ELOQUENCE issue zero

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contents

008 010 012 018 022 026 030 034 040 046 049 068 078 082 090 094 100 104

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essay THE FLOOR essay SCENT BY SCENE creators JAMES POWDERLY creators Takahito Irie creator John Skelton creators SHOJONO TOMO collaboration RANGGAN x YOM SNIL creators Lee Wan essay EYES WIDE OPEN creators Maia designers REPEAT REPEAT -N- ENJOY collaboration fleamadonna x Evan Goodfellow x Venus Robertson collection HELLO, THIS IS ME drawing Nakwon-dong, Seoul creators Call Me Tiger creators CTRL ALT SPACE essay GWANGJU RISING information World Exhibitions

Cover Artwork. Takahito Iirie

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staff Editor in Chief Jeon WooChi / jeonwoochi0625@gmail.com Editor Jean Choi / younjean.choi@gmail.com Anna Choi / egoidealism@gmail.com IDA Gr채nd책s-Rhee / idaateloquence@gmail.com UNA SeungEun Lee / unalee2180@gmail.com London Editor Suk Kyung Yun / yurusi@gmail.com Tokyo Editor Yuta Sugihara / yuta.sugihara@gmail.com Amsterdam Editor EunKyung Hwang / ikben.ekh@hotmail.com Writer / Contributor Tae Ho Kim / t4eho@hotmail.com Hyo Bong Chong / ggg6999@naver.com Andy St. Louis / andy@concreteexperience.org Art Director Yom Snil / yomsnil@gmail.com Head Designer Yoon Jeong Lee / ggong1110@naver.com Assistant Designer Mi Kyung Kwon / ggmmgg@naver.com Hae Ran Jeong / rinhol86@naver.com Ji Eun Kwon / kwonje0508@nate.com Su Rim Nam / s2sr1003s2@naver.com Photographer Jun O Hwang / raphip@gmail.com Max Eeow / max.zhihong@gmail.com Translator Esther Hwang / soyoonie87@gmail.com Web Designer Yong Hoon Kwon / kwonyh@teentimes.org Ji Young Kang / 357@hanmail.net Advertising Kyu Soo Bang / giftbang@naver.com

Chairman Deog Soo Lee / president@teentimes.org President Jung Sik Lee / core@timescore.co.kr Chief Manager Kevin Tak / starbiggy@gmail.com Julia Baik / cutejuliabaik@gmail.com IT General Manager Kang-il Kim / kang_il@teentimes.org IT Management Team Jung Hun Kim / kjh@teentimes.org Yo Han Kim / tolerance@teentimes.org Distribution Sung Sook Choi / choi740710@teentimes.org

ELO QU ENCE international creators magazine

Times Core Co. E&C Tower 8th Fl., 46 Yangpyung dong 3ga, Yeongdeungpo gu, Seoul, Korea 150-103 Phone. 02.392.3800 / Fax. 02.392.1800

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contributors

Andy St. Louis

IDA Grändås-Rhee

Night Path team

I saw the smart-looking American man at the magazine fair where my indie magazine was on display. Andy was sitting right next to my booth, writing down something. “What are you writing about?” I asked. “I love writing,” he replied. This was how we became friends. The other day, Andy called me and said he would like to contribute to Eloquence. In fact, he has already contributed to Eloquence several times even before I joined Eloquence. He went all the way to Gwangju to take a peep into the Gwangju Design Biennale and sent me a wonderful review about an art event with nice pictures. Good job, Andy! Andy is an art critic and culture journalist based in Seoul. He is Creative Director of Concrete Experience, a quarterly journal of contemporary photography and creative writing, and runs the art blog ‘SeoulArtFiend.com’.

IDA Grändås-Rhee is a composer, performing artist, writer, and photographer based in Seoul, South Korea and Salaboda, Sweden.

She performs music she composes at experimental theatres, dance theatres, installations performances, as well as on more regular stages in clubs and on festivals. Her writings and photography have been published in various magazines and newspapers in Korea and Sweden. From this month, she joined Eloquence as a new editor. Her quiet and poetic characteristic added a calm and organized hue to Eloquence. Most importantly, we could communicate well since she is fluent in Korean. I’m sure her active participation will make our magazine even better. Welcome to Eloquence, Ida!

A week has passed, but I’m still scratching mosquito bites. I guess other staff members are doing the same thing. We made a lot of good memories as well as glorious scars from mosquito bites while shooting outdoor fashion pictorials in the mountains late at night. Photographer Evan had to rely on the moonlight to take pictures and our model Venus had to change her clothes in a narrow place, and fleamadonna designer Jei Kim helped us before leaving for the U.S. and my beloved Beauty Song helped us in many ways from driving the car to putting on a make-up for our model. I’d like to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart. I’d also like to give special thanks to the Buddhist priest who turned on the light of the temple for us!

Suk-jun Kim

SUK-KYUNG YUN

I was nervous before the shooting, but as soon as Kim Suk-jun picked up his camera, I felt relieved because I strongly trusted him.

He added wonderful images for our October issue to make it even better. Using his magical powers, he simply turned actress Kim Se-in into someone new and captured artist Takahito Irie and James Powderly’s momentary sensibilities. Now I see why my editor-in-chief fully trusts him. Thank you very much, Mr. Kim!

YUN SUK-KYUNG is a new Eloquence editor in London. She was the first editor for the club culture magazine Bling. Then, she kept on going to do experimental projects for Benetton Korea as a marketer. This is why she is called an energizer. Currently, she is majoring in MA Applied Imagination in the creative industry at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and working with characteristic creators to perform unique projects. Her interview with London’s hottest select shop LN-CC’s director in October issue is just a beginning. She is ready to amaze us with her amazing projects she is working on with creators in London. Just get ready!

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essay

THE FLOOR A celebration of RUFXXX on their first anniversary

It is something with the floor. That gray, cold, uneven surface on which all the shows of RUFXXX are held.

Editor. IDA Grändås-Rhee Photographer. KANGHEE Grändås-Rhee

Sarah Krikorian in Dead Man Walking

It was in June 2010 that I first came to RUFXXX, the two story combined restaurant/bar and performance space located right under Namsan in Seoul. The first summer heat had just hit and even in the dark night the stickiness seemed impossible to avoid. Entering RUFXXX was like coming to another world. The dark silhouette of Namsan, the cool winds and the dimmish light seemed to leave no space for sticky heat. People seemed different, too. Sitting by the random placed tables on the porch, eating rice dishes topped with vegetables, egg and cheese with a glass of wine, they were calm in a way that otherwise is hard to see in Seoul.

But it was when entering the performance space upstairs that I first saw that floor. With walls, ceiling and floor all painted in the same gray colour, and the only light being what seeped through the red curtains covering the windows, the floor seemed to have an own type of gravity. I soon found myself standing barefoot on that floor.

Over a year has passed since then. From that gray floor in the theatre space of RUFXXX, I’ve watched audience enter and leave, their faces following the performers, the beams of the projector through the smoke of the smoke machine creating a wall between them and me.

There has been times when I haven’t been able to go to RUFXXX for months, but when returning, that cold floor always makes me feel that same feeling of gravity, of being home.

Watching the new show “Dead Man Walking” on the RUFXXX first anniversary day that was held on August 20, I couldn’t stop thinking how it was like that gravity of the floor had saturated the music and the performance. As if RUFXXX itself had found a home, in the sound.

Something must have changed in my face at that point, because I remember answering a question of how I was feeling. My answer was just as simple as that feeling of my bare soles against the cold floor.

“I feel like home,” I said.

RUFXXX PROJECTS was founded by Kim Hyungnam in 2009. The project started off in Gwangwhamun before moving to the current space close to Grand Hyatt Hotel at Namsan.

Shows are held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm.

The current show is called “Dead Man Walking.”

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essay

SCENT BY SCENE Our sense of smell is more innate than the other four senses. That’s why they say, a memory of a scent lasts the longest in our minds. I had asked Perfume Artist Soo Jin Kim about the scent that was most memorable to her, and she had stated that the strongest scent in her mind was of the perfume, COTY Powder, which could always found on her mother’s make-up stand. Hmm… I think I might know what kind of scent that may be.

Editor. Jean Choi Photographer. Jun O Hwang

It’s been an hour and we’re still talking about her amazing perfume trip to France. “This was actually my first time going abroad somewhere. I wanted to learn more about perfumes and see in person the kind of rare perfume collections that can’t be found in Korea. During the time I was there, it was actually Mimosa season in Grasse, which is in the south.

The scenery was exquisite. All you could see were miles and miles of blooming yellow flowers. These flowers are actually what later become high-quality essential oils in perfumes.”

I’m surprised because Soo Jin tells me that as a child, she used to have terrible allergies and couldn’t help but to dislike many scents.

However, she couldn’t escape from scents as she would was surrounded by everyday household items such soap, shampoo, fabric conditioners, etc. “If I can’t avoid something, I might as well enjoy it, right? So, I tried to hold by my sneezes and look for scents that were beneficial to the body.

And so, I wanted to do research and development for scents as well as become a kind of perfume marketer.”

However, you can’t kill two birds with one stone. She became a perfumer at lab after graduation, but she was never satisfied with her job.

“At the lab, all I had to do was just duplicating famous scents. I wanted to be independent and do creative work, so I’ve become a freelancer. I’m so happy because I can now freely design the scents that I want to make and partake in the kind of activities I want to do.” Soo Jin is currently working as a Perfume Artist and as the editor of <CoParfum>, which is a specialized perfume magazine. She is also busy working as a perfume specialist for various activities such as lectures and exhibitions. She said

that the making and selling of a scent are not everything. But it’s the dialoguing and exchanging of emotions in order to create a new scent that makes her truly happy.

Recently, she’s been working as an artist for an exhibition hosted by <CoParfum>. “This was project to get scents to portray and represent various artworks. The artwork I selected was of flower, and from that picture, I was able to associate and feel a mother’s warm embrace.

Then a mother’s warmth and comfort became the concept for the scent I wanted to create. Since the scent was unique and not similar to those with famous brand names, it received a good response.” This exhibition, which had gone on for seven days, had enticed all the people passing by to come in and check things out. Many had asked if they could purchase the scents that were on display. “The artwork and the scent really went together well, and that’s why people had a positive reaction to the perfume. A glamorous picture goes matches with something sexy, a nature-y picture with something refreshing, and loving picture needs something loving.”

Then I asked her about what kind of scent her signature scent would be. “Scents that are exciting and provocative tend to lose interest pretty quickly, but natural scents tend to blend in with a person and last in his or her memory. I want to create a kind of natural scent that will go well with any person and create a feeling of warmth and comfort. The most natural scent is the most charismatic one. I hope to be able to make something like that in the future.” www.coparfum.com

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creators

JAMES POWDERLY

James Powderly introduced himself as a mediocre man. But when you typed his name on Google, YouTube, and Wikipedia, you find all sorts of occupations including graffiti artist, a NASA engineer, a space scientist, a skateboarder, and a professor of design. Is he really a mediocre man?

Editor. Una Seungeun Lee Photographer. Suk Jun Kim

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Q. How did you feel about getting the top YouTube hit on the front page? Which video was it?

In 2007, one of the Graffiti Research Lab videos, the NightWriter, made it to the front page of YouTube. At the time it felt great to have my work seen by so many people without having to get kicked in the balls, fall down some stairs or have a baby bite my finger. But it was more interesting somehow because of the larger context. We were receiving attention from the art world at the time and showing our work in major exhibitions in Europe and the United States. For the most part, this art world attention was due to our popular success on the web and not critical attention from the gallery circuit or the art market. It was a nice demonstration of something we have all come to realize since: the audience of everyday, bored-at-work citizens on the web really matters. The Internet is far from a utopia, but in some ways it has enabled the popular voice of the crowd to push a new type of work into the mainstream of the art/media world and subvert the role of producers, curators and the art establishment. You can’t ignore 5 million people hitting the “like” button anymore.

Q. Can you tell us your stories about what kinds of legal problems did you have while you re working in different countries?

In the United States, we have mostly stayed out of trouble and only been hit with a few Cease and Desist orders for copyright infringement, which is becoming an increasingly common experience for artists because corporations don’t acknowledge constitutional “fair use” laws.

In Europe, we have had our equipment confiscated and had to pay fines to get it returned in Barcelona. The city of Barcelona had a right-wing conservative administration at the time that was fighting hard to stifle the city’s international image as a graffiti Mecca. But the young people in Barcelona more than made up for the trouble by being one of the wildest and most appreciative crowds.

In China, I was arrested and sentenced to 10 days in a Beijing prison for “upsetting the public order” for making a laser device that was to be used by protestors during the Olympics. In the end I didn’t do anything, but was arrested for planning to do it. I do somewhat understand the Chinese governments position with respect to protest and public order, but I think the Chinese people deserve the right to non-violently disagree with their government. Now, three years later, you see the Chinese government still fighting hard against artists and private citizens who want to speak out against corruption and the abuse of power. The wave of “people-power” being fed by the “Arab Spring” and the “Jasmine Revolution” is not something that is going to just go away. I think the Chinese government will have to adjust to and tolerate the increased political power of the average Chinese citizen in order to advance as a developed nation.

Q. You went through a hard time due to a disease. Can you tell us more about it?

When I was 19, my doctor told me I had a disease called Crohn’s. Medical science doesn’t really have a clue about what Crohn’s is yet and currently there is no cure. It has something to do with an excess of white blood cells which attack the gastrointestinal system. I have had a number of surgeries, had 18-inches of my guts removed, lived for almost a year shitting in a bag attached to my rib cage and took strong chemo-therapy for over ten years. Currently, I am in remission and I think living in Korea has been very good for me. For the most part, Crohn’s has been a blessing in disguise.

Because of the way the insurance system is structured in the United States, my disease forced me to go back to college after I had dropped out. That was one of the turning points in my life. In general, it has helped me to build up a resilient character. Whenever I get a chance, I like to talk about Crohn’s, to raise awareness about the disease and to remind the million people who suffer from it worldwide that it doesn’t define us and can’t prevent us from living our life to the fullest.

Q. What do you like about working with Urbantainer as a creative director?

Urbantainer is an architecture and design company based in Seoul. The president, Baik Ji-won, and I met through friends and began talking about ways to integrate media in architecture. We have been working together for a few months and the combination of our skills allows us to build together things that neither of us would have been able to do before. I am able to contribute knowledge of computational media and electronics to their skill with architectural design and fabrication. So the scale of the work I have been able to make in the past has increased and so has the permanence.

We both believe that in the future, architecture and media will be more often combined and that in order to do so they need to be made in a more integrated fashion so the media elements don’t feel “added-on” and decorative and the architecture retains its presence amidst the flashing lights and motion. But the best part about Urbantainer is the awesome designers who work for the company, the laid-back work atmosphere, the office parties and Kim Minkyu’s Makgeoli.

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Q. What’s your up coming art project?

Right now, Urbantainer and I are working on a number of projects, including creating a lighting system for a new Gangnam club. The club wants to do something new and original and sees media art as a way to elevate the level of design within Korean club culture. The system we have designed, in collaboration with Song Ho-jun, is ambitious and uses new LED technologies that have not been fully explored yet. The system will be tightly integrated with the music and the overall club architecture design. We are also trying to turn the lighting system into a platform or a tool that can be used by other visiting media artists and VJs. Q. Have you got any art pieces that are kept for permanently? At which museum?

The GRL has one piece, “Laser Tag,” in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. We are currently talking to the curators of the Design and Architecture Department at the MoMA about the collection of another piece, “the EyeWriter,” which is currently on display at the “Talk to Me” exhibition.

Q. I have seen your video called “GRL the complete first season.”

Can you tell us more about it?

GRL: The Complete First Season” is a feature-length documentary about the birth of the Graffiti Research Lab. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has since played around the world, from the Brooklyn Academy of Music to the Tate Modern to SangSangMaDang. The movie documents the adventures of my GRL partner, Evan Roth, and I over the course of two years. I think it’s unique in the indie movie world in that it only took us three weeks to make it and cost us nothing to produce.

I never really understood why it was so successful, but I guess people enjoy watching two nerds stumble through a counter-culture, graffiti adventure that spans five continents. I hope it inspires other nerds to take their computers, make some dangerous friends and go out in the world and fuck shit up.

Q. How did living in Korea change your lifestyle? Has anything changed since you moved to Korea?

I moved to Korea because the flow and style of the city “clicked” with me.

I had been living in Berlin and then London since 2009, so when I moved to Korea in 2010 I had to adjust to the speed and the formal aspects of the Korean system. For the most part I have embraced it. In Seoul you have to think fast and work faster, so that’s what I try to do. And the access to raw materials and fast, capable manufacturing in Seoul makes all this possible. My friend, Professor Jin Yo Mok told me that once you make things in Korea for long enough you find it really hard to work anywhere else and I am finding this to be true. The ability to quick service ten Arduino’s from Yongsan, get 35 pieces of acrylic laser-cut in Chyeonggicheon and get rice straw from Daegu by KTX all in one day is impressive, addictive and just plain necessary in Korea.

I am trying to learn how to respect age, position, community and the long Korean cultural heritage... something we don’t really do in the United States.

The only aspects of Korean culture I am interested in changing involves my design students. I reject the idea of Hierarchy in my classroom at Hongik. My students and I, regardless of age or grade, are equals in

the domain of design. And I am trying to encourage my female students to stand up and fight for equal rights, respect and pay in the workforce.

And If I could have any lasting impact on Korea, it would be to increase the visibility and value people place on design versus manufacturing or technology. There are so many talented and original designers in Korea and they deserve to be acknowledged the way the Korean technology industry has already been on the international stage.

For years, I have been living quite poor and barely scraping by as an artists. Now that I have two jobs in Korea and am starting my own design studio, I finally have enough money to consider settling down and starting a family. I guess, at some point, I will have to change my last name from “Powderly” to just “Lee”.

Q. Where is your next destination?

I have no plans to leave Seoul. Seoul is my home now.

