Art and Liberation in Noh Jun's Art World ¡Ü According to Ernst Cassirer, human consciousness is shaped and developed by symbolic form. In this context, symbolic form means the various parts of an individual's developmental background that mold his or her consciousness. Each person's consciousness comprises that individual's religious, philosophical, social, ethnic, mythical and artistic background, thus normally each human being has a particular consciousness concerning art due to his or her personal history, ethnos, class or sex. Likewise, naturally there exist some differences between American art and German art, as well as how the Englishperceive American art and how the French do. ¡Ü However, then there isthe work of Noh Jun. Noh Jun's work is familiar and friendly, warmhearted and sweet. Anyone can enter his work instantly without any confusion. It does not matter if it is a yellow dog, or a yellow cat. Either way it resembles a friendly, cute comic character. Noh's work has bears the hallmarks of Pop Art. Pop Art appropriates images already produced by others to create a new art work. It is a democratic artistic style, as its intention is that it can be understood instantly and easily. Yet, Noh does not just take existing images everyone already knows, such as the Coca-Cola bottle, the Cambell's Soup can, Marylin Monroe, Mickey Mouse, etc, but creates a unique world of images by himself. Nevertheless, no feelings of inconvenience or hard work are required to understand his work. And so an African-american rapper living in New York City, a merchant from the Middle-East and a Korean university student all would have the same impressions on his workin spite of them all having a different perspective. That is to say, in spite of their own symbolic forms all being different from one another. How can this be so? It is derived from the sweetness of the characters. It is a sort of phenomenon arising from a protective instinctone feels upon recognizing something cute. This recognition is part of a socialized code that has developed over a long period of time. The protective instinct over a sweet child is a universal sentiment throughout all different social strata and nations. This is because this universal consciousness has been evolving since the Prehistoric Age, its roots growing deep through generations and generations. In our human consciousness, it is in maternal instincts themselves that this kind of cuteness has come to be most highly valued. In the heart of a mother gazing at her offspring, is there anything greater than this cuteness? In this gaze, it is the connection between cuteness and maternal affection that Noh has noted. ¡Ü Generally, the forces driving the world we live in are understood to be a social ambition and a desire to satisfy our physical needs. However, Noh understands that maternal affection is the more fundamental motive. Fundamentally speaking, his point of view would be right. He is spreading word of this universal wonder, easily perceivable to all, by borrowing from the field of entertainment. The true value of a work of art is determined by the message it gives, that is, the world view of the artist. ¡Ü Art which cannot be understood until one has interpreted all the signs it contains, and getting to know all the personal history and attainments and world view of its artist, is hard to understand. Works of fine art, in particular, have been isolated by fences put up by different kinds of art institutions. Inside white cubes, or on plinths and pedestals, they are rigorously divided from the spectator. As a 'spectacle', right from the beginning art exists separately from the 'spectator' it is coldly separated from, thus potentially leaving him or her feeling alienated. But, Noh's work embraces not only thesewhite cubes, but also public spaces such as playgrounds and parks. Besides, it is indeed intended to be hugged and touchable so that children can freely experience it through their sense of touch. Thus, it functions as a space of liberation where all boundaries of class, race and age come crumbling down, which is, as a matter of fact, effected by the universality of maternal affection. ¡Ü Life is a continuation of the suffering and oppression of times past. But, at least while gazing at children enjoying Clo and Flo or Kkamjigi and Temmy, we get to taste for a moment blissful hope. ¡á Kang, Moo-Seong_Translated into English by Moon, Yujin