Created in 2013, this piece is from a series of sculptures by Korean artist Yee sookyung named Translated Vase. Inspired by the rich legacy of Korean ceramics, Yee collects discarded ceramic fragments from various Korean ceramic villages for her creations. She treats these abandoned pots as jigsaw puzzles and joint them into distorted sculptures with distinguish seams in gold. Translated Vase is Yee’s interpretation of the revived tradition of Korean ceramics. These pots were destroyed due to minor defections to ensure “the rarity and value of surviving masterpieces”. By piecing up the destroyed potteries, Yee adds value to these worthless shards as a complete art piece. These ceramic shards born from dirt to potteries then to pieces and finally to a sculpture, which infers the cycle of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction relating to this particular Korean tradition. This piece is currently on view in the Korean art gallery of Philadelphia museum of art. It’s abstract, irregular yet powerful shape strikes the viewers when first looking at it. The tradition of Korean ceramics worship the smooth surface and…show more content… The mental gold is extremely precious and its bright yellow color highlights the crevices between the fragments. The value of gold is contrast to the valueless abandoned ceramic shards. Even though Yee pieced ceramic shards as a unity, she revealed her action of piling up the shards by using gold as her medium to build the sculpture. The seemingly useless ceramics shards have become the protagonist and gold, instead, serves as a supplement. Using the special materiality of gold to mirror the value of these ceramic shards, Yee visualizes the dedication of preserving Korean traditions. Thus, rather than applying artistic values to everyday object in Dadaism, Yee’s attempt in Translated Vase is to draw attention to the invisible effort of Korean porcelain makers who keep the old tradition live and