Q. As an artist, you have lived quite an interesting life. Are you happy with your lifestyle?

I have been a musician, a skateboarder, a NASA engineer, a space scientist, a model, an inventor, a graffiti artists and a schoolteacher. I have basically been mediocre at most of them but I managed, for the most part, to make some small contribution. I am satisfied with that and it’s all I hope to do in the future. Simple put, I just enjoy making things. I don’t see any need to lock myself into one title or position for long or become a master of anything. I have always admired people like Benjamin Franklin, Jaques Cousteau, Walt Disney and James Cameron: people who have experimented with a number of professions and hobbies and continued to try new things late into life. I guess one day I would like to be an astronaut but realistically that window is slowly closing. I’ll probably settle down eventually and be a cook in a Korean restaurant.

Q. What are your plans for the future?

These days, I am excited about making large-scale, commercial media installations and design products. I have been involved in a number of projects in Korea which I think are the beginning of a new era of integration between media and architecture. I am excited about merging my dissimilar interests like graffiti and robotics, bringing elements of both into the mainstream of design and architecture.

P.S. I am still working on the EyeWriter project, which is a low-cost device built to allow people with paralysis to draw and communicate using their eyes. We are almost finished with the Hangeul Keyboard design and plan to release it sometime around November.

In general, I guess I am ready to just do something new. I’m too old to run away from the cops carrying a projector. It hurts my back. The contemporary design world in Korea seem like its ready for a bald, foreign, ‘adjushi’ to join the community and start making strange lamps, so that’s the plan. www.graffitiresearchlab.com www. fffff.at

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The Mediocre Man James Powderly는 스스로를 별 것 아닌 사람(mediocre)이라고 말한다. 그러나 구글, 유튜브, 위키피디아에서 그의 이름을 검색해 보면 그래피티, 아티스트, 나사 엔지니어, 우주 과학자, 스케이트 보더, 디자인 교수 등 별의 별 직업이 검색된다. 그는 정말 별 것 아닌 사람일까?

Q. 유튜브 첫 화면에 최다 조회수로 올라갔을 때 기분이 어땠나? 어떤 비디오였나?

2007년 Graffiti Research Lab의 Night Writer라는 비디오가 유튜브의 첫 화면을 장식했다. 큰 어려움 없이 많은 사람들에게 나의 작업을 보여줄 수 있다는 것은 기분이 좋더라. 당시 우리는 미술 세계에서 관심을 받으며 유럽과 미국의 주요 전시회에서 작품을 전시하고 있었는데, 그 사건을 통해 웹에 있는 관중들이 정말 중요하다는 것을 실감했다. 인터넷은 유토피아와는 거리가 있다. 하지만 인터넷에서 군중들의 목소리를 통해서 새로운 타입의 작품이 만들어지기도 한다. 뿐만 아니라 인터넷을 통해 작품들을 예술/미디어 세계의 메인 스트림으로 끌어올리기도 한다. 요즘 웹은 프로듀서, 큐레이터, 미술 시설에 버금가는 역할을 하고 있다. 500백만 명 이상이 선택하는 “ 좋아요”를 무시할 수 있는 아티스트는 아마 없을 것이다.

Q. 다른 국가에서 작업을 하면서 가졌던 법적인 문제들에 대해 이야기 해 주겠나? 미국에서는 저작권 위반 때문에 몇 번의 정지명령을 받은 적이 있었다. 아티스트에게는 흔히 있는 일인데, 이는 기업이 헌법의 “공정 사용” 법을 인정하지 않기 때문이다. 바르셀로나에서는 장비를 압수당한 적도 있다. 우리는 장비를 돌려받기 위해 벌금을 내야 했다. 그 당시 바르셀로나는 국제 시장에서 ‘그래피티의 메카’ 로 비춰지는 모습을 원하지 않았다. 바르셀로나의 우파 보수당은 이 문제로 아티스트와 대치하고 있는 상황이었다. 그러나 그 때 가장 거칠고 크게 감탄했던 군중이 바르셀로나의 젊은이들이었다. 그 덕분에 우리는 문제를 수월히 해결할 수 있었다. 중국에서는 올림픽 기간 동안 시위대들이 사용하는 레이저 기기를 만들었다는 이유로 체포되기도 했다. “공공질서를 어겼다”는 것이 이유였다. 베이징 감옥에서 10일을 선고받았다. 사실 나는 아무 것도 하지 않았지만 계획을 했다는 이유만으로 체포 당한 것이다. 공공질서를 지키고 보호하는 중국 정부의 입장은 어느 정도 이해한다. 하지만 중국 사람들도 비폭력적인 방법으로 그들의 정부에 대해 반대할 권리가 있다고 생각한다. 3년이 지난 지금, 중국 정부는 아직도 권력 남용과 부패에 반대하는 시민, 아티스트들과 싸우고 있다. ‘민중의 힘’의 물결은 쉽게 사라지는 것이 아니다. 중국 정부는 선진국에 맞춰 중국 시민들 사이에서 증가하는 정치적 힘을 알맞게 조절하고 참아야 한다고 생각한다.

Q. 당신은 병과 싸우느라 어려운 시간을 보냈다고 했다. 병에 대해 알려주지 않겠는가?

19살 때 의사는 나에게 크론병이 있다는 진단을 내렸다. 당시에는 의사들도 크론병에 대해 알지 못했다. 최근, 크론병이 과도하게 많은 백혈구가 위장을 공격하는 병이라는 사실이 밝혀졌지만 여전히 고칠 수 있는 방법은 없다. 여러 차례의 수술을 통해 내장의 18인치가 잘렸으며, 일 년 가까이 흉곽에 달린 팩에 변을 봤고, 10년이 넘도록 강한 화학치료를 받았다. 현재 나는 다행히 완화상태를 유지하고 있다. 한국 생활이 나에게 도움을 주는 것 같다. 반면, 크론병은 내 인생 대부분의 상황의 전화위복이 되었다. 미국의 보험 시스템 덕분에 나는 대학을 중퇴한 후에도 학교를 다시 다닐 수 있었는데, 이는 내 인생의 터닝 포인트 중 하나라고 할 수 있다. 나는 기회가 있을 때 마다 사람들에게 크론병에 대해 말하는 것을 좋아한다. ‘이 병은 우리를 정의할 수 없고, 우리가 인생을 열심히 사는 것도 막을 수 없다’.

Q. 얼반테이너의 크리에이티브 디렉터로 활동을 하고 있다. 얼반테이너는 서울에서 활동하고 있는 건축과 디자인 회사다. 백지원 대표와 나는 친구를 통해 만났다. 우리는 만나자마자 미디어와 건축을 통합하는 방법에 대해 이야기하기 시작했다. 그리고 몇 개월 동안 함께 일을 하게 되었고 우리의 기술 조합은 서로가 전에는 하지 못했던 일들을 할 수 있게 만들었다. 나는 컴퓨터를 사용한 미디어와 전기에 대한 지식을 그들의 건축 디자인과 제작에 제공했다. 이를 통해 작업의 스케일과 영구성이 모두 늘었다. 우리는 미디어 요소가 건물의 장식이나 깜빡이는 조명과 빛의 움직임같은 ‘추가 기능’에 그치는 게 아니라고 생각한다. 가까운 미래에는 건축과 미디어가 자주 협업하여 통합된 유행을 만들 것이라 믿는다. 나는 얼반테이너에서 일하는 것이 좋다. 함께 일하는 디자이너들이 멋지고, 작업 분위기가 여유로우며, 오피스 파티를 즐기기 때문이다. 하지만 그 중의 최고는 김민규의 막걸리다.

Q. 다음 아트 프로젝트는 무엇인가? 현재 얼반테이너와 많은 프로젝트를 하고 있다. 요즘 가장 재미있게 준비하고 있는 작업은 강남에 새로 오픈 할 클럽의 조명 시스템을 구축하는 것이다. 이 클럽은 우리에게 새롭고 독창적인 것을 원했다. 그리고 우리의 미디어 아트가 한국 클럽 문화를 한 단계 끌어 올릴 것이라 기대하고 있다. 송호준과 함께 협업하여 만드는 이 시스템은 흔히 알려지지 않은 새로운 LED테크놀로지를 사용한다. 이 시스템은 음악과 전반적인 클럽 건축 디자인과 잘 어울린다. 우리는 조명 시스템을 플랫폼이나 객원 미디어 아티스트나 VJ가 사용할 수 있는 도구로 전환시키기 위해서도 노력 중이다.

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Q. 당신의 <GRL: the complete first season>이라는 이름의 비디오를 보았다. <GRL: the complete first season>은 Graffiti Research Lab의 탄생을 담은 장편의 다큐멘터리이다. 선댄스 영화제어서 개봉되었고 그 후에 브룩클린 음악 아카데미부터 테이트 모던, 서울의 상상마당까지 세계 곳곳에서 상영되고 있다. 영화는 GRL 파트너 Evan Roth와 내가 2년 동안 겪은 모험을 기록한 영상이다. 만드는데 3주 밖에 걸리지 않았고 제작비가 거의 들지 않았다는 점에서 이 영화는 인디 영화계에서도 특별하게 인정받고 있다. 나는 아직도 이 영화가 왜이리 성공적인지 이해를 못하겠다. 그러나 사람들이 두 범생이가 5대륙을 거치며 반문화와 그래피티 여행에서 실수하는 것을 즐겁게 보고 있다는 것은 알 수 있다. 나는 세상의 다른 범생이들이 이 영화를 본 후, 컴퓨터를 통해 위험한 친구들을 사귀고 더 넓은 세계로 나가서 망가지길 바란다.

Q. 한국에서의 생활이 당신의 라이프스타일에 어떤 영향을 미쳤는가?

2009년부터 베를린과 런던에서 살다가 2010년에 서울에 왔다. 이곳의 흐름과 스타일이 나와 ‘클릭’되어 그 후로 계속 정착하게 되었다. 서울에서는 생각을 빠르게 하고 일은 더 빠르게 해야한다. 원자재를 쉽게 구할 수 있는 점과 빠르고 유능한 제조업은 이런 시스템을 가능하게 만드는 것 같다. 나의 친구 목진요 교수는 한국에서 오래 일하게 되면 다른 곳에서 일하는 게 어려워진다고 말했다. 그게 사실인 것 같다. 단 하루 만에 용산에서 10개의 아두이노Arduino를 퀵 서비스로 받고, 청계천에서 아크릴 레이저로 35 개의 조각을 만들고, 대구에서 KTX로 짚풀을 받을 수 있는 것. 이는 인상적이고 중독적이며 오직 한국에서만 가능한 시스템이다.

Q. 한국에 와서 어떤 점에 변화가 생겼는가? 나는 장유유서, 존중, 지역사회 등 오랜 한국 전통 유산을 존경하는 법을 배우고 있다. 한국 문화에서 내가 관심 있어 하는 유일한 변화 요소는 내 디자인 학생들이다. 나는 내 강의실에서는 계층에 대한 발상을 버렸다. 나와 내 학생들은 나이와 학년에 상관없이 디자인이라는 영역 안에서 동등하다. 여학생들에게는 동등한 권리와 존중, 노동 급여를 위해 싸우라고 격려한다. 앞으로 내가 한국에서 영향력이 생긴다면 디자인 대 제조업 또는 테크놀로지에 있는 사람들의 시장과 가치 증가를 위해 일할 것이다. 한국에는 재능 있고 독창적인 디자이너들이 많이 있다. 하지만 그들은 한국 기술 산업이 이미 세계적인 수준에 도달했다는 사실을 잘 알 필요가 있다. 지난 몇 년 간은 아티스트로서 꽤 빈곤하게 하루하루 힘겹게 살았다. 지금은

한국에서 두 개의 직업을 가지고 나만의 디자인 스튜디오를 시작하고 있다. 나는 마침내 서울에 정착하고 가족을 만들 충분한 돈을 가지게 되었다. 때가 되면 나의 성을 “Powderly”에서 “이”로 바꿀 것이다. 이가루!

Q. 당신의 다음 목적지는 어디인가? 서울을 떠날 계획이 없다. 서울은 지금 나의 고향이다.

Q. 당신은 흥미로운 인생을 살아왔다. 아티스트로서 만족하는가? 나는 지금까지 음악인, 스케이트보더, 나사 엔지니어, 우주 과학자, 모델, 투자자, 그래피티 아티스트, 학교 선생님이었다. 나는 평범한 일반인이었지만 많은 부분에서 작게라도 기여하기 위해 애썼다. 이 모두 미래에 하고 싶은 일들이었기 때문에 지금 매우 만족한다. 나는 스스로 하나의 타이틀이나 지위에 오랫동안 머물거나 한 분야의 마스터가 될 필요는 없다고 생각한다. Benjamin Franklin, Jaques Cousteau, Walt Disney와 James Cameron를 존경한다. 그들은 언제나 다양한 직업과 취미를 가지고 많은 것을 경험하며 인생의 말년에도 계속적으로 새로운 일을 하고 있으니까. 언젠가 우주 비행사가 되고 싶다. 하지만 현실적으로 그 창문은 조금씩 닫히고 있는 것 같다. 난 아마 한국에 정착해서 한식당 요리사가 될 것이다.

Q. 앞으로 어떤 일을 할 계획인가? 요즘 나는 스케일이 큰 상업적인 미디어 설치와 디자인 제품에 흥미를 느끼고 있다. 나는 한국에서 미디어와 건축의 통합이라는 새로운 시대의 시작점과 같은 프로젝트에 참여할 수 있었다. 그 프로젝트에 그래피티나 로봇같이 나의 색다른 관심사들이 합류되어 이 대세에 함께 할 수 있다는 것이 기쁘다.

P.S. 나는 몸이 마비가 된 사람들이 저렴한 가격으로도 눈을 사용하여 그림을 그리고 소통할 수 있는 EyeWriter 장치의 프로젝트를 계속 진행하고 있다. 한글 자판 디자인과 작업이 거의 끝났고 11월쯤 선보일 예정이다. 나는 새로운 일을 하기 위한 준비가 항상 되어있다. 그러나 이제 프로젝터를 들고 경찰을 피해 도망 다니기에는 너무 늙었다. 허리도 아프다. 한국의 현대 디자인 세계는 외국인 대머리 아저씨를 받아들일 준비가 되어있다. 그리고 우리는 특이한 디자인의 램프를 만들 것 이다. 이것이 나의 계획이다.

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creators

Takahito Irie Boys in Japanese animations save the world with robots. Irie Takahitoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E>seems strong enough to save us from this boring world.

Editor. Una Seungeun Lee Photographer. Suk Jun Kim

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Q. How did you come up with the idea of making the human machine?

It is simple. I just combined a human being and a robot together. I was watching famous Japanese futuristic animations, such as EVANGERION, GUNDAM and GORST IN THE SHELL. I’m not a big fan of animations.

However, there are a lot of ironic relation between technology and human life, and most young kids are into robots that fight to save our lives. But the power of the main characters actually comes from hi-technology machines.

Therefore, for my concept of the <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E>, I just put a human body and robot surface together, like my current artworks with face paintings and body paintings. Simply put, the concept behind the <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> is the gap between mentality and physicality derived from technology development and technology competition in our daily lives. I’m always looking for new ideas and I often get inspired by culture, history, and technology. However, it’s a little hard to organize ideas in my head. Therefore, I always draw ideas on the wall in my studio, and then try to organize the structure of my concept about the human body and how our lives are changing.

Q. Are you doing any collaborative work?

I do sometimes. I do it when I have a big project or idea with sounds, programming and some video projections. I usually create minimum way to express my ideas. But if I am going to create big installations, I might need more smart people who can do better composing and programming than me. Since I have no sense in creating beautiful sounds, I’d like to collaborate with other artists when we build audiovisual installation. We can make collaboration by using some ideas and visual images I prepare.

Q. What made you come to Korea?

I came to Korea in 2007 for the first time as an exchange student to Hong-Ik University from Tama Art University. The reason why I applied to the exchange program was to learn Hangeul. When I was studying visual communication, I became interested in the Korean alphabet. When I first saw the Korean typography with graphic design, I was very impressed with the Hangeul structure. It looked very cool although I had no idea how to read it and how to make the structure to pronounce it. It totally looked like just shapes with triangles, circles, and squares. Later, I applied for the exchange program to study visual communication and learn the language in Korea

20101202001 / Made in Korea / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

Q. What’s purpose of your artwork?

My artwork has two ways. One is for researching and the other one is for creating. Usually I spend a lot of time researching than creating art pieces in order to create the story behind my artworks. In my opinion, art is kind of a mirror of society. People can see real in art with twisted meaning and ironic things sometimes. I hope people can realize important events in our lives through my artworks.

Q. How do you want to interact with the audience?

For now, I interact with people through face painting and body painting. I usually communicate with people in new place, and then find model for my artworks. Models for my artworks can get new feelings and new surfaces with body painting. And after creating images with the body painting, the audience can see completely different human body, which looks like a ‘Transformer.’ People can be models for my artworks, then become audience to see their different sides, and the audience is able to become model for my artworks. There is a kind of circle how to interact with people into my artworks based on the communication with people.

Q. What is the relationship between your artworks and your personality?

The image from my artworks and myself are always equal, or I’m trying to create images which are equal to my personality and images from my art works. My art works have more information about my concept, like a media. I do not want people calling me a media artist. Because painting, photograph and audio and/or sound installation are all based on media. As I said, I am spending a lot of time researching to show my ideas to people, but it is still difficult to show my ideas to people directory without an object.

That’s why I try to convert my ideas into objects so I can share my ideas with people.

20101108001 / Made in Finland / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

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Q. Where do you get inspirations?

I get inspirations from everything for my artworks. I get inspirations when meeting people, talking and drinking with my friends. Since I already have a lot of small ideas, there are also random ideas, which I can’t connect with other ones. However, when my friends say something, it happens like a magnet that connects each ideas and words to advance to create new ideas possible to create in real. I always try to do brainstorming. There is no special inspiration, but I just keep ideas in my mind and wait for its chemical reaction.

Q. What’s the main message you want to address to the society?

I try to show images without the nationality. If you see my artworks, there are many people come from different countries. The massage I’d like to deliver is that the things people came from where, which nationality doesn’t matter, I just like to show the identity of each person without nationality things. The society will deal more importantly about individual ability and skill, so it is a part of strong concept in my art works.

Q. What motivate you the most to keep on working as an artist?

Maybe the pressure from myself to survive at a different place (when I got residency program) and developing ideas are keeping me as an artist.

