In one of the banquet rooms of Minneapolis' Chambers hotel is a piece titled "Pencil I," by South Korean artist Hong Kyong Tack. It is an oil on canvas piece made up of three canvases placed together.
The piece is very large, and consists entirely of various drawn writing utensils: pencils, pens and markers. On the canvases, there are a couple of clusters or bundles of pens, pencils and markers "on top" of those in the background. The bunches of writing utensils in the foreground are larger, and draw the eye in first. The entire background is filled, there are no holes or negative space.
The colors used by this artist are very bold and bright. There are no shadows in the piece, as if the subjects of the picture are being lit from all sides by very bright lights. The striking, bold colors also contribute in drawing eyes to the piece.
All together, "Pencil I" is cluttered, but not totally random. I see it as organization in chaos. The bundles of pens, pencils and markers are the organization/not random, the background is the chaos and random clutter.
The shadowless, bright color theme creates a light, happy, excited mood. It was pleasant to view, but I do not believe there is a deep meaning or symbolism in the piece. Regardless, I enjoyed "Pencil I" for it's color, business and exciting mood. With all the different pens, pencils and markers drawn into the piece, it is interesting to look at.
