This week our Senior Spotlight is on multi-media artist Jee Su Kim. Born in the UK, Jee Soo lived in Beijing for her early elementary years, moving to Guangzhou in fourth grade where she has been attending AISG ever since. We sat down with this talented visual artist for a talk about her beginnings in art, her inspirations, and how IB Art has encouraged her to pursue her passion.

Check out Jee Su's IB Art video to learn about her creative process and the ideas behind her beautiful works.

Why art? How did you get started?

I don't know, I just like art so much compared to other subjects. It has always really interested me, even when I was a kid. It's always been a big part of my life and acted as a portal to my thoughts and a way for me to express what to observe.

Favorite Medium? 

In the past, I focused mostly on watercolor painting. With watercolor, I can show the diversity and individuality of my subjects. A lot of the dots and shapes aren't planned when you put the water the paper, the shapes kind of just come out on their own. It's more flowy and allows me to really focus on my subjects and put them on the "center stage" of the page.

But recently I am loving photography. I feel that with photography it is easy to show movement. And I really like working with the models and the people that I photograph. I like the professional aspect of photography; working at a professional level, planning the photo shoot, calculating the lighting, and preparing the area that we are going to photograph in.

How much preparation goes into creating a new piece or body of work?

Well, in all mediums there is definitely planning that goes into each work. I will first do a media test where I test out different mediums to see which can best express my ideas. Then I can take the different ideas and combine them all together to get the final look and feel that I am going for.

Was the IB Art Exhibition the first time you have shown your work to the public?

The IB Art Exhibition was my first time exhibiting physical work in an actual space, but I share a lot of my work online like on my Facebook.

How has IB Art impacted your life and life at AISG?

I've been interested in art for a long time and it has always been a hobby but IB Art has helped me to become very serious about it. I feel I can really pursue my passion now. Before I didn't put much thought into each piece that I created but in IB Art I learned to use research and deeply plan each body of work. For example, we learned how to do a comparison study between different artists and our own work which gave me so much more insight on what I'm creating and why I'm creating it. Before, I knew that I enjoyed different styles of art like Cubism and Realism but now I know where they actually came from and why they came about. Learning all of these skills really helped me have a stronger foundation and more confidence in the meaning of my own works.

Are there any artists that you look up to?

For my IB Extended Essay (EE) I was able to investigate Picasso and his muses and it really helped me realize what style of art I enjoy looking at and what I may want my work to look like in the future, but I really look up to Ms. Mora, our IB Art teacher. I really like her free sort of style and attitude and she's been so inspirational and helpful in realizing my dream to become a visual artist. She has helped me to experiment with different mediums and has really pushed me to my limits when it comes to styles of art and the works I create. Also, the model/dancer that I photographed recently has been a big inspiration lately. I am really interested in movement and the way she was able to help me capture her movement in my photographs is really inspiring. She got me excited to continue exploring movement in my work.

Memorable moments from this AISG?

Going to Art Basel 2019 with my IB Art Class was really exciting. It's this huge art show and gallery in Hong Kong and it was so good. It was inspiring to see actual famous and well-known works of art that you can't normally see in Asia.

Next Steps after AISG?

I will be going to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Hong Kong to major in art. Right now my major is undeclared but I am leaning towards a focus on animation, photography, and illustration and I'm very excited to start!

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A well-deserved congratulations to Jee Su and all of her senior classmates for finishing the year strong. Click "Read more" at the bottom of this page to see the full list of 100+ colleges and universities our Senior Rams have been accepted into so far this year.

Go Rams!