20101115001 / Made in Canada / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

Q. What’s the relation between human and culture?

There is a relation between human and cultural development based on technology development. Our life always has own cultural background, and the culture is changing with technology. That’s why I focus on researching and creating with the technology development way now. And plus, after the machine age (early 1900s), our life had a big change. At the same time, we need to study history to understand deeper about culture and how it came up in our life.

Q. What’s your upcoming exhibition? I heard it is going to be Asian Young Artist exhibition in Deagu.

Yes, I have a schedule to exhibit my works in the Asian Young Artist 2011 in Deagu and my artist friend is asking me to join an exhibition in Gwangju at the end of September. Maybe I will exhibit some of my art works with face paintings and video installation in Deagu.

Q. What is your criterion in choosing colors?

The series of <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> have a lot of colors on face paintings. I took some colors from their identity after I met and talked with the models for my art works. I try to show variety of different colors to explain their identity with some effects from technology development.

The design of face paintings looks like a robot. I took a robot pattern for metaphor of technology effect to human body.

Q. What do the numbers mean?

I did put the number as serial number without the name of model. Because I meant their images are already products after face paintings became look like robots and just objects. So number is serial number as products.

Q. Did you have any difficulty while you are working?

Yes. There is always limitation about budget, time and place. But creating in the limitation always helps me use my brain harder.

Q. Why did you decide to focus on portrait instead of a full body photo?

I already started creating with whole body with body paintings, but in the series of <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E>, I just made with portrait with models’ face to show their own identity from eyes, skin color and the look from the face.

20101106001 / Made in Korea / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

Q. Why did you put tattoo on your buttocks?

Oh, in the beginning I put a tattoo on my buttocks because I can hide it. And it is kind of nice place to put the tattoo (letter of H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E) on. The shape of butt looks very humanity, and the letters from my art concept make an interesting contrast. And it was just happening to put and show the image of my tattoo in video installation made with my friends Benjamin Domrich and James Powderly.

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20101201001 / Made in Germany / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

20101118001 / Made in U.S.A. / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

Q. What do you think about relationship between utopia and human machine?

The concept about <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> is still on the way to create and show the concept of Utopia. Since the concept is huge to organize a number of ideas, I am still taking my time to organize it. In the utopia concept, there are a lot of method from community, history, culture, and technology, and plus human desires. It seems very complicated. For now, I focus <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> concept with more identity and technology development. Maybe Utopia idea is more society, and the <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> idea is based on more individual way. But I’m already planning to make connection between each idea and put it in the same story. A series of <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> is the beginning of the huge story ahead to Utopia theory.

Q. What’s the utopia that you think of?

This is a tough question. Please ask me this question again next year. The idea about <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E> is still developing and will connect with utopia concept by adding more stories into <H/U/M/A/N M/A/C/H/I/N/E>.

www.irietakahito.com

20101122001 / Made in Korea / Photograph / 1100×800mm / 2010

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creator

John Skelton It may open to anyone, but it is not so easy to approach it. Late Night-Chameleon Café which opened in Dalston far from London, grafted clothes, music, and art, settled itself as the curatorial innovative platform, and attracts the attention of fashion people and curators all over the world. Like LN-CC we can visit only through the reservation, it was not so easy to have an interview with John Skelton, a creative director and buyer.

Editor & Photographer. Suk Kyung Yun

Q. What kind of place is LN-CC? LN-CC is the a new concept of space without any boundaries and a fixed formy. It is an independent platform without any boundary in the products in for sale, and a space arousing synergeticy effects mixed with these diverse aspects.

Q. What kind of work do you pursue?

As a buyer and creative director of for LN-CC, I play a role to orient focus the LN-CC brand, and buy varied goods such as men’s clothes and , women’s clothing and books fitted that match thefor the concept of LN-CC. Q. How was the journey ofdid you begin your life career as a buyer?

I studied Biology and Computer Science inat the college atin the age of 16 but I didn’t know what I wished wanted to do here. After 2 months, I lost interest, quit the college and began to work at a shop in Middlesbrough of Home Town. At the store, I sold Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Prada etc. and I received inspiration fromwas inspired to become interested in top fashion brands them, and came to have interest in the main line brand naturally. After then, I became a regular staff member and began mytook the career asof a buyer from the age of 19, looking around Milano and Antwerparpen.

Q. LN-CC는 어떤 곳 인가?

LN-CC는 정해진 형태가 없는 곳이자, 경계가 없는 새로운 컨셉의 공간이다. 판매하는 제품에 경계가 없는 인디펜던트 플랫폼이며, 이런 다양한 면들이 섞여 시너지 효과를 일으키는 공간이다.

Q. 당신은 어떤 일을 하나?

LN-CC의 바이어이자 크리에이티브 디렉터로서 LN-CC 브랜드의 방향을 제시하는 역할을 하고, 남성 의류, 여성 의류, 책 등 다양한 제품들을 LN-CC의 컨셉에 맞게 바잉한다.

Q. 바이어로서 당신 인생은 어떻게 시작되었는가?

16살에 대학 생물학과 컴퓨터를 공부했지만 내가 무엇을 하고 싶어하는지 몰랐다. 2달 만에 흥미를 잃어 학교를 그만두고 고향인 미들스브로에 있는 의류 매장에서 일하기 시작했다. 그 매장에서 라프 시몬스, 드리스 반 노튼, 프라다 등을 판매하였는데 이들로부터 영감을 받으며 자연스럽게 메인 라인 브랜드에 흥미를 갖게 되었다. 그 후로 나는 정직원이 되어 19살 때부터 밀라노과 앤트워프를 돌며 바이어의 길을 작했다.

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Q. While doing the work ofworking as a buyer, have you ever withed wished to become a designer, with your passion for fashion? as you love the clothes too much?

In fact, I thought of it. If I am were engaged a in designer, I want would only make the clothes that I wanted, without worrying about the tastes of others.to make only the clothes of my desire with my ample emotion without paying attention to others. This approach mirrors my approach as a buyerpoint has something in common with my flavour of buying. I try not to be arrogant, but when I’m buying, I don’t consider whether or not people will like what I choose. The most important thing is whether I like it or not.think arrogantly, but when I do buying, I don’t consider ‘indeed will people buy this item? or ‘will they like it?’. Whether I like it or not is the most important requirement. If I had had a more commercial mindset, I could not be a member of LN-CCTherefore, if I had thought of a commercial part I could not be in LN-CC currently. Finally in this respect, it may be fairly said that LN-CC is our about the way we express our thoughts and feelings.expression method about how we feel and think.

Q. What did you do before making creating LN-CC? As a Creative Director, I had worked at Oki-ni for three years, and had acted as a buyer of for Department Store Harrods and Selfridge. I worked as a buyer mainly with men’s clothing and began to work as a buyer of women’s clothing when starting I started LN-CC .

Q. There seems to be something different in buyingbetween men’s clothes and ladies’ apparel. When buying ladies’ dresses, what do you consider?

Obviously there is a boundary between men’s clothes and women’s clothing! But I try not to have difference there to the maximumchange my approach too much. Considering women who are interested in men’s garments, I purchase the clothes in the way that a man buys from a female collection. As a woman usually wears femininewoman’s clothes at length clothes, I make much of the design understandingtry to understand the body well, the overall details, and the fitting most. Women do not wish to wear men’s clothes as they are, but they like a masculine style that fits well it is, but they wish to wear a masculine style to be pretty fitting.

Q. 바이어 일을 하면서, 옷을 무척이나 사랑하는 당신은 디자이너가 되고 싶었던 적은 없었나? 사실 생각했었던 적이 있었다. 만일 내가 디자인을 한다면 다른 사람은 신경 쓰지 않고 나의 감성을 충분히 담아 내가 만들고 싶은 옷만 만들고 싶다. 그리고 이 점은 내가 바잉하는 취향과도 일맥상통한다. 나는 바잉 할 때 ‘이 제품을 과연 사람들이 살까?, 사람들이 좋아할까?’을 전혀 고려하지 않는다. 내가 건방지게 생각하는 것이 아니라 내 마음에 드는지가 가장 중요한 요건이기 때문이다. 그러므로 내가 만일 상업적인 부분을 생각했다면 지금의 LN-CC는 있지 않았을 것이다. 결국 LN-CC는 우리가 어떻게 느끼고 생각하는지에 대한 우리의 표현 방식이라고 말할 수 있겠다.

Q. LN-CC를 만들기 전에는 어떤 일을 했었나? 크리에이티브 디렉터로서 Oki-ni에서 3년간 일했었고, 해롯과 셀프리지 백화점에서 바이어를 했었다. 남성복 위주로 바이어를 하고 있었지만 LN-CC를 시작하며 여성복 바잉도 시작하게 되었다.

Q. 남성복과 여성복을 바잉할 때는 다른 점이 있을 것 같다. 여성복을 바잉 할 때 어떤 점을 고려하나? 남성복과 여성복의 경계는 분명히 있다! 그러나 나는 최대한 차이점을 두지 않으려고 한다. 나는 남성복에 관심이 있는 여자들을 생각하며 여자 컬렉션을 남자가 바잉하는 방식으로 구입한다. 여성복은 결국 여성이 입기 때문에 몸을 잘 이해한 디자인, 전체적인 디테일, 핏팅을 가장 중요시 여긴다. 여자들은 남자 옷을 그대로 입고 싶어 하는 것이 아니라, 예쁘게 핏이 되는 마스큘린한 스타일을 입고 싶고 하니까.

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Q. In buying men’s clothes, what do is the point you focus on?

I buy the clothes I want to wear. If the trousers strike my fancy in the a season, I buy only trousers, and if the I fancy jackets comes to my fancy, I buy only the jackets.

Q. You are handleing diverse price rangescategory and all kinds of brands, but do you have any buying philosophy of your own?

My buying philosophy is based on the experiences I had in my growthyouth. What I liked most in the 90’s was in my growth is i-D Magazine. At that time i-D was too fresh, which and showed Street Brand as the main line productwith their main products being urban labels.

The magazine had a unique visual style, which affected me strongly., displaying the visuals mixed diversely. The visuals seem to affect me potentially hitherto. While working a As a buyer, I grafted the mainstream line products to the a street wear style. I always mixed Vans and Raf Simons with wearable clothes. As you see, progressive mainstream line brands like Balenciaga, Givenchy, and Lanvin, they get much inspiration from street wear. Most of brands focus on the young generation strategically. Retail shops also get inspiration from youngsters in the current times, and use new ideas coming out from them. Interesting retail shops leading the market represent youngsters. Therefore, we cannot ignore the current youth culture.

Q. The brand you like most of all times ?

Raf Simons! I have liked Raf’s clothes most from since my childhood, and I liked street culture activities, like liked street emotion of surfing, skateboarding etc. hidden represented in Raf’s clothes mixed well with a new style. And my philosophy has a thread of connection with hisis connected with his. Raf’s collection of 4-5 years ago was a new attempt to pioneer an idea in all, showed a pioneering idea, so it was all very was interesting. But Raf Simons seen through Jill Sander seems to make sure what he is doing currentlybe more calculating nowadays. He seems to be much trimmed obviouslymore conservative and I don’t think he is.

However, I don’t think he is progressive or experimental any more.

Q. The brand you pay attention to now?

I count Damir Doma first as the best brand for of the past 10 years. He has a high level of understanding about materials and shapes and knows well what he is doing. And KOLOR’s color, materials, style, and finish are very good. Their ethnic and silky aspect is the best.

Q. Where do you get information about the brands?

There is nothing no special place. If you have the level of understanding of the mainstream line products like Prada, Raf etc., you will have an eye out for new a designers or a brands coming newly. Many people contact me diversely with promotional literature, like Look Book, but in fact, we often usually directly discover directly the brands we like ourselves. we like in many cases. In my opinion, we a real buyer visits designers directlyhad better visit it directly if we are a real buyer. The clothes will be the more special ones than the clothes other people sell.

Q. There are many diversified Japanese brands and Asian brands.

Are there any particular features of Asian brands, and are there any features of Asian brands only?

First of all, the sizes is are different. In case of Japanese onesIn Japan, many brands are circulated domestically, and there are a lot of brands using that use hard-to-find forms and fabrics difficult to be seen in other places. And many Asian-based brands don’t follow the vogue or fashion but make somethinghave their own individual flair of their own conspicuously.

Q. Do you know any Korean fashion designers?

I am aware of SONGZIO, JUUN J. In fact, I don’t know Korean brands well, but in coming October, I will join the F/W Seoul Fashion Walk and look for some.

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Q. What is your favourite product you bought this time?

Jacket of POW WOW jacket! POW WOW is London-based Indonesian brand which has just started, their own uniqueness like fabric or shapes are steeped here and there.and they have their own unique shape and fabric. Especially,Their line of their aaccessoriesy line is tremendously good. Such a brand where aWhen a designer’s purport intent and concept are can be seen at a glimpse, his or her work will attract everybody’s attention..

Q. What is your favourite men’s collection in that Men’s Seasonthis season?

I liked LANVIN most. And KOLOR, JIL SANDER, DAMIR DOMA, DRIES VAN NOTEN.

Q. 남성복을 바잉을 할 때 중점으로 여기는 점은 무엇인가? 내가 입고 싶은 옷을 구입한다. 그 시즌에 바지가 마음에 들면 바지만 바잉하고 자켓이 마음에 들면 자켓만 바잉한다.

Q. 다양한 가격대와 종류의 브랜드를 취급하고 있는데, 당신만의 바잉 철학이 있다면? 나의 바잉 철학은 내가 자라면서 겪은 경험에 바탕을 두고 있다. 90년대에 성정하며 내가 가장 좋아했던 것은 i-D매거진이다. 그때의 i-D는 굉장히 신선했으며 스트리트 브랜드를 메인 라인 제품으로 보이며 다양하게 믹스한 비주얼을 보여주었다. 그 때의 비주얼이 지금까지 잠재적으로 나에게 영향을 미치는 것 같다. 나는 바이어로 일하면서 메인 라인 브랜드를 스트리트 웨어 스타일로 접목하며 바잉을 했다. 나는 웨어러블한 옷들에 항상 반스와 라프 시몬스를 믹스했다. 발렌시아가, 지방시, 랑방 같은 진보적인 메인 라인 브랜드들을 보면 알 수 있겠지만, 그들은 스트리트 웨어에서 영감을 많이 받고 있다. 대부분의 모든 브랜드들이 전략적으로 젊은 세대에게 초점을 맞춰가고 있다. 소매 매장들 또한 현 시대의 젊은이들로부터 영감을 얻고, 그들로부터 나오는 새로운 아이디어를 이용하고 있다. 시장을 이끌고 있는 흥미로운 소매 매장들은 젊은 사람들을 대변하고 있다. 그러므로 현재의 유스컬쳐를 절대 무시할 수 없다.

Q. 당신이 가장 좋아하는 브랜드는? 라프 시몬스! 어렸을 때부터 라프의 옷들을 가장 좋아했고, 라프의 옷 속에 숨어있는 서핑, 스케이트 보드 등의 스트리트적인 감성을 새로운 스타일로 잘 믹스한 것을 좋아했다. 또한 그와 나의 철학은 일맥상통하는 점이 있다. 라프의 4-5년 전 컬렉션까지는 모든 것이 새로운 시도였고, 앞서가는 생각이 엿보였으며 모든 것이 재미있었다. 하지만 질 샌더를 통해 본 라프 시몬스는 지금 자신이 무엇을 하는가에 대해 더욱 확신이 있는 것 같다. 그는 확실히 많이 다듬어져 있는 느낌이다. 하지만, 더 이상 진보적이거나 실험적이라고 생각하지는 않는다.

Q. 당신이 지금 주목하고 있는 브랜드는? 지난 10년간 가장 괜찮은 브랜드는 다미르 도마라고 생각한다. 그는 소재나 형태에 대한 이해가 아주 높고 자신이 무엇을 하고 있는지 잘 알고 있다. 그리고 콜러 (Kolor)의 색상과 소재, 스타일 그리고 마감이 아주 좋다. 그들의 에스닉하고 실키한 면이 가장 좋다.

Q. 어디서 브랜드에 대한 정보들을 얻나? 특별한 방법은 없다. 만약 프라다, 라프 등 메인 라인 브랜드에 대한 이해도가 있다면 새롭게 나오는 디자이너나 브랜드들을 볼 수 있는 눈이 생긴다. 많은

Q. When buying the garmentgarment, do you have any inspiration or influences inare you inspired or influenced by your surroundings ?

I have much inspiration from Today’s Life of mine, my neighbours, what I saw in my tripget a lot of inspiration from my daily life, my neighbours, things I see when I travel. I never follow seasonal trends. the fashion of season. I like constantly-new and attractive things. I like things that are new and attractive. And I make an effort to do things that other shops have never tried and cultivate s to attempt the things other shops never tried to do up to the present and cultivate a progressive ideas.

Q. Any shop in London you recommendWhat London shops do you recommend?

Visit LN-CC! There is no such place withNobody has such diverse products and interesting concepts composition as LN-CC.

사람들이 나에게 룩북 같은 홍보물로 다양한 연락을 취하지만, 사실 우리가 좋아하는 브랜드는 우리가 직접 발견하는 경우가 더 많다. 내 생각에는 진정한 바이어라면 가서 직접 찾아야 한다고 생각한다. 그 옷들은 다른 사람들이 파는 것보다 특별한 것일 것이다.

Q. 다양한 일본 브랜드 및 아시안 브랜드들이 많은데 아시아 브랜드들 만의 특징이 있나? 우선 사이즈가 다르다. 일본의 경우엔 자국 시장을 중심으로 돌아가는 것이 많기 때문에 다른 곳에서 보기 힘든 형태와 소재를 이용한 브랜드들이 많다. 또한 많은 아시안 베이스 브랜드들은 유행을 따르지 않고 자신들만의 무엇을 만들어내는 점이 특히 눈에 띈다.

Q. 한국 패션 디자이너를 알고 있나? 송지오, JUUN J를 알고 있다. 사실 한국 브랜드들 잘 모르지만 이번 10월에 있는 F/W 서울 패션 위크에 가서 찾아 볼 예정이다.

Q. 이번에 바잉한 제품들 중에 가장 마음에 드는 것은?

POW WOW의 자켓! POW WOW는 이제 갓 시작한 런던 베이스의 인도네시아 브랜드인데 소재나 모양 등 그들만의 특별함이 곳곳에 배어있다. 특히 이들의 액세서리 라인은 굉장히 훌륭하다. 디자이너의 의도와 컨셉이 한 눈에 띄는 이런 브랜드는 누구에게나 주목 받을 것이다.

