some professional practice as part of the MFA?
16
SJL: Well, I don't know about other schools, I don't know about Yale, but I know that SVA helped you
build connections.
Art schools are not responsible for your future. It's not like doctors or lawyers where you can take an
exam and be certified. It all depends on you. I don't regret that, but if the school could help you after
graduating, that would be nice.
GS: When you're not making art and taking care of your daughter, are there other things you do?
SJL: I am not a multi-tasker, so that's pretty much a full-time job.
GS: Do you have any other thoughts about the Studio School MFA program?
SJL: I'm not up to date with how they're doing now, but if they carried on with what they provided back
then, and have built strong alumni, then that's good. It was a good change for the school to start the
MFA program. I thought that was a good direction. I definitely got a lot out of it. The variety of
instructors and guest artists and critics. The lecture series is definitely a plus. I ended up doing work not
only with Graham Nickson, but also Bill Jensen and different artists who were great.
17
Photo David Karshmer.
GS: Well thank you Soo Jin, I really appreciate your taking the time and it's so good to talk to you. I've
missed having coffee with you and David in London.
SJL: Thank you, Geoff.
18