Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: Accent

Media Credit: Scott Chandler Youngsuk Suh, professor of photography at UC Davis, who is originally from South Korea, speaks at Thursday's weekly Art Insights lecture in the Sorenson P.E. Building. Suh's major body of work consists of digitally-altered photographs of national park landscapes.

Youngsuk Suh, professor of photography at UC Davis, offered thoughts on both photography as an art medium and art in a wider sense at Thursday's Art Insights lecture.

Suh, who is originally from South Korea, said he decided to enter the field of photography after studying biology at Sogang University in Seoul, so he moved to New York City in 1994.

New York City was his first view of the United States, Suh said.

"The image of the city was the image I had of this country," he said.

Branching out from the metropolitan area influenced his photographic style, Suh said.

"It was pretty interesting to see other neighborhoods," he said. "Somehow, it made sense for me to look into those areas. I looked into those neighborhoods and cities for ideas to make images."

A big influence in his work, Suh said, grew from how he would reach his photographic destinations.

"Driving and traveling became very important elements to my work," he said. "Sometimes I didn't know what I was doing, but I just kept going and found things."

From his traveling, he developed an interest in public parks, Suh said.

"I was particularly interested in parks as this public space built for the use of a community," he said.

That interest led him to spend time searching out community parks, Suh said.

"I would go out to these small towns every weekend," he said. "Driving around and taking pictures became a very important move in my work."

After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Suh entered into the master of fine arts program in studio art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University, according to his Web site, www.youngsuksuh.com.

An important influence in his work, Suh said, is rooted in the photographic tradition.

"One thing I learned from the history of photography is to distance yourself from your subject," he said. "One move I made was to keep the distance at a certain range - you can't get too far away, or you lose the details of action."

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