Q. 이번의 지난 남자 시즌에 가장 마음에 들었던 컬렉션은? 랑방이 가장 마음에 들었다. 그리고 콜러, 질 샌더, 다미르 도마, 드리스 반 노튼.

Q. 바잉 할 때 주변에서 영감을 주는 것이나 영향을 받는 것이 있나? 나의 오늘의 라이프와 내 주변 사람들, 여행 다니면서 보는 것에서 많이 영감을 받는다. 나는 절대로 시즌의 유행을 좇지 않는다. 언제나 새롭고 눈길을 끄는 것을 좋아한다. 다른 매장들이 지금까지 하지 않았던 것들을 시도하고 진보적인 생각을 하려 노력한다.

Q. 런던에서 추천해 줄 수 있을만한 매장은?

LN-CC를 방문해라! LN-CC만큼 다양한 제품과 재미있는 구성을 가지고 있는 곳은 없을 것이다. www.ln-cc.com

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creators

SHOJONO TOMO

The name ‘Shojono Tomo’ means an ‘eternal child’. Just like her name, she is an artist with the spirit of an eternal child. Recently, her unique fashion artwork under the theme ‘CHILD PLAY’ is gaining huge popularity. So, what exactly is ‘CHILD PLAY’?

Editor. Anna Choi Writer. Yuta Sugihara

Q. Please tell us about ‘CHILD PLAY’. Why did you choose the theme?

I was inspired by a shocking shooting spree happened in 1999 in the U.S. The tragic murder case is called the ‘Massacre of Columbine High School’. A high school boy who was bullied by his peers opened fire on his classmates and killed many students during the shooting spree. It was a very shocking issue at the time. A Japanese indie musician was inspired by this incident and released a CD entitled ‘School Shooting’ and I was asked to make the CD cover. Since then, I became interested in juvenile crime and young criminals’ psychology. In 2004, I came up with the theme ‘CHILD PLAY’.

Q. What does ‘CHILD PLAY’ exactly mean?

I minted the phrase ‘CHILD PLAY’ and this project started in 2004.

‘CHILD PLAY’ refers to an adult who has characteristics of a child. The term also involves the relation between the person and society. The first model for this new project was myself. In order to explain the concept of ‘CHILD PLAY’, I made up a story called ‘SKINSHIP BURNY’. It is a compound word, which is a combination of ‘Skinship’ and ‘Burn’. The story goes like this.

“The year is 2xxx! Human beings on Earth managed to survive the El Niño, but now they face with a new problem. A great number of children are suffering from loneliness and their body temperatures drop dramatically. They can even lose their lives due to hypothermia.

In order to survive, they try to warm up their bodies. However, their body temperatures go up abnormally this time. If someone doesn’t love them sincerely, their fever will burn them out. This is because they are suffering from the human El Niño called ‘LOVE SICK.’ The children’s secret code is ‘I love you until I get burnt.’ You may get burnt by their hot body heat, but they are waiting for you to take them into your arms.”

Q. What does this story mean?

The basic story line is that a lack of affection in childhood can negatively affect children as well as the people around them. In some cases, loneliness can be turned into anger. Therefore, lonely children can attack others. However, we need to embrace them to cure their loneliness.

I’m using the word ‘El Niño’ to explain this phenomenon. I actually think that human being’s selfishness might be the cause of the El Niño. At first, ‘CHILD PLAY’ was started by my personal trauma. However, now it is the main motive for me to think about the relation between personal feelings and society.

Q. Why do you express the theme ‘CHILD PLAY’ on clothes rather than canvas?

I always think about the relation between our emotions and our society.

As we grow up, we learn how to survive in our society and most of us want to settle down. In particular, the Japanese are very social and they are afraid of becoming outsiders. This is why they often indulge in particular things to escape the stifling reality.

Sometimes they are crazy about superstars or idols. Many people feel vicarious satisfaction by admiring superstars who have an unusual fashion sense. Many superstars wear unconventional clothes that ordinary people, who are afraid of breaking social regulations, avoid to wear.

I think that maybe these superstars have the spirit of children. Like children, they are not bound by social regulations and conventional boundaries. In other words, people admire the superstars’ ‘CHILD PLAY’ – not their fashion styles. Acording to this concept, I think it is suitable for expaining ‘CHILD PLAY’ by fashion.

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Q. You are making very unique clothes and normal people won’t be able to enjoy your clothes. Are you making these clothes for superstars?

No, I’m not making clothes for superstars. Of course, I know that my clothes are unconventional and unique. So my clothes are loved by people who refuse to blindly follow conventional social regulations. Like I said earlier, these people still have characteristics of children inside. I call them ‘CHILD’ and we can often find grown-up ‘CHILD’ these days in our modern society, other than superstars.

I make clothes and draw pictures to support all of the grown-up ‘CHILD’.

Sometimes people admire their child-like spirit, but CHILD often gets rejected by society and treated like heretics. So the grown-up ‘CHILD’ are loved by many people, but they can feel lonely all of a sudden. My artwork is made to comfort and encourage them. Also my name Shojono Tomo means that I’m children’s friend.

Q. Since you use fashion for your artwork, people may think that you are a fashion designer.

Yes, sometimes people think that I’m a fashion designer. In fact, many magazines introduced me as a fashion designer. However, I’m an artist and I’m just using clothes to create my artwork. There is a huge difference between using art in fashion and using fashion in art.

Clothes are our daily necessaries, but art is not. People tend to feel comfortable with familiar things. This is why I’m grafting art onto fashion.

I believe that I can easily deliver my messages to the general public through fashion. To me, fashion is just a tool to express my feelings and deliver my messages effectively.

Q. Please tell us more about your artwork.

From 2009 to May 2011, I displayed my artwork at an international museum in Sweden. I expressed the theme ‘CHILD PLAY’ using a Kimono that a child wears during ‘753’(children’s festival in Japan). I tried to combine traditional Japanese culture and modern fashion together.

I participated in this project as a conceptual artist. Also, this summer, American rapper ‘NICKI MINAJ’ used my fashion artwork as an item for her music. Currently, a growing number of people in other countries are becoming interested in my artwork and this is a great chance for me to introduce my work to the world.

Q. Lastly, please tell us about your future plans.

I will keep making uniforms for lonely ‘CHILD’. So they can jump higher.

I will also keep supporting and encouraging myself and other ‘CHILD’ through my artwork. I hope we, grown-up ‘CHILD’, will get more attention and respect from other people. If you happen to see a ‘CHILD’, please give them a warm hug.

I will hold two exhibitions in October and November in 2011 in Los Angeles, and in 2012, I’m planning to release <KIMONO FUSION vol.3>.

Please keep supporting me. www.shojonotomo.com

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Q. ‘CHILD PLAY’는 어떻게 시작하게 되었나?

1999년 미국에서 일어난 한 청소년 범죄를 계기로 시작 되었다. 그 사건은 ‘COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL의 대학살’로 불리는 대참사로, 괴롭힘을 당하던 한 소년이 자신의 고등학교에서 무차별 살인을 저지른 일이었다. 당시 엄청난 이슈가 되었던 사건이었다. 일본의 한 인디 뮤지션은 이 사건 보도를 보고「School Shooting」이라는 CD를 릴리즈하게 되었는데, 나는 그 CD의 커버를 만드는 일을 요청받았다. 이때부터 청소년 범죄와 심리학에 대해 깊이 생각하게 되었고, 계속해서 더 깊이 이 세계에 들어왔다. 그리고는 2004년, ‘CHILD PLAY’라는 테마를 시작하게 되었다.

Q. ‘CHILD PLAY’라는 콘셉트를 설명해 달라.

2004년부터 진행해오고 있는 프로젝트로, 내가 직접 만들어낸 단어다. ‘CHILD PLAY’의 의미는 어린이의 특성을 유지한 채로 어른이 된 사람, 그들의 성질과 요인, 또 그들과 사회와의 관계를 내포한다. 이는 처음 나 스스로를 모델로 만들어진 개념이었다. 나는 ‘CHILD PLAY’를 설명하기 위해 ‘SKINSHIP BURNY’라는 이야기를 만들었다.

‘SKINSHIP BURNY’는 Skinship(스킨십)과 Burn(화상)을 합쳐서 만든 단어이다. 그 줄거리는 다음과 같다. “때는 2xxx! 지구의 엘니뇨현상을 겨우 모면한 인류에게 새로운 문제가 발생했다. 고독을 견딜 수 없는 아이들이 그 외로움에 비례하여 체온을 극한까지 떨어뜨리고 얼어붙어 버리는 빙하 현상이다. 그 현상에 저항하려는 아이들은 반대로 비정상적으로 높은 열을 낸다. 그러나 그 상태에서 누군가의 사랑을 확인하지 못하면, 스스로의 열에 의해 모두 불타 버린다. 인간 엘니뇨현상, LOVE SICK에 걸려 버린 것이다. 그 아이들의 암호는 ‘데일만큼 사랑해’. 그 아이들의 뜨거운 체온에 데일지 몰라도 그들을 꼭 껴안아 줄 수 있는 당신의 사랑을 아이들은 기다리고 있다.”

Q. 이 이야기는 어떤 의미인가? 이 이야기는, ‘부모로부터의 애정이 부족한 아이의 트라우마가 본인은 물론 제 3 자에게 다양한 영향을 끼친다.’는 내용이다. 어떤 경우에 ‘고독’은 누군가를 향한 공격으로 바뀔 가능성이 있다. 그러나 그러한 공격을 감수하며 고독한 이들을 품에 안고 응원할 필요가 있다고 생각한다. 나는 이것을 나타내기 위해서 엘니뇨(El nino)라는 말을 사용하고 있다. 실제로 지금 이 지구상의 엘니뇨현상도 개인주의 성격이 많이 모여서 발생하고 있는 것은 아닐까 생각되기도 한다. 처음에 이 CHILD PLAY는 나의 개인적인 트라우마에서 시작됐다. 하지만 현재는 ‘개인이 거느리는 감정’과 ‘이를 둘러싼 사회’의 관계를 생각하는 것이 주요 모티브가 되었다.

Q. ‘CHILD PLAY’를 캔버스가 아닌 옷 위에 표현하는 의도는 무엇인가? 나는 늘 인간의 감정과 사회의 관계에 대해서 생각한다. 사람들은 어른이 되면 모두 사회성을 배우고, 사회의 둘레로부터 떨어져 나가려하지 않는다. 특히 일본인은 사회 속에서 자신의 존재가 벗어나는 것을 두려워하는 민족이라고 생각한다. 그리고 자기 대신에 벗어날 수 있는 어떤 다른 것을 찾는다. 그 ‘다른 것’은 가끔 슈퍼스타나 우상이 될 때가 있다. 모든 슈퍼스타들이 그런 것은 아니지만, 이들은 평범하지 않은 패션스타일로 일반적인 사람들이 대리만족할 수 있도록 한다. 도덕이나 사회적 규범을 깨는 것이 두려운 일반 어른들은 입지 않는 옷을 슈퍼스타들은 과감히 입고 나온다.

나는 이 부분에서, 어쩌면 이런 슈퍼스타들이 ‘아이의 영혼’을 가진 사람들이 아닐까 생각한다. 아이와 같은 마음이 그들로 하여금 어른사회의 둘레를 주저 없이 벗어날 수 있도록 하는 것이다. 즉, 사람들은 슈퍼스타의 ‘패션’을 동경하는 것이 아니라, 슈퍼스타의 패션을 보고 그들의 ‘CHILD PLAY’를 동경하는 것이다. 나는 이런 개념을 이용하여 CHILD PLAY를 패션으로 풀어내는 것이 적합하다고 생각한다.

Q. 당신이 만드는 옷도 굉장히 독특해서 평범하게 입지 못하는 스타일이다. 슈퍼스타가 입기위해 만드는 것인가? 그런 것은 아니다. 물론 내가 만드는 옷은 특이하기 때문에 일반적인 사회적 관념으로부터 벗어날 수 있을만한 사람들이 입을 수 있다. 앞서 말한 것처럼, 나는 이러한 사람들이 ‘내면에 어린이의 특성을 지니고 있는 어른들’이라고 생각한다. 그리고 이들을 ‘CHILD’라고 부른다. 현대 사회에는 이러한 ‘CHILD’가 슈퍼스타 뿐 만 아니라 일반적으로도 많이 있다. 내가 만드는 그림과 옷은 모든 ‘CHILD’ 들을 응원하기 위한 것이다. 어린이의 영혼으로 어른사회를 산다는 것은 보통의 어른에게 동경을 받기도 하지만, 때로는 ‘이단아’ 취급을 받기도 한다. 즉, ‘CHILD’ 들은 때로는 사랑을 느끼다가도 돌연 고독해진다. 고독한 그들을 위로하는 것이 나의 주요 작품의도이며, 그것이 나의 이름, ‘쇼우죠노토모’ (아이들의 친구)의 의미이기도 하다.

Q. 주로 패션을 미디어로 이용하기 때문에, 자칫 패션 디자이너라는 타이틀로 불릴 것 같다. 그런 경우가 종종 있다. 여러 매체에서 이미 나를 ‘패션 디자이너’로 소개했었다. 그러나 나는 단지 나의 아트를 담아내기 위해 옷을 이용하는 것뿐이라고 확실히 해두고 싶다. 패션계에서 아트를 하는 것과 아트에서 패션을 다루는 것은 큰 차이가 있다. 옷은 ‘일상적’인 필수품이고, 아트는 ‘비일상적’인 것이다. 사람들은 일상적인, 즉 자신과 친숙한 것을 접할 때 그것에 대한 마음을 열기가 쉽다. 내가 아트를 패션에 접목하는 것은 바로 이런 이유에서다. 패션을 통해 대중들이 내가 표현하는 메시지에 쉽게 다가갈 수 있다고 생각한다. 나에게 있어 ‘패션’은 메시지를 담아낼 수도, 그 메시지를 영향력 있게 전달 할 수도 있는 하나의 적절한 매체일 뿐이라고 생각한다.

Q. 구체적으로 어떤 활동을 했는가?

2009년부터 2011년 5월까지 스웨덴의 국제 박물관에서 ‘753(일본 어린이 축제)’ 의 기모노를 사용해 ‘CHILD PLAY’를 표현했다. 이는 일본의 전통 문화와 현대의 패션을 표현하는 기획이었다. 나는 이 프로젝트에 개념적 아티스트(conceptual artist)로 참가했다. 또, 올 여름에는 미국의 래퍼, ‘NICKI MINAJ’가 나의 패션 작품을 아이템으로 사용했다. 최근 들어 해외에서 많은 섭외가 들어오고 있어 많은 사람들에게 작품을 선보일 기회가 늘고 있다.

Q. 마지막으로 앞으로의 계획을 들려달라. 나는 외로운 ‘CHILD’들이 더 높이 뛰어오를 수 있도록 그들을 위한 유니폼을 만든다. 이를 통해 나 스스로와 다른 ‘CHILD’들을 응원한다. 그리고 ‘CHILD’들은 사람들의 주목을 받고, 사람들과의 애정을 서로 확인한다. 내가 이야기하는 ‘ 쇼우죠노토모의 CHILD PLAY’를 발견한다면, 너무 뜨거워서 탈지도 모르지만, 그들을 사랑으로 꼭 껴안아 주길 바란다.

2011년 10, 11월은 로스엔젤러스에서 두 개의 전시회를 열고, 또 2012년에는 <KIMONO FUSION vol.3>를 계획 중이다. 계속 많은 관심 부탁한다. www.shojonotomo.com

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collaboration

Hat designer

RANGGAN x YOMSNIL Graphic Artist

Our art director YOM and emerging hat designer Seo-hyun Jo created New Visual images!

Editor. Anna Choi

From the 30 top No. 398 No. 387 No. 388

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From 31 the top No. 399 No. 315 No. 378

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From the 32 top No. 368 No. 328 4th hat for garments store

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Seohyun Jo

In the beginning, all I wanted to do was just go out and brag to the world that Korea too has an amazingly cool hat designer finally worth acknowledging.

After the interview however, I now need to grab hold of those in their twenties struggling and rebelling to find their dreams and tell them the story of “Finding a Bluebird” from the hat designer Seohyun Jo.

Editor. Jean Choi Phtographer. Jun O Hwang

Q. Which hat designer do you respect the most?

In hat making, one needs to know how to design, pattern, and do needlework. A person who knows how to do all these things is called a millinery. My favorite millinery is Rod Keenan. I’m also very interested in education, and the educator I respect the most is a person from Japan named Hirata. Japan is highly recognized in the hat industry today, because the Japanese have furthered the combined skills of traditional crafting and western hat-making for a very long time. After increasing his craft in hat-making, Hirata now works to train new apprentices in this field. It’s only natural to see that all the great hat-makers in Japan these days all have one thing in common: they’ve been trained by Hirata. He is truly a person to be admired.

Q. What do you think is the most important aspect in designing and making a hat?

A hat falls under fashion, not art. I think a lot about the flexibility and comfort of a hat in how it is worn or put on. If a person can’t wear it on his or her head, then it can’t be a hat.

Q. Why did you pick hats?

You know, I never really knew what I was good at. In 2003, I visited Japan during a working holiday and got to visit a hat store in the Ueno Market. That was a really amazing experience. At that time, there were only a few stores in Korea that catered to selling only hats. I was innocently looking through local hat stores which I randomly found in some magazine, and it was at that moment I got the feeling that maybe ‘hats’ was the thing that I would be good at. At first, I told myself that I wanted to become the boss of my own hat store like the one in Japan, but then I gradually started gaining more interest in hand-made hat making and pattern designing. In 2006, I dropped out of the college I was attending and left for Japan to study hat making.

