Breaking Down A Masterpiece: “Life and Death”, by DeeKay Kwon.
For as long as artists have created, people have been analysing.
Countless research papers have been written — detailing the subjective beliefs of intellectuals who provide their take on why artists chose to paint the way they painted, drew or sculpted.
Search “Mona Lisa research paper” into Google Scholar, and you will be greeted with 120,000 results and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” has almost 250,000 results.
It’s safe to say that the paint strokes of artists will continue to divide opinion. However, with digital art becoming a mainstay in popular culture, I felt it was only right to take the same analytical approach. What clues has the artist left us? What stories are being told?
The Artist: DeeKay Kwon
DeeKay Kwon ( aka: @deekaymotion) has fast become one of the pioneers within the digital art & NFT space. DeeKay is by no means new to the world of animation. He’s cut his teeth across a range of roles where he started his early career as a Motion Designer before working his way up to a position at Apple. However, it wasn’t until 2021 when he quit the hustle of a desk job to focus his time on the Web3 art space.
Which leads us to April 2022.
A year in and DeeKay has set records for the prices his work has sold for, not to mention the calibre of collectors who can claim to own his work. The most notable is arguably Cozomo de’ Medici — who won an intense bidding war for “Destiny” — which sold for an incredible 225ETH ($780,385.50 at the time — Oct ‘21).
Life and Death: An Analysis
Following the release of DeeKay’s latest 1 of 1, I wanted to dig in a little and analyse one of his most emotive pieces yet, “Life and Death”.
DeeKay teased the theme of his new 1 of 1, on March 24th via Twitter.
“I am trying to make one’s entire life story within 30 seconds of animation. Would it be possible?” — @deekaymotion
I think it is safe to say he has executed this in a way that very few could have dreamt up.
Let’s dig into the detail…
The Guiding Principals
We follow the journey of a boy’s life. At first he is young and carefree — his attention is drawn by a yellow butterfly. Bringing us to what could be seen as the first real easter egg within the work.
The colour yellow is important. According to AboutSpiritual.com, a yellow butterfly is believed to be a symbol of hope and guidance — a poignant sentiment for a young boy who is navigating his younger years. In addition, is the fact the butterfly is the catalyst (or guide) that encourages the child to move from left to right — no coincidence.
It is important that this butterfly comes early on in the character’s life. He becomes distracted which causes him to fall but, without hesitation he brushes himself off and leaps up stronger. It represents the constant cycle of a child — you learn more from those failings then you do from it all going your way.
Youthful Disposition
Level two brings with it the teenage years.
He’s happy, bouncing around and doing what teenagers do — play video games. It’s here that he’s ultimately distracted by a girl, and with that, the video games are dropped and he’s off, chasing that first feeling of “love”. As we move through the next two seconds, the character jumps super high. A potential combination that represents the idea we’d do anything for our first love?
You say jump, I say how high?
In addition, I don’t think it is a coincidence that we see two moments of athleticism from the character. One, with his cartwheel and the second, towards the end of this section, where he almost jumps higher than the level he’s on! In the later two levels, we don’t see the same type of agility from our character — potentially a signal from the artist that these are the carefree years of our youth where we feel invincible and our body is at its best?
The Evolution Of Love
A smaller detail, but one that I feel has one of the deepest of meanings within the whole piece, is that of the two female characters in the story.
The first to feature, is in level two, during the character’s teenage years. She has dark hair, whereas the women featured later in level four, has blonde hair. We know from the story, that the relationship with the dark haired character ends in tears, most likely to represent that first heartbreak that many have to go through.
Could this mini-story within, be a nod to the fact that many of us will find love young but that it often takes a broken heart to build and find that special person later in your life?
Location, Location, Location
A part of the artwork that needs less analysis, due to it being common knowledge, but the locations run in parallel with that of DeeKay’s own life.
DeeKay grew up in South Korea until he was 12, when he moved to the USA. As a young professional, he spent 12 years in New York City and then finally — where he now resides, San Francisco. We can clearly see all the similarities within the three core scenes; level 2, with the small quaint houses — moving onto NYC where you see the Statue of Liberty and then the Golden Gate Bridge to signal San Fran.
Are we getting an inside track into DeeKay’s plans to one-day settle down to life out of town and in the peace and quiet of the countryside?
Work / Life Balance
As we move up into level three, the character has started work. Bouncing into his desk on day one, full of enthusiasm. As the repetition kicks in, sleep → work → repeat — we see his smile subside. Is this a visual metaphor for the fun of life in the big city draining out the character? A feeling that many have felt, after years of a 9–5 grind.
This level has a particular significance in referencing two of DeeKay’s existing works. Notably, “Busy Boy” and “I ❤️ NY”. The familiar animations allow for us to make further synergies between this part of the story being about this repetitive hustle in the big apple.
A Change Of Priority
It is here that our character swaps out the city, for a new life, on the opposite side of the country. Moving from the east coast, to the west might represent the desire for a new challenges or a fresh start?
Notice here — the character does not start with everything expected of a family man.
As we move from right to left, we see him first by himself, then he’s met a partner, and after that, a pram. We even get the addition of a moustache as a small but important touch, potentially a little nod to the wisdom our character has built over his lifetime.
The important take away here, for me, is that a relationship and family is something that’s built over time and thus it takes the duration of this whole level to culminate in the “complete package”.
The Circle Of Life
We finish with an emotional touch, the death of the main character. However, it’s as much about the passing of one, as it is about the start of another life.
The whole structure of the work, is laid out as a cycle. As he passes away, the young character disappears at the top, only to show back up at the start of the journey all over again.
This circle of life is complete.
I have three final take aways from this closing scene. The first, is the hand gesture that the older character makes to the younger. He’s waving him on, encouraging him. A sign of the important role our older family members play in the key life lessons and decisions we end up making.
The second, and I might be reading too much into this, but is the three lines on the tombstone. It’s three, full lines — a reflection of the fulfilling and long life our character lived. Surrounded by family, success and fond memories.
The final, is the last look back we get as he rises up. Angel wings show he’s making his way to heaven — a good man who led a happy, honest life. The look back; a small nod to us that he’s watching down on the next life cycle.
Conclusion
Put an old master painting in front of us, and we might take a moment to try and understand the deeper meaning or decision making behind the work. Put a digital piece of art through the same lens and people seem to dismiss the ideas that there are layers there to uncover. Six months ago, I could have had that same opinion but I am grateful to have found artists like DeeKay, who show us how far the boundaries can be pushed when you posses an imagination like his.
The irony is, unlike a stoke of a paint brush, digital art is not reserved to one frame — it can often be thousands deep. It has the chance to tell a story with far more rigour and detail yet still leave room for opinions to be divided on its meaning or message.
For me, “Life and Death” represents the pinnacle of digital art — in fact, it transcends the two — it’s art in its own right.
Acknowledgments
The analysis contained within the article is not claiming to be factual, or an exhaustive list. This is just a subjective take from a fan of Deekay’s work.
I also want to thank IJ for his tweet, which alluded to the significance of the yellow butterfly in the artwork.
Finally, thank you to Monty Medici and his The Monty Report; whose interview with DeeKay provided me with some valuable insights.
Update: 7th April 2022
DeeKay was kind enough to take the time to read this article and approved!
About The Author: Jojo Regan
I am passionate about writing and cover stories that range from interviews with start up founders, to the NFT market. I have no fixed agenda, and will always make it known if I have a vested interest in any of the things I write about. All statements are my own opinions.
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