Photography and Contre-history: From Photo-Drawing of Duck Hyun Cho
-
This article examines the relationship between photography and history through the work of artist Duck Hyun Cho, who uses photography to produce ‘photo-drawing.’ He accepts photography as a material for his work, just as archaeologists excavate ruins and, on the other hand, historians use photography as historical document. However, as he is an artist, he has other aims than an archaeologist or historian, and it seems rather counter-historical despite treating ‘history’ as the main theme of his work in a similar way. As for the history, his use of photography goes in four impossible directions. First, the artist develops individual history into a common history through photo-drawing. Then, shows the transition from fictional history to real history. Ultimately, his photo-drawing combined with the exhumation transform dead history into a living history that can be re-discussed, re-examined, and reconsidered. Moreover, his new works shows that history could not be photographed but may be reflected, which makes us reconsider it. This way of working can be appeared to be counter-historical rather than historical. The concept of counter-history has been used equally by several theorists in various fields. First of all, it plays a supplementary, marginal, and secondary role. Next, counter-history is the incomplete part, that is, ignored, forgotten and lost. Finally, counter-history (because of it) has the potential power to rebuild a new history. In this article, we will deal with counter-history as a new methodology for history through Korean artist Duck Hyun Cho, and furthermore, we will be able to develop the aesthetics of counter-history.
-
photography,
interpretation,
history,
counter-history,
fragment,
mise-en-abîme,
archives,
photographicité,
imaginary,
photo-drawing,
excavation,
reflection