Q. So did you have a lot of interest in hats even at a young age?

Yes. I guess I’ve always liked hats. I didn’t really like copying the latest trend or wearing popular brand names because that’s what everyone else was wearing. Ten years ago, you could go to Itaewon and buy a baseball cap for 2,000 won. I would buy that cap, and glue on a 500 won skull patch, then paint the cap in a different color. It’s funny if I think about that now, but at that time I was really proud of myself for sticking that skull patch on the cap. That’s probably also the time when my love for hats had begun.

Q. Where do you get the inspiration for your hats?

Since I make custom-made hats, I usually get my inspiration from people. I meet and observe a lot of people and often think about what kind of hat would be most suitable for each individual. After analyzing someone’s lifestyle, fashion, favorite music, preferred foods, etc, I draw a picture for that person. I put in my everything when I’m making a customized hat so that the client will be 100% satisfied with the outcome.

Q. What kinds of obstacles or difficulties do you have in your profession?

I sincerely believe that working in Korea and experiencing all the things I’m going through now are the processes that will help me mature as a hat maker. Due to the economy and the market’s stagnant growth, I am currently making hats that would appeal to the everyday shopper.

However, the hats I like to design are not what the everyday shopper looks for. So as I continue to make everyday shopper hats, I begin to have doubts about myself. I guess my biggest struggle is that I can’t satisfy both sides, the public’s and mine, at the same time.

Q. As a hat designer, what is your biggest dream?

My dream is to become a master hat maker and open my own small atelier where I will be able to create custom-made hats and teach future aspiring hatters and milliners. I know I still have much to learn myself, but I am teaching a couple of students at the moment. Although designing is an innate talent in itself, such a talent will only be improved as it is honed by learning other practical skills. My students right now are not that good at making a hat, and I know why they’re not that good. The reason I know why they’re not good at making hats is because I went through the same problems they’re struggling with now. It’s an awesome feeling to have when you guide students with something they’re struggling with, and then see them create something even more amazing.

Q. please explain the meaning of your brand name Ranggan.

Ranggan is actually the name of a girl in a Korean mermaid legend. I came across this name while looking for ideas that would help me in designing a mermaid-concept hat. The name got stuck in my head as soon as I found it, and since it’s Korean and easy to pronounce I liked it even more. Perhaps it’s because of the legend, but the name had a mysteriously sad yet beautiful ring to it. I also liked the fact that the legend was passed on as an oral tradition. Through the word of mouth, a people can find out about my hats. Then when a client comes in to receive one of my hats, I would like for that client to feel the same joy as I did when I first heard the name Ranggan. www.ranggan.com

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creators

Lee Wan

In the gallery where I happened to dropped by, there lay bottles of water, mannequins, and plastic hoses etc. wrapped in tape. What on earth are these? My curiosity piqued, I phoned Artist Lee Wan instantly.

Editor. Anna Choi Photographer. Jun O Hwang

Q. How are the works of <How to become us> exhibition created?

I weighed 60 objects, added the weight, divided them by 60 again and got an average weight of 5.06kg. Then we cut the 60 objects and put them together again, making 60 of 5.06kg objects. We started with 60 objects of various weights and averaged them out, and reproduced those objects at an equal weight.

Q. Why did you use weight as a reference point of standardization?

I used ‘mirror’ as a reference point in my last work. I sanded and polished a hammer, a shoe brush, and a weight etc. into shiny mirrors. When we gave everything a mirror-like quality, the objects turned out to be different from one another. Some became mirrors, whereas some didn’t become mirrors.

Likewise, this time I used the reference of ‘Weight’. The objects have almost nothing in common. But when I made them all the same weight, I thought of the irresistible force of gravity. I adjusted each different object to have the same weight and simulated an equal state.

Q. Indeed ‘Weight’ is a common element, but 5.06kg out of the average of 60 objects is an arbitrary value. Why did you use this value as a reference?

I didn’t know that the value of 5.06kg would be the result either, but the overall value is ‘average weight’ and that can be a very fair reference, I think. For example, here are two people. I think that it is most important for two people to maintain a balance between them, or a fulcrum point in order for conditions to be fair between them. For this balance, they need a point of negotiation, and that is the ‘Average’. The objects made to be 5.06kg may not have the exact same status, but it can be fair within the context that I have set up.

Q. I think you didn’t cut up the objects only to make them the same weight. What was your intention in cutting them up?

I wanted to see how the cutting up and destroying the objects changed their original shape and function. Originally, I thought that cutting the objects up would destroy their meaning or social value. But they were not destroyed. For example, a chair might be cut up so that it loses its function as a chair, or a statue of Buddha might be deprived of its religious function, but it doesn’t come to anything. Not only the mass but also the meaning of the object remains. When we see a cut-off piece of a chair, we still think of it as a cut-off piece of a chair’, but we don’t see it as just ‘the thing’. Even if it is cut off, it is still recognized as the part of ‘Chair’.

Q. Then, when you recombine the cut-up objects, do you intend to combine ‘the meaning” of the objects?

That’s right. I wanted to cut-up and recombine people’s preconceived notions of these objects. But it is difficult to do that. People see the things as they recognized them in the past. People see a cut-up statue of Buddha, and cut-up telephone poles, but they don’t see them as new objects with new meanings. They think that the statue of Buddha is pasted in this object, and they recognize the telephone pole is pasted. I felt interested that the recognition was not altered, and intended to show that objects could not really be broken. Though I cannot know clearly where this recognition came from, I think that it is irresistible. As we feel cold if it is cold, so we just react. These concepts can be the general motives of my work.

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Q. Then, did you apply a reference to attempt to destroy the meaning of the objects, or did you mean to destroy the meaning by applying it to the reference?

I didn’t make a reference to destroy the meaning. When we applied a certain reference to the objects, the objects were taken apart and reconfigured to conform to the reference. For this purpose, the previous meaning the object had should be disregarded, and our predilection to hang onto our old habits is revealed. In other words, we can detect that applying the reference leads to the attempt to destroy the meaning, but it cannot be destroyed easily.

Q. What did you think during the process of making the object?

In fact, I think of nothing. I focus on adjusting the weight. But I have to show this visually, so it is important to adjust the balance. If I put the pieces together, grind them finely and put them in the bag with the same weight, it may be the most expressive method, then the fragments of the original objects cannot be seen. And ‘the echo of recognition’ of the original objects disappears as well. But I intended to show ‘the echo of recognition’. Showing the original form of each object quietly in its uniformity, I wished to confuse the signifier and the signified. Sometimes people ask ‘What does the statue of Buddha imply in the work?’ Each time, I realize that what I intended to do operates well in my work.

Q. You work with everyday objects. Why? I think what is in my neighborhood is not very different from what is in other people’s surroundings. As the system of life is greatly universal, The Samdasoo(water PET bottle) I drink can be seen in other places, and the table I use may be different in design, but there are tables in other places as well. I thought that our surroundings were made up of universal objects, uniform to our society. What is in my surroundings is both general and very special. Common objects that I select are not different from special objects.

Q. In order to give the objects you can often see a symbolic meaning, do you intend to look at these everyday objects in a new way?

In the 6 years since I started these work, it seems that I see and feel more than I did at the beginning. When I look at the objects, I think about what they mean from how they were produced and transported here.

For example, (pointing out a 110v adapter on the desk) this is an adapter to connect A and B, but without this, A and B cannot be connected. If personify the object, then what type of human being does this adapter symbolize?

And as we have no 110v socket, this adapter becomes a mass-produced object from the past that is not so useful now. In some things the value disappears, but the substitution is also revealed. Though

110v was replaced by 220v, the meaning of ‘adapter’ continues to exist.

When I see the things in this way, I tend to see them in connection to the structure.

Q. What does the title of the exhibit mean <How to become us>?

The title has two meanings. I cut up the objects and made all of the objects equal within a given context. But it is a violent process, because the objects were cut forcibly. When we recognize an object that has been cut up, it may seem uniform and fair, but a world of uniform ideas worries me. However, in another view, it may be a happy state at any rate. There exist many inequities in society, such as polarization, a costant conflict between small groups and large groups. If I break down the objects and recombine them to make them uniform and fair, I may think that this is a method to create a happy state. I made two types of phenomena at two ends of the spectrum. On one hand, the conditions may be fair, but on the other, they may create a danger. <How to become us> raises this question. We did not ask the question ‘How to become us?’ The statement makes us think about how it happens.

Q. Then what object can be a surrogate for ‘us’?

It can be so, or the entire of 60 objects of the same weight can be ‘us.’

Q. You have a workshop in Hwanghak-dong market, but what is the advantage of this place? And what is the effect on the work processes?

I can see the circulation route of objects in Hwanghak-dong. Objects at the end of their life cycle are discarded, washed and packed, revalued, and resold. Noticing this, I came here to do my work. Considering the work that I have done up to the present, I thought that I was very arrogant. I have concern in social affairs and talk about conflicts or values, but in fact, I know little about it. What I saw or experienced in books is all I have, how I could work from what I saw there and give meaning to people, and I came to think that I was arrogant. Hence, from this exhibition, I tried to do most of the physical work directly, and enter the world of objects. This is a very enlightening village.

Q. What do you plan to do next?

I plan to start farming from this month. Although I handle objects, I have no idea what they are. I use them and talk about them, but I don’t know about them. From now on, I have to know the object itself. I am going to learn those most fundamental and closest to me first. I thought one of them is my food, so I plan to go into farming. In reality, I’d like to spend my time doing mundane things. I plan to create one work around June next year through this process. It is a high time I should feel and know much.

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How to become us 5.06kg No.1

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How to become us 5.06kg No.9

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How to become us 5.06kg No.10

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Q. <우리가 되는 방법>展 의 작품들은 어떻게 만들어졌나? 사물 60개의 무게를 각각 재어서 그 무게를 다 더하고, 다시 그것을 60으로 나누어 평균값 5.06kg이라는 수치를 얻었다. 그리고는 다시 그 60개의 사물들을 자르고 붙여가며 5.06kg의 오브제 60개를 만들어내었다. 서로 다른 무게를 가지고 있던 60개가 똑같은 무게를 가진 60개로 평준화되어 재생산된 셈이다.

Q. 평준화를 위한 기준점으로 왜 ‘무게’라는 요소를 설정하게 되었나? 지난 작품에서는 ‘거울’이라는 기준점을 이용했다. 망치, 구둣솔, 무게추 등을 갈고 닦아서 반들반들한 거울이 되도록 만드는 작업이었다. 서로 다른 사물들을 ‘거울’ 이라는 하나의 기준을 적용하여 똑같게 만들어 낼 때, 오히려 같아지기보다는 서로 ‘다름’이 드러났다. 어떤 것은 거울이 되었고, 어떤 것은 거울이 되지 않았기 때문이다. 이와 마찬가지로 이번엔 ‘무게’라는 기준을 사용한 것이다. 사물들이 지니고 있는 속성에는 공통점이 거의 없다. 그래도 모든 것에 동일하게 적용되고 있는 것이 무엇인지 생각 해 봤을 때, 그것은 불가항력적인 ‘지구 중력’ 즉, ‘무게’라고 생각했다. 물체마다 각기 다른 무게를 동일한 무게로 맞추어서 공정한 상태를 시뮬레이션 해 본 것이다.

Q. ‘무게’가 공통요소이긴 하지만, 60개를 평균 낸 5.06kg은 우연적으로 도출된 값이다. 이러한 우연성을 기준으로 삼을 수 있었던 이유는 무엇인가? 나도 5.06kg이라는 수치가 나올 줄은 몰랐지만, 그 수치가 몇이 되었던 ‘평균 무게’ 이기 때문에 가장 공정한 기준이 될 수 있다고 생각한다. 예를 들어, 두 명의 사람이 있는데, 그 두 사람이 어떤 공정한 상태의 위치를 갖기 위해서는 서로가 가지고 있는 것에 대한 밸런스를 유지하는 것이 가장 중요하다고 생각한다. 이를 위해서는 서로에 대한 타협지점이 필요한데, 그것이 곧 ‘평균’이라고 생각한다. 5.06kg에 맞춰 만들어진 오브제들이 무게가 동일하다고 해서 완전히 동일한 상태가 되었다고는 생각하지 않지만, 적어도 내가 설정해 놓은 기준 안에서는 공정하다고 할 수 있다.

Q. 단순히 무게를 똑같이 맞추기 위해서 사물들을 잘라낸 것은 아닐 것이라고 생각한다. 사물을 잘라냄으로써 의도한 것은 무엇인가? 파괴되고 잘려나간 물체의 일부분들이 파괴되기 전 본래의 물체가 가지고 있던 기능이나 형태로부터 어떻게 변화 되는지 보고 싶었다. 사물을 자르는 것은 동시에 그 사물의 의미나 사회적 가치를 분해해보려는 것이었다. 그러나 분해가 되지 않았다. 예를 들어, 의자는 잘려지면서 의자의 기능을 상실하고, 부처님 상은 종교적인 기능이 박탈되었지만, 그것이 없어지는 것은 아니다. 질량은 물론 그 사물의 의미도 남아있게 된다. 잘려진 의자의 부분을 보고, 그것을 ‘의자가 잘려진 물건’이라고 생각하지, 그냥 ‘물건’으로 보지 않는다. 잘려져도 그것은 여전히 ‘의자’의 일부로 인식된다.

Q. 그렇다면, 잘라낸 사물들을 섞어서 재조합하는 것은 사물의 ‘의미’를 조합하려는 것인가? 그렇다. 나는 사람들이 기존에 가지고 있는 만들어진 개념들을 잘라서 재조합하고 싶었다. 그러나 그 개념을 깨기가 어렵다. 사람들은 그동안 인식해왔던 대로 사물을 본다. 부처님 상도 잘라 붙이고, 전봇대도 잘라서 붙였지만, 하나로 붙여서 새롭게 만들어진 오브제를 새로운 의미로 보지 않는다. 이 오브제 안에 부처님 상이 붙어있고, 전봇대가 붙어있다고 인식한다. 나는 인식이 깨지지 않는다는 점이 재미있었고, 그 ‘깨지지 않음’ 자체를 보여주기를 의도했다. 또, 인식하고 있는 것들이 도대체 어디로부터 왔는지는 확실히 알 수 없어도 그 인식들은 굉장히 불가항력적으로 반응하게 되는 것이라고 생각한다. 추우면 춥다고 생각하는 것처럼, 그냥 반응하는 것이다. 이러한 개념들이 내 작업의 전체적인 모티브라고 할 수 있다.

Q. 그럼, 물체의 의미들을 깨기 위해서 기준을 적용한 것인가, 아니면 기준에 적용시키기 위해 의미를 깨려고 한 것인가? 의미를 깨기 위해서 기준을 만든 것은 아니다. 대상에 어떤 기준을 적용시켰을 때, 그 기준에 부합하기 위해서는 대상들이 분해가 되어야한다. 그러기위해서는 대상이 가지고 있던 기존의 의미가 버려질 수 있어야 하는데, 쉽게 버리지 못하는 인간의 성향이 드러난다. 다시 말해, 기준을 적용함으로써 의미를 깨기 위한 시도가 이루어지고, 결국 그것이 쉽게 깨지지 않음을 발견할 수 있다.

Q. 오브제를 만드는 실제 과정에서는 어떤 생각을 하면서 작업했나? 사실은 아무생각 안한다. 무게를 맞추는 것에만 집중을 한다. 그러나 이것을 시각적인 것으로 보여 줘야하기 때문에 밸런스를 맞추는 것이 중요하다. 다

뭉쳐서 잘게 빻아 똑같은 무게로 봉지에 넣어버리는 것이 제일 좋은 표현 방법일 수도 있지만, 그렇게 되면 원래의 물체가 무엇이었는지 그 파편들이 보이지 않게 된다. 그러면 원래의 물체에 대한 ‘인식의 메아리’도 사라져 버린다. 그러나 나는 그 ‘인식의 메아리’가 보여지기를 의도했다. 획일화되어 있는 것 안에 각각의 사물들의 본래 형태를 은근히 보여주면서, 기표와 기의의 혼란을 주고 싶었다. 가끔 어떤 분들은 ‘이 작품 안에서 부처님 상은 무엇을 의미해요?’ 라는 식으로 질문을 한다. 그럴 때마다 내 작업 안에 내가 의도했던 것들이 잘 작동되고 있음을 깨닫는다.

Q. 흔히 볼 수 있는 물체들을 상징화된 메시지로 만들기 위해서, 평소에 물체를 볼 때 또 다른 시각을 가지려고 의도하는가? 사물들을 보면 그것이 생산되어서 여기까지 흘러 들어온 과정들부터, 그 사물이 무엇을 의미하는지를 생각하게 된다. 예를 들면, (책상 위에 놓인 110v 어댑터를 가리키며) 이것은 A라는 물건과 B라는 물건을 연결하는 어댑터인데, 이것이 없으면 A와 B는 결합을 할 수 없다. 물건을 의인화하여 생각을 하는 편인데, 그렇다면 이 어댑터는 인간으로 치면 어떤 인간형일까를 생각한다. 또, 지금은 110v 콘센트가 없기 때문에 이 어댑터는 잘 사용하지 않는, 지난 시대의 대량 생산품이 되었다. 어떤 것들은 그 가치가 사라지기도 하지만, 어떤 것들은 그것을 대치 할 만한 것이 나오기도 한다. 110v가 220v로 대치되었어도, 사실 이 ‘ 어댑터’라는 물건의 의미는 계속 존재한다. 이런 식으로 사물을 볼 때, 그 구조들을 연결시켜서 보는 편이다.

Q. <우리가 되는 방법> 이라는 전시 제목은 어떤 의미인가? 두 개의 복선이 들어 있는 제목이다. 사물들을 잘라서 하나의 기준에 맞춰 공정한 상태로 만들었는데, 나는 이 공정한 상태가 행복한 상태라고는 생각하지 않는다. 강제적으로 절단 되어져 맞춰진 상태이기 때문이다. ‘사물’을 사람의 ‘인식’이라고 본다면, 재단되어진 것들로 획일화한 것은 모두 동일해졌기 때문에 공정해 보일 수도 있지만, 다 똑같이 생각하고, 다 똑같은 것들로만 조합되어 있는 세상은 내가 우려하는 세상이다. 하지만, 다른 입장에서 본다면 어쩌면 이것은 행복한 상태가 될 수도 있다. 양극화라던가, 작은 집단이 거대한 집단과 끊임없이 갈등 한다던가, 사회 안에는 굉장히 불공평한 상태가 많이 존재한다. 이런 상태에서의 획일화를 한 번 더 공정하게 하기 위해 분해와 재조합을 한다면 이것이 하나의 행복한 상태로 되는 방법이 아닐까 생각된다. 서로 다른 극에 있는 두 가지의 현상들을 만들어 본 것이다. 어떻게 보면 굉장히 공정한 상태가 되지만, 어떻게 보면 위험한 상태가 된다. <우리가 되는 방법> 은 사실 질문을 던진 것이다. 물음표를 지웠지만, 우리가 되는 방법은 무엇인가, 이것이 정말 우리가 되는 방법인가를 생각해보자는 말이다.

