Art on the Go

Just a small section of the long rectangular mural of tiles by Ik-Joong Kang

At the San Francisco International Airport departures area, I spotted this massive mural near the SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) store.

On closer inspection it's a series of tiles, each made differently, some painted, some having a three-dimensional look with collages or items glued on top of squares. Some had words, some had bold lines, others looked like scenes.

They are the work of Korean-American artist Ik-Joong Kang (born 1960) and it is titled Gateway (2000). There are 5,265 3-inch by 3-inch tiles where Kang used various media, like paint, wood carving, cast acrylic.

A detail of a few tiles, none of them look alike

According to the explanation, Kang began working on these tiles when he was a student and commuted long distances to get to various part-time jobs. These 3-inch tiles were small enough for him to carry in his backpack and paint on the subway.

This explanation speaks volumes about his dedication, persistence and creativity in doing this project. An exercise like that forces Kang to think about art all the time, what is he doing now, and what can or should he be doing next.

The size restriction also forces him to focus what he wants to put on this precious space, what is worth putting on a 3-inch square -- it better be good. At the same time he's playful with the tiles. One has a green statue of Mary sticking out, another has a string of silver beads hanging from it, yet another has two mini scissors split open like butterflies.

The eclectic nature of these tiles makes for endless viewing -- if you have time... there's so much to see in each small square! It's pretty amazing and definitely a good use of time while commuting! Hope that inspires others to find ways to pass the time more constructively...