This document summarizes and compares several artworks that address themes of individualism versus collectiveness. It discusses works by Do-Ho Suh, Zhang Huan, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and others that represent identity and group dynamics through the use of everyday objects like dog tags, ID cards, and language. The artworks create a sense of personal reflection in the viewer about their role within a collective and society through meticulous details, manipulation of materials, and powerful messages.

1. ART21 PROJECT
CHAE-YUN MANDY LIM
ARTT 103

2. Do-Ho Suh
"Some/One," 2001
Stainless steel military dog tags, nickel-plated
copper sheets, steel structure, glass fiber
reinforced resin, rubber sheets
Three-Dimensional Object
For this artwork, Do-Ho Suh utilized thousands of
military dog tags in order to create this
masterpiece. Suh covered the entire floor of the
room with the dog tags and then created an
armor-like steel body in the center. Mirrors
surround the empty interior of the armor. Through
“Some/One,” Suh focuses on the notion of
personal and public space and the idea of
individualism versus collective. For example, one
dog tag can represent the identity of an individual;
however, collectively as a whole, the dog tags
represent the group of individuals who
experienced the same event. In addition, Suh
demonstrates strength in numbers through this
artwork. By utilizing the mirror inside the armor,
the individual can develop a personal space in

3. Mandy Lim
“As One,” 2014
Media: Plastic
The IDs of these College Park students
also represent the individualism and
collectiveness of a group. Single
identification card represents the identity
of the individual: it states who the person
is and to which organization the individual
is affiliated to. An ID represents one
person. However, by combining all the
IDs together, the individual loses his
sense of uniqueness and becomes part
of a whole, which in this case represents
the Class of 2015 at University of
Maryland, College Park and the huge
Asian population on campus. Also, the
IDs are placed in one straight line to
represent the uniformity of the group. By
doing this, the individual is left to think
about his importance as one independent
entity and as a part of the bigger picture.

4. Zhang Huan
“To Raise the Water Level in a Fish Pond,” August 15, 1997
Performance Documentation, C-Print on Fuji archival paper, 60x90 in
Zhang Huan’s performance documentation is similar to Suh’s sculpture of the military dog tags in a sense that it also
focuses on the idea of individualism versus collectiveness. For example, in order to protest against government’s unfair
use of power, Chinese workers, who lost their jobs to the modernization of China, decided to stand in the pond. Even
though this act would not create political controversy, it worked as a “an act of human poetry – the human mass serving
as a metaphor for the Chinese masses…” (Sayre, 539). Standing as one individual, a person would not be able to
make much of a statement in this photo; however, by standing together, this group of people was able to show the
power of group collectiveness and stood to represent the whole Chinese working population.

5. Vija Celmins
"Web #2," 2000-2001
Oil on linen, 15 x 18 inches
Two-Dimensional Space
Vija Celmins finds her inspirations from natural
scenes and then transcribes the image to fit
her tastes. In the case of “Web #2,” Celmins
attempted to demonstrate the ephemeral state
of the web by incorporating the
accurate, naturalistic details and the delicate
imperfections of the spider web in this image.
By doing so, Celmins created an artwork that
evokes a “sense of discovery and wonder”
(Art21) from the audience. In addition, “Web
#2” captivates the audience with its intricate
detail, drawing the individual to touch the
image to verify whether the image is a real or
not.

6. Mandy Lim
2014
Media: Wood
Three-Dimensional Space
This naturalistic scene, containing the burning of the firewood, captures the ephemeral qualities of the wood itself. This
image demonstrates how the fire and the wood work together in order to create a sense of awe and wonder. This
metaphorical image helps the audience relate life to the transient qualities of the burning firewood: life moments come and
pass by in a matter of seconds, just like how quickly the wood can burn. Even though the fire has enveloped majority of the
wood, you can still see the intricate details of the firewood that has yet to be affected by the fire. Not only that, you can also
see the fine details of the parts of the wood that are lit on fire. Just like Celmins’ image, this image serves as an example of
“organic detail and the elegance of imperfection” (Art21).

7. Attributed to Soami
“Garden of the Dasisen-in of Daitokyuji,”
1510-25
This garden, created for Soami, fosters the
ideas Celmins utilizes in her artworks. For
example, Celmin focuses heavily on the
intricate details of landscape, object, etc. This
image of the garden captures the tiniest of
details: the tiny pebbles on the ground, the
texture of the rocks, and the patterns of the
vegetation. Also, similar to Celmins’ works,
this garden supports a simple, yet descriptive
image. Constructed and artificially made by
humans, this garden evokes a sense of awe
and astonishment from the audience.

8. Jenny Holzer
"WISH LIST BLACK," detail, 2006
Oil on linen; 16 panels, 33 x 408 inches
Jenny Holzer uses art as a method to inform her
audience on a specific subject such as torture and
power corruption. She utilizes language to evoke
an emotion out of her audience. For example, in
her artwork, “WISH LIST BLACK,” Holzer uses a
real, official government document regarding
torture methods demonstrated on war prisoners.
By blackening the background, Holzer creates a
sense of melancholy, depression, and desolation
in concurrence to the topic of the artwork.
Holzer’s simple yet powerful method “provokes a
response in the viewer” (Art21) and forces the
audience to think about the universal corruption
that occurs everyday.

9. Mandy Lim
“Survivor,” 2014
Media: Computer Paper and Ink
Two-Dimension
This artwork mirrors the powerful
messages Holzer conveys in her
projects. My response focuses on
society’s double standards regarding
women. Many women who are raped
do not face justice because they are
shamed into believing that everything
was their fault. I changed my image
from color to black and white to make
the image stronger and more
impactful. Also, certain key words are
bolded, italicized, underlined, or
crossed-out to give them more weight
and meaning. Using curt yet precise
language allowed for me to evoke
stronger emotion from the audience.

10. Barbara Kruger
“Untitled (We won’t play nature to your
culture),” 1983
Photostat, red painted wood frame. 73x49 in
This feminist artwork, created by Barbara
Kruger, is similar to works made by Holzer
because it addresses a problem in society. Not
only that, Kruger incorporates language and
image to express her opinion on the topic. For
example, by adding the sentence, “We won’t
play nature to your culture,” Kruger “exposes
the traditional nature/culture dichotomy for what
it is…” (Sayre, 534) which refers to the
dominant power males have over women.
Using this image, Kruger firmly states her
stance on the matter.

11. BIBLIOGRAPY
ART21. (2001-2014). ART21. RETRIEVED JANUARY 22, 2014, FROM
WWW.ART21.ORG/
SAYRE, HENRY M. A WORLD OF ART. 7TH ED. UPPER SADDLE RIVER: PEARSON
EDUCATION, 2013.
PRINT.