Q. 그럼 ‘우리’를 치환할 수 있는 것이, 여러 물건을 붙여놓은 하나의 오브제인가? 그것이 될 수도 있고, 혹은 5.06kg으로 만든 동일한 무게의 오브제 60개를 모아놓은 집단이 ‘우리’가 될 수도 있다.

Q. 황학동 시장 안에 작업실을 갖고 계신데, 이 장소의 장점은 무엇인가? 또 이곳이 작품 활동에 미치는 영향은 무엇인가? 황학동에서는 물건들의 순환경로를 볼 수 있다. 수명이 다 되어 버려진 물건들이 이곳으로 와서 씻기고, 포장되어 다시 상품의 가치를 얻고, 팔려 나간다. 이런 것들을 보면서 내가 하는 작업을 어떤 지점에 맞춰볼 수 있는지를 찾게 된다. 또 여기 와서 내가 이전까지 작업해왔던 것이 굉장히 오만했다는 생각을 하게 되었다. 사회적인 것들에 관심을 가지고 있고, 그것에 대한 갈등이나 가치에 대한 이야기를 하고 있지만, 사실 내가 아는 것은 별로 없다. 책에서 보거나 경험한 것이 전부인데, 그것만 보고 내가 어떻게 작업을 해서 사람들에게 의미를 주고 동의를 얻으려고 했는지, 오만했다는 생각이 들었다. 그래서 이번 전시부터는 내가 직접 육체적인 노동도 많이 하면서, 조금 더 대상들이 지니고 있는 것 안으로 들어가려고 했다. 많은 깨달음을 주는 동네이다.

Q. 다음은 어떤 작품을 계획하고 있는가? 이번 달부터 농사를 지을 계획이다. 나는 오브제를 다루고 있음에도 불구하고 오브제가 무엇인지 잘 모른다. 그냥 오브제를 이용하고, 그 오브제의 현상에 대해서만 이야기하고 있을 뿐이다. 이제는 이 오브제 자체에 대해서 알아야 할 것 같다. 가장 기본적이고 나와 밀접한 것들부터 알아보려고 한다. 그 중 하나가 내가 먹는 것들이라고 생각했고, 그래서 농사를 지어보려고 한다. 실제로 소소한 것에 정성과 시간을 들여 보고 싶다. 이런 과정을 통해 내년 6월쯤에 작품 하나를 만들려고 구상중이다. 많이 느끼고 알아가는 시간을 가져야할 때가 온 것 같다.

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essay

EYES WIDE OPEN Jeans made in North Korea, music promoted from a distance and an iphone application making people communicate with each other in gif-animated images. That is what Tor Rauden Källstigen does for living. And what’s behind it all, is a fascination of the endless strange turns created when ideas meet people.

Editor. IDA Grändås-Rhee Photographer. Erik Wåhlström / www.erikwahlstrom.se / Pyongyang 2009

Three years ago, I had just arrived to Seoul and was all over internet finding information about North Korea when I stumbled over a blog with pictures Pyongyang. It was something completely different to the images from the parades and military that I was so used to see. These were calm, and showing people that didn’t seemed more to belong in some European city than in Pyongyang. Looking closer, I realized it was made by some Swedish guys, and they were not just traveling, but actually in Pyongyang for business. They were going to make jeans, produced in North Korea.

Two years later I stumbled over something completely different. A song called “Desolate View” by a group called Boeoes Kaelstigen featuring the Swedish singer Stefan Storm. I immediately feel in love with it and listened to the song over and over for several days, looked up the band on Soundcloud and started following them.

A few months later, I got a tweet from someone called Tor from Stockholm, Sweden. He said my photos from Seoul made him want to move here. I looked him up through his home page, followed the traces I found, and realized that it was the same guy behind the jeans made in North Korea now gone big under the name Noko Jeans and the music with that metallic, robot-like sound.

In March 2011, Tor showed up in Seoul, for three months of exploring the capital of the Korea on the south side of the DMZ. From the first moment, I was struck by his overload of curiosity. He asked me about everything, and especially about things concerning North Korea. During his time in Seoul, Tor was everywhere, doing everything, meeting everyone. Every other day, I got a message from some of my friends day saying “I met your friend Tor today.”

After hanging out with Tor a couple of times in Seoul, I realized those jeans he almost always wearing were of that brand - Noko Jeans. But while talking to Tor, he was never talked about design, about the fashion industry or an own collection. Instead, he gave me recommendations on documentaries on North Korea, and was eager to dig into anything that could have with the country to do.

It was from this interest in he country, in how life on the other side of that closed border is like, that the Noko Jeans project started. Together with the friends Jacob Åström and Jakob Ohlsson, Tor found a newly opened website called “exports from North Korea” where, along with armored cruisers and potato starch, jeans were listed.

“The whole thing was simply to strange to not look in to,” Tor says. The friends started to contact the people behind the website and a long line of emails, fax, phone calls without any good answers followed. But they didn’t give up, and one year later, they finally boarded the 25-hours train from Beijing to Pyongyang.

“It was strange feeling,” Tor remembers, “it was amazing to finally be on the way to that country, but at the same time we asked ourselves what we were doing.”

In the evenings, Pyongyang lacked lightening and the city appeared to be deserted. But in the dark, the friends found that people were walking home, quietly talking and smoking. And over that dark, the stars seemed to shine brighter than any other place in the world. They took this impression with them, and when the biggest mining company of North Korea had agreed to work with them, they named the first chapter, 1100 pairs of Noko Jeans “Maneuvers in the Dark.”

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When Noko Jeans were launched in 2009, the world media had their eyes all focused on the project team for weeks. The jeans were also displayed on Copenhagen Fashion Week - but more in terms of a museum than a traditional collection display. With films, photos, extracts of email conversations they showed the long process from the first email to the finished. But the visitors were confused.

“People didn’t get it, since everyone else, even the coolest brands had all their cloths just on hangers,” Tor says.

Instead of the confused people on Copenhagen Fasion Week, Noko Jeans has found its own special target group. Most people who buy the jeans are North Korea experts, diplomats and other who have an interest in the country.

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Just as with Noko Jeans, Tor’s all other projects have started from his enormous curiosity. The secret behind music combined with technological factors made Tor start to play around with computer-based music tools. Together with the friend Leo Nathorst-Böös, Tor started to put together the first songs on the new years day of 2007. Without telling anyone, they namned their project Boeoes Kaelstigen and registered it under a british domain name. Press material were posted in several different African countries. At the same time as releasing their debut album Tanum Teleport last fall, Tor and Leo also released special “band socks.” And Tor found himself in a similar situation as he had been in with Noko Jeans on Copenhangen Fashion Week.

“The music industry looked at us confused and wondered what we were doing.”

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“I’ve been thinking about what’s been the common denominator in what I do, and I think it is to reach out and to make people open their eyes for interesting, fun and good things,” Tor says and adds “Internet is the absolutely most interesting place to do this.” His most recent project is exploring exactly that.

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“I was in love with the gif-animations that are circling on the web,” Tor says. But noticing that most were made out of already existing music videos and youtube clips the idea of loopcam was born - to make a simple tool to make own gif-animations that were easy to share.

Ten thousands of people have downloaded the application all over the world. After launching, Tor discovered how people started to use loopcam in a completely different way then Tor and his friends had done.

“They started to talk with each other in loops,” he says.

After leaving Seoul, Tor moved to Berlin. where he is currently experimenting on how his projects are going to look like in the future. For Noko Jeans, the most important thing is to find a good way to work, since the political situation in the country makes it hard make long-term plans.

And considering Tor’s way of looking at everything with eyes wide open of curiosity, it is hard to think long-term about him, too.

“Nothing is excluded,” he exclaims. And I believe him.

links grandinternational.se nokojeans.com boeoeskaelstigen.co.uk loopc.am

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creators

Maia

The Intel Creators Project which was recently held in Platoon Kunsthalle in Seoul is being recognized as the hottest event worldwide in creative art. Here, in this awe-inspiring international event full of creators from various countries all over the world, we met a familiar faceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own artwork producer Maia.

Editor. Anna Choi Photographer. Jun O Hwang

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Q. It’s great to see you again. I heard that you’ve been working in New York these days? How’s everything been going?

I’m currently working at VICE in New York. VICE is actually a very big media company. It originally started off as a Magazine company which has now grown into a huge media conglomerate including the music label, VICE Records and the TV network, VBS.TV. As of now, VICE is available in 34 countries, and its headquarters is based in New York. I’m working as an Artwork Producer under the company’s planning group for the “creators project”.

Q. How did you get to start working for VICE? Last year, I got recruited by VICE while I was working as a freelancer at the ‘creators project’ in Seoul. I had spent my earlier years in Nepal and graduated from a Korean University. Upon graduation, I started working independently, participating in exhibitions and even publishing a magazine called “Chill Zine” with some friends. In 2008, I received the “Fabrica Scholarship” which is funded by Benetton and went to study abroad in Italy. There I worked in a design department for one year.

After that, I had gone to Nepal and stayed there for eight months doing exhibitions and workshops. I had returned to Seoul in order to work on Chill Zine7, and at the same time the ‘creators project’ was also taking place. I had been given an opportunity to do some work at the project, and it’s been since then I’ve met VICE and started working with them.

Q. How did the creators of the ‘creators project’ come together?

The ‘creators project’ has six core members. Although the final decision is made by the creative director, the core members are the most responsible for discussing and deciding much of the project. As of now, we have started off by selecting artists from seven countries which include France, England, USA, Germany, South Korea, China, and Brazil. It has been decided that an artist from Japan will be selected to contribute in the project next year, and a plan has also been made for the selection of a South East Asian country to be represented. Russia is also rising up as a strong potential candidate to be represented in the project.

As the lists of potential candidates continue to grow, we look forward to the future participation of many more countries.

Q. What are your criteria in selecting different artists?

Our greatest selection criterion is technology. There are many who think that the incorporation of technology to art becomes too abstruse. Even worse is the fact that people aren’t interested in media art. From the beginning, this project has been created to serve as the “encountering of art and technology”, and media art has been growing ever since.

Currently we are selecting those artists who have the skill to reach out to people easily by using their work as our foundation.

Q. How was it selecting the artists that would be representing Korea?

Difficult. Korea doesn’t have a lot of media artists. As you may well know, Korea holds a difficult environment for those who want to succeed as a media artist. Among the seven countries represented, Korea has the smallest market for media art. Therefore, we only had about 5~6 people who fell under our selection criterion.

Q. The ‘creators project’ goes on a tour with a selected artist. Could you introduce the artist that was selected to go on tour this year?

We try to recruit local creators from different countries, and then, one artist is selected to represent the ‘creators project’ as an international artist. This year Davide Quagliola, a graphic designer from Italy and the maker of <Topologies>, was chosen to go on tour with us. He has reinterpreted classical imagery into abstract landscape paintings by using a software he’s created that analyzes classic pictures. His work triggers new inspiration through his abstractionism, and at the same time portrays a good balance of natural classicism as well. I definitely believe he is truly a talented and innovative creator.

Q. What is art that is grounded on technology?

It’s hard for me to believe that there is any artist out there in this day and age who does not use a bit of technology in the production of his or her work. Even those who are Fine Art artists look through the internet to find sources, listen to music, and watch movies, which are all things that can be considered as using technology. If one is able to use technology

for the purpose of improving his or her art, he or she can most definitely be considered as an artist who ‘uses’ technology. However this does not mean that ‘technology’ becomes the main aspect of an artist’s work.

Disagreements only begin when people start or fail to recognize use of technology in art.

Q. There are many among artists who really dislike the use of tech in art.

That’s true. Especially in Korea, there are many who seem to feel that way… This is a fact that never ceases to astonish us. Isn’t Korea one of the top countries for IT? Korea’s a strong country in technology. Korean artists clearly are using a variety of technology in their work, but many of them really dislike admitting such a fact. It seems that many Korean artists seem to have a very extreme approach to technology being incorporated with art. Although these artists continuously insist that ‘art is only art’, we firmly believe that technology and art can most definitely co-exist. That co-existence between technology and art is the purpose of the ‘creators project’. Although art and technology by themselves are two totally different domains, through their cooperation, the rebirth of a new masterpiece can take place.

Q. Among the many artists you met throughout your career, who has left the greatest impression on you personally?

I have to say that would be Jonathon Glazer, who’s a famous music video director. He debuted as a movie director in the film “Birth” starring Nicole Kidman. At the Coachella Music Festival this year, he produced a sculpture using a lot of lighting and acoustic techniques which became a huge hit. He’s a really hard-working person who also is known to be a great family man.

Q. How was the ‘creators project’ hosted in Korea this year? Do you believe it was a success in comparison to those held in other countries?

Yes. It definitely was a success. To my surprise, many people showed a lot of interest and came to visit the event. I was in very high spirits and had a lot of excitement throughout the event because we had received even more positive feedback than from the previous year. I’m sure that other staff members and creative artists probably felt the same way.

Q. What is next in your schedule?

I will be leaving for Beijing next. The ‘Beijing creators project’ will be opening from 9/15 to 9/18. After the event in Beijing finishes, there will be another one in New York during mid October. Since New York is the finale, it will hold the largest event. After New York I will pretty much be done with events for the remainder of the year, but I’ll most likely be busy right away preparing for next year’s program. I have a feeling that next year’s program will be tighter than this year’s.

Q. You are an artist yourself. Are you working on any projects?

I haven’t been working on any personal projects these days. Since I started working in this project team, I haven’t even had the time to think about any potential personal works. Although I do miss doing some independent work, my biggest priority right now is to think about the ‘how’, the ‘where’, and the ‘who’ in regards to the work that will be presented by those artists participating in the ‘creators project’. Even in the midst of such a busy schedule, I do really want to do some personal projects next year. The other makers of Chill Zine and I have decided to meet up to do something for the coming year.

Q. Well isn’t that good new! When can we expect to see Chill Zine again?

Besides me, the other creators of this magazine are HEOJI, who is currently in London studying architecture, and JAEWON, who is working as a designer here in Korea. Since we all are residing in locations all over the world, we need to allocate time beforehand in order to meet and discuss Chill Zine. As of now, we’re planning for the next edition to be released by June next year. The magazine’s contents will be arranged in New York, and its publication is being planned to be done in Korea.

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Q. 반갑다. 뉴욕에서 활동하고 있는 것으로 알고 있다. 어떻게 지내고 있나? 뉴욕의 VICE에서 일을 하고 있다. VICE는 굉장히 큰 미디어 컴퍼니다. 처음에 잡지로 시작한 VICE는 VICE RECORD라는 뮤직레이블, VBS.TV라는 다큐멘터리 영상 레이블 등을 구축하며 엄청나게 큰 프로젝트 컴퍼니로 확장을 했다. 현재 34 개국에 VICE가 있는데, 헤드쿼터가 뉴욕이다. 나는 그곳에서 기획한 ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’ 프로젝트에 아트워크 프로듀서로 있다.

Q. VICE에서는 어떤 계기로 일을 시작하게 되었나? 작년에 서울에서 있었던 ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’에서 프리랜서로 일을 하게 됐는데, 그 일이 나에게 너무 잘 맞아서 VICE 측에서 나를 불렀다. 나는 어린 시절을 네팔에서 보냈지만 대학은 한국에서 나왔다. 졸업 후 한국에서 개인 작업을 하며 전시도 하고, 친구들과 <칠진>이라는 잡지를 발행하기도 했다. 2008년에 BENETTON에서 후원하는 ‘Fabrica’라는 장학금 프로그램에 합격해 이태리에 갔다. 거기서 1년 동안 디자인 부서에서 일을 했다. 그 후는 다시 네팔에서 8개월 정도 지내면서, 개인작업 전시나 워크샵을 했다. 내가 다니던 고등학교에서 미술교사도 했다. 그리고는 <칠진> 7호를 만들기 위해서 다시 한국에 돌아왔는데, 그 때가 마침 서울에서 ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’를 하는 시기였다. 그 때 그 프로젝트에서 일할 기회가 있었고, 그것이 계기가 되어 지금의 일을 하고 있다.

Q. ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’의 작가들은 어떻게 모으고 있나? 크리에이터스 프로젝트의 코어 멤버는 6명이다. 코어 멤버가 직접 리서치를 하기도 하지만 리서치를 하는 파트가 따로 있다. 최종 결정권은 크리에이티브 디렉터에게 있지만, 대부분 코어 멤버가 함께 의논을 해 선택하는 경우가 많다. 현재는 프랑스, 영국, 미국, 독일, 한국, 중국, 브라질 이렇게 7개국을 기점으로 작가들을 선정하고 있다. 내년에는 일본에서도 선정하기로 결정되었고, 동남아 국가 중에서도 한 곳을 선택할 계획이다. 러시아도 유력한 후보 국가로 떠오르고 있다. 우리는 가능한 많은 국가가 함께 하기를 바라고 있다. 참여 국가는 점차 늘어날 것이다. 프로젝트의 코어 멤버가 커버하기에는 벅찬 느낌이 든다. 물론이다 그렇다. 하지만 VICE는 세계 각국에 지부를 가지고 있다. 상당히 잘 이루어진 네트워크는 이 프로젝트가 빠른 기간 내에 성장할 수 있도록 많은 도움을 주고 있다.

