67/97 tape is structured around the categorization of images and moments from
every day life. A can of soup, a leaf, a tube of paint, a woman's lips are
each 'read' as objects of some sort of conceptual barcode system. According
to Cho, the title refers to the 97 images of 67 objects that make up the
tape. Ultimately, the piece is about a search for meaning and human qualities
in information. The 97 images are 'read' by a barcode reader, a finger, our
eyes. The viewer's finger attempts to not only 'read' the woman's lips but
searches for experience that would penetrate the surface. It is an
exploration of desire through the conscious and subconscious process of
looking.The soundtrack of electronic tones might be read as the heartbeat and
blood flow of the artist or viewer, trapped with analogue wishes in a digital
reality.
Seoungho Cho's formal training is in graphic design. This tape presents that
background more strongly that any of his works to date. In a sense, the tape
is an animation of still-lives brought to life through layering, editing and
soundtrack. As much as it is a visual breakthrough for him, it also aims
towards an emotional breakthrough, searching to go beneath the beauty of his
always well-crafted images in order to find a human quality in visual and
sonic representation.
- Stephen Vitiello
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