The Way of Things

This is Deborah Jang. Thank you for visiting my show, SUM OF THE PARTS. The WAY OF THINGS series represents some of my earlier wall sculptures, when I worked mostly with metal parts. The materials of course were heavier, but I was younger then and drawn the sturdiness and properties of metal -- particularly the way it corrodes and ages. The piece WABI SABI is named for the Japanese aesthetic that honors the elegance of imperfection and decay over time. The quirky off-kilter balance of the composition also embodies the wabi sabi philosophy that speaks to me. You'll notice on some of the steel plate I applied paint and textural elements. Both LONG STORY SHORT and AND SO IT GOES employ this practice, as well as my typical placement of oddball objects that help define the design: a t-square, reflector light, scraps of expanded metal, venetian blinds, steel rings, and equipment casing. You'll notice on YELLOW BUDDHA BELLY, in addition to the various found elements, the incorporation of a couple of wood components. This may have been the beginning of my transition towards using wooden objects and a growing appreciation of the warm, organic friendliness that wood offers –– which now accounts for much of my resource material. But THE WAY OF THINGS was definitely my iron age.