Q. 작가들을 선정하는 기준은 무엇인가? 우리의 가장 큰 기준점은 테크놀로지다. 하지만 아트에 있어 테크놀로지는 굉장히 난해하다고 생각하는 분들이 많다. 심지어 미디어 아트에 관심이 없는 사람도 있고. 이 프로젝트는 애초에 ‘아트와 테크놀로지의 만남’에서 기획된 것이기 때문에 이 한계를 극복해야 했다. 현재는 사람들에게 쉽게 다가갈 수 있는 작업을 선보이는 작가를 바탕으로 선정을 하고 있다. 그 중에서도 틀에서 벗어난 작가나 혹은 지금은 아니더라도 틀을 깰 수 있는 힘을 보이는 작가를 우선 생각한다.

Q. 한국 작가를 선정하는 일은 어땠나? 어려웠다. 한국에는 미디어 아티스트가 많지 않다. 아시다시피 한국은 미디어 아티스트로 활동을 하기가 어려운 환경을 가지고 있다. 7개의 국가 중 한국은 미디어 아트 시장이 제일 작은 편이다. 작가들도 대부분 한 부류에 모여 있어 선정하는데 많은 고민을 했다. 결국 우리 선정권 안에 들어온 미디어 아티스트는 5~6명 정도 밖에 없었다. 아니면 현재 대학생이나 대학을 갓 졸업한 젊은 아티스트들이 해나가야 하는데 그것도 많이 없는 것 같다. 그래서 리서치를 계속하고 있다. 아마도 내년에는 또 달라질 거라고 생각한다.

Q. 크리에이터스 프로젝트는 선정된 아티스트와 함께 투어를 한다. 이번에 함께 온 아티스트 중 소개할 사람이 있는가? 우리는 각국의 로컬 크리에이터를 모집하고, 크리에이터스 프로젝트를 대표하는 아티스트라고 할 수 있는 인터내셔널 아티스트와 함께 각국을 함께 여행한다. 이번에는 <Topologies>라는 작품을 만든 ‘Davide Quagliola’라는 이태리 작가분이 함께 오셨다. 자기가 직접 만든 소프트웨어로 고전 그림들을 수학적으로 풀어 데이터를 수집하고, 그것을 다시 추상적인 풍경화로 재해석을 했다. 굉장히 추상적이지만, 본래의 고전작품이 잘 느껴지도록 표현했다. 나는 그 아이디어가 독창적이라고 생각한다. 아웃풋도 완성도가 높다.

Q. 테크놀로지를 기반으로 하는 아트란 무엇인가, 당신들이 그것을 구분하는 경계가 궁금하다. 현대 아트에서 테크놀로지를 사용하지 않는 작가는 거의 없다. fine art를 하는 작가도 소스를 보려고 인터넷을 사용하고, 음악을 듣고, 영화를 보는 것처럼 이 모든 것들이 테크놀로지다. 때문에 어떻게 보면 그 범위가 굉장히 넓다. 중요한 점은 작가들이 테크놀로지를 하나의 수단으로 인지를 하느냐 안 하느냐에 따라서 그 경계가 달라진 다는 점이다. 예를 들어 우리는 ‘나는 테크놀로지로 인해서 이런 작업을 해낼 수 있어.’ 라고 생각하고, 테크놀로지를 통해서 작업을 승화시킬 수 있는 사람이라면 충분히 테크놀로지를 이용하는 아티스트라고 구분한다. 그러나 작업에서 반드시 테크놀로지가 주가 될 필요는 없다. 다시 한 번 말하지만 경계의 시작은 단지 테크놀로지의 역할을 인지하느냐 안 하느냐다.

Q. 작가들 중에서 테크놀로지를 이용하는 것을 싫어하는 사람이 많은 것 같다. 그렇다. 특히 한국에서는 더 많은 것 같다. 우리는 이 사실을 매우 흥미롭게 생각한다. 한국은 세계적 IT강국이 아닌가. 한국은 테크놀로지에 강하다. 한국의 작가들은 어떤 방식이든 분명히 테크놀로지를 사용하고 있는데, 본인은 그것이 싫다고 말하는 이들을 많이 보았다. 우리는 테크놀로지가 예술에 있어 극단적인 수단이라 생각하지 않는다. 그러나 많은 한국 작가들이 테크놀로지를 극단적으로 받아들이는 것 같다. 많은 작가들이 ‘예술은 예술일 뿐’이라고 주장하지만 우리는 테크놀로지는 아트와 분명히 공존하고 있다고 생각한다. 테크놀로지와 아트의 공존은 ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’의 취지다. 아트와 테크놀로지는 분명 다른 영역이지만, 이 둘의 만남에서 재탄생 하는 예술도 있다.

Q. 그 동안 직접 만났던 아티스트들을 중에 개인적으로 인상 깊었던 아티스트가 있다면?

‘Jonathan Glazer’라는 뮤직비디오 감독. ‘Nicole Kidman’이 주연한 ‘Birth’라는 영화로 처음 데뷔한 영화감독이다. 올해 초에 ‘Coachella Music Festival’ 에서 엄청 큰 음향과 빛을 이용한 조형작품을 만들어 화제가 되었다. 그 때 그걸 직접 보고 정말 멋있다고 생각했다. 그는 작업 활동도 열심히 하면서 가족이나 개인적인 일에도 매우 훌륭히 해내고 있다고 알려져 있다. 나는 그분이 멋지다고 생각한다.

Q. 이번 한국에서 개최한 크리에이터스 프로젝트는 어땠나? 다른 나라에 비해 성공적이었나? 그렇다. 성공적이었다. 생각보다 많은 사람들이 관심을 갖고 찾아주었다. 작년에 비해 너무나 반응이 좋아 행사 내내 흥분되고 들뜬 마음이었다. 아마 다른 스태프와 초청작가들도 같은 마음이었을 것이다.

Q. 다음 계획은 무엇인가? 바로 베이징으로 간다. 9/15 ~ 9/18까지 ‘베이징 크리에이터스 프로젝트’ 이벤트가 열린다. 베이징에서 이벤트가 끝나면 10월에 뉴욕 이벤트가 있다. 뉴욕이 피날레이기 때문에 제일 규모가 크다. 그 행사를 끝으로 올해는 마무리를 하지만 곧바로 내년 프로그램을 준비해야 한다. 아마 내년 프로그램은 더 타이트할 것이다.

Q. 본인도 아티스트다. 개인 작업도 진행하고 있나? 요즘은 개인작업을 하나도 못하고 있다. 이 프로젝트 팀에 참여하게 되면서 개인 작업을 생각할 겨를이 아예 없다. 개인작업이 그립긴 하지만 일단은 ‘크리에이터스 프로젝트’에 참여하는 작가의 전시를 어디서 어떻게 잘 할 수 있을까, 누구의 어떤 작업을 전시해야 할까, 이런 것들에만 신경을 쓰고 있다. 그래도 내년쯤에는 개인작업을 하고 싶다. <칠진>도 다시 멤버들이 모여 작업을 하기로 했다.

Q. 듣던 중 반가운 소식이다. <칠진>은 또 언제 만날 수 있나? 나 외의 다른 멤버인 HEOJI는 지금 런던에서 건축공부를 하고 있고, JAEWON 은 한국에서 디자인 일을 하고 있다. 멤버가 각각 다른 나라에서 일을 하고 있는 관계로 칠진을 만들기 위해서는 따로 시간을 정하고 미리 계획을 해야지만 가능한 상황이다. 일단 다음 호는 내년 6월 정도로 생각하고 있다. 뉴욕에 모여 콘텐츠를 수집 하고 정리해 발행은 한국에서 할 계획이다.

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1. Please introduce yourself.

2. What is the main source of your pattern artwork?

3. What does a ‘pattern’ mean to you? And why do you think it is attractive?

4. What is your working pattern like?

5. Do you have any repetitive lifestyle patterns or personal habits?

Fantasista Utamaro / Artist & Illustrator / Japan

Dan Funderburgh / Artist & Wall paper designer / U.S.

1.

Born in 1979, I am one of the new generation entrepreneurial young Japanese artists defying boundaries with their wide ranging activities. Eager to embrace any and all forms of visual expression, I work as a Manga (cartoon) Artist, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Textile Designer, and Animation Director, bringing my ultra pop and technicolor sensibilities to each one with an explosive and fun energy unmistakably my own.

1.

I am a Seattle born, Brooklyn-based artist and wall paper designer. I do wall papers, installations, prints and sculpture. The wall papers I design are screen printed in Brooklyn by a company called FlavorPaper. I play soccer and hang out with my son Sebastian. I’m inspired by the Metropolitan Museum, old book covers, Ernst Haeckel, William Morris, Tin Tin, Ryan Mcginness, David Foster Wallace, Afghani war rugs, espresso, basket weaving, bicycles and many, many more things.

2.

One of the strong sources is the image of Japan. I love Japan’s sub-culture. I also got inspired by Japanese cartoons because I grew up reading them. They are my source of inspiration and imagination. Nature also inspires me. Plants and animals evolved naturally and they are completed artwork themselves, with no artificial addition. I feel like my creativity is also evolving with nature.

3.

Patterns are beautiful because they are like the sky. The sky is endless and we don’t know where it ends. My patterns have strong images of illustration. Just by connecting the images, they become limitless, endless patterns. They keep going beyond our imagination.

I think that these patterns are just like our lives and imagination. We, humans, are beings with limitations, but there is an invisible world beyond our limitations. If we use patterns for clothes and wall papers, we can see them only in the given shapes and spaces. However, the images and patterns can go beyond our imagination. I call it ‘MULTIPLICATION.’ Patterns nurture my creativity and imagination. This is why I like working on creating patterns.

4.

I use my personal experience to create new patterns. For instance, I think of a person I’m interested in. Then, I think of her image and come up with items that go well with her such as soft ice cream, cats, and accessories. During this process, I try to be honest with myself and express my feelings freely. In the process, I connect the images together using my imagination to create a new pattern. For example, I want to say something about a person → sadness or happiness → keeps drawing balloons → what do the balloons say? → sadness → why sad? → a strong earthquake hit Fukushima and people in Japan are very sad → I’m also very sad → I draw these images. Like this, I create new patterns using my personal, honest thoughts and feelings.

5.

The Internet SNS has become a part of my daily life pattern. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I check my SNS and I check it again after each meal to see what is happening in the world. Listening to music is also my habit. In fact, I cannot live without it. I listen to different genres of music, depending on the weather, season, and activities. www.fantasistautamaro.com

2.

I try to not rely on the same source or ideas in order to challenge myself and keep things interesting, though almost everything I do references historical ornament in some way. Books of old wall paper and classical architecture, medieval tapestries and textile prints are constantly helping me out. The other content I incorporate into the ornament depends on the concept of the piece, but often involves contemporary utilitarian objects. Things like telephones and sinks. Everyday objects that aren’t necessarily thought of as design objects, even if they have a distinct and interesting silhouette.

3.

Pattern is an incredibly basic principal that provides a structure to a lot of my work. I try to not be restricted by the repetition and play with the idea of breaking up patterns in unexpected ways. I couldn’t say with any authority what about it exactly make it so attractive to people, but it’s definitely universal - maybe something about a hardwired desire to create art and order in our environment. I love the diversity, how every tribe and culture creates a unique pattern - and how they look when combined. Amish quilts next to Aboriginal painting next to rococo gold filigree. Very different aesthetically, but all born out of the same instinct.

4.

My process varies depending on whether it’s a commission or personal project, but essentially is two steps. 1. Think of an idea; for non-commissioned work this can take a really long time. Good ideas are rare and beautiful.

They need to be fostered and maintained before they’re harvested. 2. Draw on the computer. Because it’s hard for me to tell if a design will work or not sometimes I create finished patterns that I have to discard because I don’t like the final results. It’s frustrating, because it can take several days of crafting little details to properly make a wallpaper, but a pencil sketch isn’t a good gauge of whether a pattern is good or not.

5.

I started playing soccer with the Chinatown Soccer Club in 2008. It’s a smallish group of creative types that play regular pickup games two or three times a week. These games are an essential part of my routine. It reminds me to get out of the house and studio and talk to people. Plus I’d probably be obese if I didn’t move around occasionally. The soccer club is also commissioned me to create toile wallpaper for the club during Euro cup 2008 in Austria. It’s a fantastic thing when you interest and passions overlap so perfectly. danfunderburgh.com

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Nate Williams / Illustarator / South America

275c / Artist of pattern, collage / Korea

1.

I am an illustrator with a love for hand lettering. I am from the Western United States, but currently live in South America. I have an interest in illustration, inventions, web technology and learning about new things. I am inspired by nature’s inventions, unique ideas, foreign cultures and the questions children ask. I think the keys to creativity are curiosity, inspiration, play and discovery.

1.

I’m 275c (ichiro.c)who loves collage and pattern artwork. I work for popular fashion brands such as BENETTON, CK, DIESEL, kai-aakmann, LAP, PPPunk, PUMA, and UNIQLO. I also work on collage and pattern artwork with various fashion magazines including allure, ARENA, Bling, Elle GIRL, Maps, NYLON, and W. Personally, I have my own brand called ‘PPPunk’ and hold pattern artwork exhibitions as well as publishing.

2.

I create all types of patterns. Most of my patterns are created from a mix of india ink, markers and computers. I like things that are loose and spontaneous.

I like things that are living and dynamic. I am not looking for perfection. I value curiosity which often leads to discovery.

3.

I like making patterns because it’s like seeing music. If you just hear one music note, it doesn’t say much, but if you repeat it in a sequence it can be much more beautiful.

4.

I often brainstorm around a specific subject matter. I like to incorporate words and images and I like to explore the subconscious by just using whatever comes to mind. I create most of my patterns to be silk screened with limited color palettes. I like to use colors that often don’t match well. I especially like the tension and the vibration. I like mixing letters with images.

5.

I think one of the things I have done since a child is put myself in new environments so the most mundane things become interesting again. I love how children are so imaginative and curious and I think we lose these abilities as we grow up because we become too familiar with our environment.

One way to achieve this “children’s state of mind” again is to put yourself in environments you are not familiar with so you are hypertensive to it. It can be as simple as going to a grocery store from another culture or as extreme as living in another country. www.n8w.com www.illustrationmundo.com www.letterplayground.com www.proconist.com

2.

I literally use everything I see in my daily life for my work - from nature, human body to figures and diagrams. Sometimes, I also imagine whole new patterns that are not visible in real life. In other words, I use improvised images that I like for my pattern artwork.

3.

To me, patterns are attractive because they can be used in so many different ways. You see, patterns can be used in many objects with different sizes and structures. For example, we can use patterns for clothes, furniture, and even wall papers.

4.

Well, my pattern work starts with collage images. Since I have never received formal education on pattern work, I just work with the basic knowledge. First, I sketch patterns and scan them. Then, I create new patterns using photo shop or illustrator program. I don’t have any set processes and I just work freely as I feel and think.

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I have a habit of buying the same items and display them like a pattern. I even collect the same items. When I visited Thailand, my hotel provided a free bottle of water called ‘CHANG’ every day. I really liked the water bottle so I didn’t drink the water and collected 10 bottles for my friends. The bottles were pretty heavy and my trunk weighed 50 kilograms! www.275cm.com www.pppunk.com www.yoyozine

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I grew up in the forest. But that forest has no name, it is not even a single defined place.

It’s all rather a collection of colours, sounds, details, movements and feelings.

Dark blue was the colour of the window frames of the first house I called home.

The village that surrounded it was stretched out to the extent that you didn’t really bump into your neighbors, unless you directly went to their house. Next to our house, there was a field where the dew were hanging in the grass in the summer mornings and provided a perfect white blanket for Nordic skiing in the winter.

Beyond that field was the forest. In that forest, I followed the paths of the roe dears, slept in the hollows that their warm sleeping bodies had created in the grass, and followed the line of the treetops playing with the shape of the clouds with my eyes.

When I couldn’t go to the forest, I spent most of my time in a tree. It was a white heart cherry tree and the berries were dark red, almost black. The bark of the tree just as dark red, like blood when it’s almost dry. In the summer, I would hide behind the trees green shied, and in the winter, when the branches were naked, I would just sit and watch far over the field into that forest.

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My grandparents used to say that me and my two sisters looked wild. When they came to visits, my mum would go to the end of the yard, put her thumb and index finger to her lips for a strong wolf whistle. That sound reached through everything.

We could be at the end of the forest and still hear it. And when we heard it, we ran.

With long untidy hair and parts of pine trees stuck in our cloths we would arrive back to the house.

The house, the forest and the cherry tree were not the only places of my childhood.

I often find myself saying “I grew up there,” when talking about places, or find myself at home in a place I never been. As long as I can remember, I’ve spent every weekend, every holiday and vacation moving. Our caravan took us through whole Europe, on roads just open after the taken Berlin Wall, to villages where we were the first foreigners ever, to places that felt like they were secret to anyone else than us. And we revisited many places. The winters we spent skiing in a small village where I got to know every tree, every turn, and every bump. In the summers, we went to a place where the sea met the sky.

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Still, there is something, that goes through everything. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the intensity of the colours, even when everything seems gray, the clearness of the sounds, like if they were separated and refined and the way that my mind comprehends details from every single moment. When all this are in place, something clicks inside of me.

My way of thinking, acting and being just starts flowing.

When I was in second grade, the local school in our village closed. I started taking bus to closes town every morning. I was suddenly in a surrounding full of concepts and categories, where you had to belong somewhere to make sense. I tried, I tried hard, but no matter what I did, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong. The whole core of me was about something else then belonging, concepts and categories. I was not from that town, I was from nowhere. The colours, the sounds, details and movements that made me feel home had no name, no concept or category.

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As soon as I graduated high school, I packed and left. I didn’t run away, I didn’t look for something else. I returned the life I’d lived before I met belonging, concepts and categories. I returned home.

I lived in many places. I met many people. I’ve done many things. I’ve often felt lost, I’ve often found myself alienated in front of that thing with belonging, concept and categories that I just cannot do. But I’ve also found home, over and over again. Sometimes it’s been a place, like when I first stepped out of the airplane in Hiroshima, Japan, three years ago, and fell that everything fell into place. But mostly, it’s been in situations, in movement, in moments especially in music and on stage.

I’ve found that everything I do, are attempts to create, recreate or picture that state of mind I learned in the forests as a child. And meanwhile, I’ve found my parents and sisters doing the same. They all have found new houses, in places where I feel that immediate intensity of the colours, the clearness of the sounds and my mind’s way of comprehending details from every single moment. I’m addicted to those places they’ve found.

