Dongkuk Ahn (Daw-non) (1937–2013), also known as Don Ahn, was a South Korean artist and

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

master who resided in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Biography

Don Ahn was born in

Seoul, Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. He studied at Seoul University (BFA), was a graduate student at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1962,

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

(MFA), and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(Ph.D., Art History). He was also a student of the

grandmaster

Cheng Man-ch'ing Cheng Man-ch'ing or Zheng Manqing (29 July 1902 - 26 March 1975) was a Chinese expert of tai chi, Chinese medicine, and the so-called three perfections: calligraphy, painting and poetry. He was born in Yongjia (present-day Wenzhou), Zhejiang ...

in New York City.

Careers

As an artist

Ahn's ink and

acrylic painting Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depe ...

s are influenced by the cycles of nature, as in

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

and other Eastern philosophies. His works have an

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

. The titles of his paintings reference trees, wind, and water and include ''Broken Branch in the Rain'', ''Old Zen Tree'', and ''Wind, Rain, & Ocean''. Another influence in Ahn's work is the dragon from

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

and

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

. Ahn's paintings have titles such as ''Brown Dragon and Yellow Dragon'' and ''Phantasy in the Deep Sea''. In his catalog essay, Jeffrey Wechsler remarks at "how completely even the most explosive of (the marks) ultimately resolve within the paintings as compositional pivots and focal points of visual weight, but without reducing their sense of unbound energy" which he calls a "zen-like paradox". The white paper background in his works is said to not be characteristic of Western

negative space In art and design, negative space or negative volume is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. In graphic design this is known as white space. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not th ...

; he believed that the space is full of

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

(the fullness of existence) and

ch'i In the Sinosphere, qi ( ) is traditionally believed to be a vital force part of all living entities. Literally meaning 'vapor', 'air', or 'breath', the word ''qi'' is polysemous, often translated as 'vital energy', 'vital force', 'material ...

(the energy within it).

Exhibitions

Ahn has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, including the solo shows Dragons & Oceans at Ehwa Gallery, Seoul, South Korea, in 2007, and Zen & Void at Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, in 2004. His work is in private and public collections, including the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York, the Dayton Art Museum in Ohio, and the Evansville Museum in Indiana. Awards and honors include the First Prize (in painting) from the Dayton Art Museum Ohio Regional Art Annual in 1963, the Pratt Graduate Fellowship in 1963, the First Prize (in etching) from East Coast Printmaker's Annual in 1964, and the McDowell Artist Fellowship in 1964.

As a tai chi master

Ahn studied with the late Professor

for 6 years starting in 1964, followed by study under Yang Shouzhong (the eldest son of

Yang Chengfu Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) was one of the best known teachers of Yang-style tai chi Chinese martial art. He helped develop the art into its modern form. His students would go on to found successful martial arts schools of their own and helped s ...

) in Hong Kong. He teaches several

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

disciplines: he has trained in Korean

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

(1949–1953), Korean

(1955–1959), and has practiced other

disciplines for over 30 years. Ahn learned

acupressure Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique often used in conjunction with acupuncture or reflexology. It is based on the concept of "life energy" (qi), which purportedly flows through "meridians" in the body. There is no scientific evidenc ...

techniques in his childhood from his grandfather and studied Korean and Japanese Shiatsu intermittently in 1953. He was known for his focus on ''

dantian Dantian is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine loosely translated as "elixir field", "sea of '' qi''", or simply "energy center." Dantian are the "''qi'' focus flow centers," important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques s ...

'' and taught Professor Cheng's 37-form, as well as push hands, double knives, ''Da Lu'', ''Wu Chi'' breathing, and

Taoist meditation Taoist meditation (, ), also spelled Daoist (), refers to the traditional meditative practices associated with the Chinese philosophy and religion of Taoism, including concentration, mindfulness, contemplation, and visualization. The earliest C ...

References

General references

* * Cotter, Holland, "Of Asians Among the Abstractionists", ''The New York Times'', 2007 * * ''Community Leaders of America'', 1981 * ''Notable Americans'', 1981 * ''Who's who in the East'', 1981

External links

Ahn Tai Chi Studio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahn, Don 1937 births 2013 deaths New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni Artists from Seoul Pratt Institute alumni Seoul National University alumni South Korean artists South Korean expatriates in the United States South Korean tai chi practitioners