Beyond the Canvas: Using Art to Transcend Borders
How UMass Amherst Visual Arts Researcher Boram Kim Communicates Through Art
Bo (Boram) Kim (she/her), a graduate student in Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art Program at UMass Amherst , unknowingly began her life’s journey in the arts at the age of two. Tracing with a pencil and paper as a toddler would ultimately turn into a lifelong career as a visual artist, researcher, educator, and art therapist, all in one. Kim’s research focuses on bringing different disciplines together to communicate complex concepts through visual arts. But you may be wondering, “what does research in the arts look like?” Kim has the answers.
Research in the arts can take on many forms, and for Kim, this resembles learning how to communicate complex concepts and emotions through visual imagery. She describes how art can be used as a tool for visual data across disciplines. Visual data consist of information about the visual characteristics of a subject. For Kim this can range from the skeleton of a bird, to the shading of texture in a cephalopod’s tentacles, to the pigmentation of an anatomical structure.
She provided some insight into her method for embarking on new projects. Her work starts with scouring catalogues of subjects in museum collections, such as those at The Smithsonian Institution. Once something catches her eye, she plans a visit to view it in person to study its visual aspects in ways that pictures don’t do justice. With the guidance of museum archivists, she is able to access artifacts that will be her primary subjects for the project and ask them questions.
Next, she shared how she assesses a subject. During the visit, she uses her journal to record data on elements such as the subject’s form, shape, and texture. Her interpretation of these elements in combination with each other elicits an emotional reaction, which gives way to a deeper understanding behind the subject’s purpose. With this newfound understanding, she then decides on the best way to capture the underlying emotions elicited by the subject, such as the detail level of an octopus’ wrinkles in one of her recent works that highlights grief and systemic oppression.
Step one: interpret the emotions elicited by the subject. Step two: learn how to convey them. Step three: create. While it may not always be linear, Kim follows this general progression, noting how the steps leading up to creating the artwork itself are the ones that require the most tinkering. This intentional process leads to the eventual creation of the artwork.
“Every observer sees through their own lens. My hope is that my work encourages viewers to question the structures they inhabit, the systems they accept, and those they resist.”
The final product is then a form of visual art, which Kim creates using materials such as natural stone pigments, homemade rice and wheat glues, pencil, and paper. Rich with color and emotion, her art seeks to inspire observers while they navigate their journey of becoming a better human and citizen, prompting reflection on how they can contribute to society.
In terms of the impact of her work, Kim highlights how she believes beauty is subjective and there is no single takeaway that she hopes viewers of her work leave with. Kim believes that it can function as a mirror of a viewer’s state of mind. She states that, “Every observer sees through their own lens. My hope is that my work encourages viewers to question the structures they inhabit, the systems they accept, and those they resist.”
She shares how she has taken her purpose a step further by not only sharing her talents, but also teaching others how to produce meaningful art. Sometimes, the contexts that she teaches in can be a bit unconventional. For example, she once taught a workshop to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) students on how to sketch out the organisms they were studying. Students not only needed to identify organisms under a microscope, but they also needed to learn how to recreate what they observed on paper. This communication is essential because it teaches the students how to identify and effectively convey the biological structures they observe. This is a skill that visual arts experts, such as Kim, are able to help improve in students of a variety of disciplines beyond her own in fine arts.
Beyond inspiring the next generation, she notes how her research seeks to translate historical, ecological, and identifying themes into visual art. The beauty of this method is that it knows no bounds as Kim prioritizes multidisciplinary collaboration, showing viewers that art can be a universal method of communicating complex concepts across disciplines. Ranging from sociology to marine biology to anthropology, Kim points out how uses her tools to craft a social commentary on important societal issues addressed by these fields. She incorporates the input of experts in the field that her subject is situated within to better understand the subject and how to accurately depict it.
One such example is her Artist-in-Residency at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). For this Open Studios, she incorporated the input of a biologist for her octopus works. She discovered just how complex octopi are, such as how they each have nine brains and three hearts. However, seeing the subject from the perspective of an expert is not enough to convert a complex concept that the subject embodies into art. The translation of this complex interconnected web of ideas requires critical thought down to the details of pigment choice. Kim has excelled not only in her artistic endeavors, but also this art of translation. These surfaces, untouched by human presence, evoke primordial anxiety and pose existential questions about life in a posthuman future.
Thankfully, Kim has found a support system at UMass that has helped promote her growth as a teacher and an artist. Kim’s advisor, Professor Mahwish Chishty, has encouraged her to push herself beyond her comfort zone alongside the rest of the department. The MFA department at UMass often shares opportunities with students in the program to push Kim and her peers to new heights. This has helped lead Kim to her growing list of accolades, such as the Distinguished Teaching Award she won earlier this year from UMass Amherst for her outstanding work as a teacher.
Kim said she wants to push the boundaries of what art can achieve. Beyond the walls of the classroom and her studio, she is also an art therapist. In this role, she teaches communication of complex emotions through visual arts to those who may not always have the words. She says she wants to continue to help others find their voice just as she found hers.
Written by Julia P. Mohanty, PhD student in Political Science, as part of the Graduate School's Public Writing Fellows Program.