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In a radio interview I did the other day, the presenter asked me why I have a need to go to those places where my family now live. And it’s not home sickness, it’s something else. After about three weeks in those places, that wilderness from the forest and the movement I grew up in comes back, but it comes with a tranquil feeling. Colours and sounds starts popping up in my mind, clear, easy to grab.

It’s like my mind has been set in another mode, its own mode, that mode that was there before I met belonging – the mode of comprehending details in every single moment. It’s being home, home in nowhere.

Writer and Photographer. IDA Grändås-Rhee

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Travelro jelly-fish-burn horizon-lights azure-blue samnamul honghappap statues cuttlefish-boat 11am-makoelli night-divers

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surface shooting-stars tour-group-herds pointing-rocks bamboo-beat dokdo-love night-tunnels strangers-in-the-night Travelro roller-coaster-drive

cliff-jump feet-eating-fish Ulleougdo sea-breeze head-to-stomach mix-coffee 2-for-1 Travelro collected-sounds radom-trot-dance Travelro

travelro.co.kr

2011-09-23

4:22:28

c

flefashioon llabor at a Ev pho mad ion an to x on na Ve mo Good nu del x fe sR llo 3d w iffe o b ga ren e the t c rts red rea on t tog ors e a the

r r! e

Night Path fleamadonna got lost on her way to the Halloween party.

Editor. Jean Choi Photographer. Evan Goodfellow Model. Venus Robertson Make-up artist. Beauty Song Design by Fleamadonna 68

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The fashion pictorial of Eloquence October issue is with fleamadonna. Launched in March, 2007, the domestic fashion brand gained huge popularity instantly among young fashion leaders and celebrities for its unique design concept and details. So far, fleamadonna introduced unique and strong design, based on black and white.

However, for 2011 F/W collection, it added pastel colors to introduce sweet and characteristic clothing line.

Eloquence sat down with Jei Kim, a designer fleamadonna, to learn more about the brand.

JEI KIM Brand Director & Designer at Fleamadonna Q. Your brand name is very interesting. What does it mean? ‘fleamadonna’ is from ‘prima-donna’ which means ‘DIVA.’ It is a domestic brand and our design concept is vitality and creativeness of women who are in their twenties.

Q. I heard that you are inspired by female musicians. Who inspires you the most and why?

As a matter of fact, I got inspired by different musicians every season. Both Korean and foreign musicians inspire me and their music videos and songs usually give me new ideas. For 2011 F/W season, I got inspired by Katy Perry’s music video when choosing colors and Nicky MinaJ’s powerful, funky music gave me ideas about the details.

Q. What do you consider the most when making clothes?

Uniqueness. I always think about fleamadonna’s unique design, details, and texture. If you can see the same items in many other brands, they are not unique or special.

Q. 2011 F/W collection’s ‘Bunny Strikes Back’ is very lovely. Why did you choose bunny for this season?

The year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. So I chose bunny to combine loveliness and fleamadonna’s uniqueness.

This season’s main colors are pastel colors (pale pink, light green, light blue) and black and white. In terms of details, we used very long sleeves and big-size or petite-size volumes. Also, we added funkiness by matching soft wool to our leather items, which are steady sellers every year. We are developing different original print for each collection. This time, we used cute bunny and gem stones.

Q. What is the concept of next season?

We are trying to keep our main concept while using different details every season. We haven’t decided yet about the next season’s concept. But as a female brand, we will come up with a theme that can maximize women’s attractiveness and loveliness.

Q. What is your favorite item from this season’s collection?

Personally, I like the light blue rider coat the most. Light blue is this season’s point color. This coat is comprised of duplex cashmere wool and we added lovely details, so it makes you stylish instantly without adding other items. www.fleamadonna.com

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collection

HELLO, THIS IS ME Unified group name cards with the same logo but different names say ‘I am working here.’ The creators’ personal name cards, however, say ‘This is who I am.’ Their names cards make a artwork by itself. ELOQUENCE collected their ‘first impression.’

Editor. Anna Choi

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1. Yuki Fukui / Otaku Photographer My business card looks like a driver’s license. It is designed to appeal to girls; “Isn’t this Fukusuke (a male character) looks like me?”

2. Na Hyun Koo / Illutrator / www.k-oo.net These are the caricatures of my favorite designers and artists. From the left: Bruno Munari, Vincent van Gogh, Herbert F Lubalin, Paul Rand.

3. Keiko Aoki / Illustrator & Designer / www.redhot-studio.com Since my business card was designed to show my identity as an artist, I explain people about the illustration when I give it to them.

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4. Jihyun Ko / Amazine CEO / www.amazine.co.kr It shows an image of entangled thread. It represent encounters and relationships between people.

5. Dylan Ryu / Artist / www.dylanryu.com I put my business card inside a small envelope because I wanted to deliver excitement to people when they open it.

6. Kai Nagoya / design event organizer / www.nakameguro-solfa.com In order to spend cool summer, the business card used the image of water or bubble 7. Emor / Illustraotr / blog.naver.com/emor I like to draw pictures without coherency. If you take a closer look at it, the characters who are carrying a signpost saying â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;emorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are drawn using different techniques.

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8. MiRae Shin / Illustrator / blog.naver.com/artist_smr I think a business card is another form of art for artists.

9. Justin Huh / Creative director / www.opencreative.co.kr This is the picture of a vintage opener. It is a pleasure to see people’s reactions to the opener.

10. Syuichi Takei / Mama of bar / pksp.jp/out-goes-on Putting my name card into a customer’s chest pocket is like saying that “Please come to my bar again, will you?”

11. NEKONOKO/ Artist / www.nekonoko.info I love unique, creative, and interesting business cards. The theme of my business card is ‘Alice in Wonderland.’

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12. SUN RAT / Tattooist / blog.naver.com/sunrat Please call me if you are interested in old school tattoo.

13. Riyo Yamada / Textile artist / www.riyosartroom.com This title is “My favorite”. I draw my favorite stuffs and feeling of happiness when I imagine them.

14. Shojono Tomo / artist / www.shojonotomo.com One of the pictures from ‘A HEAVY METAL SUIRCUS’ series. The girl is a witch who flies the sky with her hair.

15. Numi Midori / llustrator and tattoist / www.missnumi.net I made two types of name card. One is “Mr. Octopus” and the other is “Miss Spider.” They are in love. I give the octopus to females, and the spider to males.

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drawing

Nakwon-dong, Seoul Nakwon-dong is a village with chaotic beauty. As the scenery of the old city fades away with time, it gets mixed together with the modern city.

The scenery of the village is probably the most representative image of Seoul.

Illustrator. Sngoog Choi Photographer. Jun O Hwang

Masan Steamed Angler Steamed Angler was born in Masan. The owner of Nakwon Steamed Angler, who is also called Mrs. Masan, moved to Seoul from Masan 40 years ago and opened this restaurant. She started cooking Masan Steamed Angler in her small restaurant and it gained huge popularity across Seoul. Now, Steamed Angler is loved by so many people and there are two versions of Steamed Angler: Seoul version and Masan version.

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Sun-il Rice Cake The rice cake alley in Kakwon-dong has a long history. It has been around since the Chosun Dynasty. For this reason, there are many old rice cake shops in this alley, which are more than 100 years old. These shops still make rice cakes every morning, using traditional methods. Some say that the number of rice cake lovers is gradually decreasing. However, the rice cake shops in Nakwondong are still thriving.

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Nakwon Hardware House There is an old hardware house on a back street in Nakwon-dong.

Various tools and materials to fix traditional Korean-style houses are piled up inside the hardware house. The owner of the shop, who is as old as the alley, are fixing all of the traditional Koreanstyle houses in Nakwon-dong. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the number of traditional Korean houses decrease, the number of items in my shop will decrease as well,â&#x20AC;? he said.

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Tapgol Park There are restaurants that offer cheap menus are standing in a continuous row in this alley. This is because the alley is a hideaway for lonely, poor seniors. Here, you can easily encounter with hundreds of thousands of them. They usually spend time talking with each other by twos and threes. The alley looks like a huge, spontaneously-created hall for the aged.

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creators

Call Me Tiger

An R-rated drama and comedy sitcom. It’s as if I’m standing on a sharp edged knife; that’s the kind of feeling I get while watching Se-in Kim’s filmography.

I used an interview as an excuse to unravel the women behind the actress and discovered more than I expected: not a woman but a tiger.

Editor. Jean Choi Photographer. Suk Jun Kim Hair & Make-up Artist. Ji Hye Kim Co-operation. www.riettayoun.com / www.joojiral.com

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Q. This is your first magazine interview, right?

Yes. I’ve done a pictorial before, but this interview’s a first for me.

Q. It seems like you really get immersed into the character you’re playing when you act.

Yea, I get really ambitious about acting. Whenever I get a role to play a certain character, I always seem to get myself really absorbed into that character. Once I had to play the role of a person with an ear infection, and I actually ended up going to the hospital because of an ear infection.

If I have a scene where the character’s stomach is supposed to hurt, my stomach really starts to hurt too. It’s weird, but whatever role I get to play, the character’s various situations and encounters seem to take place in real life for me.

Q. Currently you’re playing the role of a loving yet childish wife in the cable sitcom, “Oh My God.” What are you usually like in real life?

Usually I have a bright personality. But I don’t like being in noisy areas, so I like to stay home and read a book or go for a walk with my dogs. My usual brightness is probably being extremely exaggerated in the sitcom.

Q. I’ve seen a couple of episodes of the sitcom and noticed you have a lot of unique facial expressions.

Yes. I’ve given up trying to look pretty for the camera. I guess it’s cause I’ve realized that looking pretty on screen isn’t everything. I like taking on a challenge and devoting myself to the task I’ve been given. If I only want to show a pretty image of myself to my audience, I should change my career and become a model.

Q. Among your various works, in films where you were casted as the leading actress, you played roles that required a lot of nudity or sexual scenes. Did you purposely decide to take on these roles?

No, that wasn’t on purpose. The roles I have now, the roles I want to be playing in the future and the things I want to show to my audience are all goals that actors and actresses need to go through and overcome. The roles you’ve just mentioned were simply the biggest roles given to me at that point in my life. I worked hard and gave it my all, because I greatly desired to produce good acting and become a great actress.

Q. Do have any regrets in playing those kinds of roles in the past?

I used to have regrets before. But I’ve come to realize that those experiences are only one portion of who I am, and they have shaped me to become that actress that I am now. I think that through these experiences, I’ve also learned to love myself more. Now, I don’t have any regret about playing those kinds of roles in the past.

Q. So what kind of character would you like to play now?

I want a character named ‘Eunha’ from the Korean movie <You’re My Sunshine!>. To be honest, I would like to play all the different types of characters that I have yet to play. Really, there’s too many to count. I really want to try out some dark personalities. Devastatingly heartrending or mellow roles would be fun to do too. I want to act as much as I can without having any regrets. My wish is to die while I’m acting on the set. That would mean the love that I have for my job had been genuine and never-ending.

Q. You played a leading role in the film <Chung A>, which was awarded as the best picture in the Boston International Film Festival. Upon winning, you humbly said that, “even [winning] once in a lifetime is enough.” Do you really have no more desire for awards?

Haha. Don’t get me wrong. I like awards, and it’d be awesome if I receive more in future. For now, I’m just grateful that I am an actress and that I’m able to act. It’s even better that there are people who enjoy watching my acting. It’s awesome that I can continue to do what I do, and that’s why I had said that I’m satisfied with even one award. That doesn’t mean I don’t want more awards in the future. I hope that I could be recognized as I continue to mature as an actress.

Q. What do you do on your days off when you’re not filming?

When I’m free I like to listen to music, go out with my dogs, do some cross-stitching, and maybe do an oil painting. I like painting landscapes and my cross-stitching are mostly landscapes too. My older brother graduated from an art school, so he used to help me with my art homework a lot when I was younger. I ended up learning a lot from him.

Q. What color do you use the most when you’re drawing a picture?

I like to use white. I think the color white matches me the best. I also like sunset colors. I get enchanted when I see the sky turn pink as the sun goes down.

Q. Is that why you came dressed like that today? (Dressed in a long white skirt with a baby-pink top) Wow, I haven’t even noticed that till now.

Q. I’ve read on a blog somewhere which stated you now seem to be moving forward in your career.

I read about that too, and I’m really grateful about it. It makes me really glad that viewers are watching and enjoying the things that I do. Of course it’d be great if everyone could end up loving me and the things that I do, but I also realized that striving to be loved by many also creates that much more pain.

Q. What do you then do to make yourself feel better when you’re feeling hurt?

I have two dogs, and they actually give me a lot of comfort when I’m feeling down. I feel like they do a lot more for me than what I do for them.

I love people and I love animals. But I think I probably love animals a bit more. Bears, lions, tigers… If it was only possible, I would love to take care of each one. Bears are cute. Tigers are cute, too.

Q. You know, on the outside you seem like coy fox-like actress, but on the inside you have a kind of deep charisma… almost like a tiger.

You should see me when I get mad. THAT’S when I really turn into a tiger.

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Q. 잡지 인터뷰는 처음 이시죠? 세인씨 자료가 많이 없더라구요. 네. 예전에 화보는 한 번 찍어봤는데 인터뷰는 처음이에요.

Q. 사진 촬영 하는 모습을 보니 맡은 캐릭터에도 몰입을 잘 하시는 것 같아요. 연기 욕심이 굉장히 커요. 어떤 역할을 맡으면 극 안의 캐릭터에 굉장히 몰입하는 편이에요. 예전에 극 안에서 중이염이 걸린 역할을 한 적이 있었는데 실제로 중이염에 걸려서 병원에 다녔어요. 배가 아픈 신이 있으면 정말 배가 아프고. 신기하게도 어떤 역할을 맡으면 그 역에 처한 상황이 그대로 일어나더라구요. ‘제가 이렇게 대단한 사람이에요’라고 말하는 건 아니에요. 전 그냥 자기최면에 잘 빠지는 것 같아요.

Q. 최근 방영된 케이블 시트콤 <오마이갓>에서는 사랑스러우면서 철없는 아내 역할이었잖아요. 평소 성격은 어때요? 기본 성격은 밝은데 시끄러운걸 싫어해서 집에서 책보고 강아지들이랑 산책하는걸 좋아해요. 시트콤에서는 저의 밝은 모습을 조금 과장되게 표현하죠.

Q. 에피소드 몇 편 봤는데 표정이 참 다양하다고 느꼈어요. 예쁘게 보이는 건 포기했어요. 예쁜 것만이 다가 아니라는 생각이 들었죠. 연기자니까 연기를 잘 하는 것이 중요하지 내가 어떤 옷을 입고 어떤 헤어스타일을 하는 것은 2차적인 문제인 것 같아요. 저는 새롭게 도전하는 것이랑 주어진 역할에 충실하는게 좋아요. 항상 예쁜 것만 보여주고 싶으면 모델을 해야죠. 카메라 앞에서는 주어진 역할을 살리고 제작자와 시청자 모두 기대하는 만큼은 보여 줄 수 있어야 한다고 생각해요.

Q. 세인씨가 지금까지 참여한 작품이 많은데요, 그 중 주연을 맡은 작품들은 노출이 있는 야한 캐릭터들이 대부분이에요. <동상이몽>이나 <메디컬 기방 영화관>, 이번에 영화로 나온 <청아>도 그렇구요. 이런 캐릭터들을 일부러 노리고 맡으신 건가요? 한 번 등장하면 검색어로도 나오고 어느 정도 이슈가 되잖아요. 계획된 건 아니에요. 지금 내가 맡은 것, 내가 하고 싶은 것, 내가 보여주고 싶은 것은 어떻게든 해내고 싶은 것이 연기자의 욕심이잖아요. 말씀하신 역할들은 그 순간 제게 주어진 가장 큰 역할들이었고 최선을 다해 열심히 연기했을 뿐이에요. 그런데 오해를 많이 하세요. 베드신이 있는 영화를 찍었으니 저 친구는 자기 몸을 보여주고 노출을 해도 괜찮을 것이다라는 가정 하에 너무 편안하게 요구를 하면 저도 인간인지라 속상해요. 쉽게 그럴 것 같다고 보여지는 것 들이 안타깝죠. ‘저는 안그래요’라고 말하고 다니는 것도 아닌 것 같고 그냥 연기로 멋지게 보여주고 싶은 욕심이 있어요.

Q. 그런 캐릭터를 맡아 연기한 것에 대해 후회한 적은 있나요? 예전에는 있었어요. 하지만 이 또한 나의 일부이고 이 역할들을 통해 지금 제가 서 있다는 것을 알았죠. 제 스스로를 사랑하는 법을 알게 된 것 같아요. 지금은 전혀 후회하지 않아요.

Q. 그럼 이제 어떤 캐릭터를 연기하고 싶은가요? <너는 내 운명>에서 전도연 선배님이 한 ‘은하’역할이 진짜 완전 멋졌고

보는 내내 욕심이 났어요. 그리고 어두운 역을 많이 해보고 싶어요. 완전 가슴 아리고 슬픈 멜로 연기도. 아직 도전해보지 않은 모든 캐릭터라고 하면 빠를 것 같네요. 욕심이 정말 많아요. 진짜 정말 많아요. 연기는 정말 후회 없이 하고 싶어요. 촬영장에서 일하다가 죽는 것이 소원이에요. 그러려면 내 일을 사랑하는 마음이 변하지 않아야겠죠.

Q. 여주인공으로 활약한 영화 <청아>가 보스턴 국제 영화제에서 최우수 작품상을 받았어요. ‘인생에 한 번이면 족하다’라고 겸손하게 수상소감을 말씀하셨거든요. 상 욕심 없으세요? 하하~ 상 좋아해요. 앞으로 많이 받아야죠. 일단 배우여서 행복하고 연기를 할 수 있어서 행복하고 그걸 봐주고 원하는 사람이 있어서 행복해요. 이렇게 오랜 시간 연기를 할 수 있게 만들어준 모든 상황이 행복하고 그래서 지금 한 번으로 족하다는 뜻이었어요. 절대 욕심이 없다는 건 아니에요. 이건 본심이에요. 제가 커 가는 만큼 큰 상을 받고 싶어요.

Q. 세인씨는 촬영이 없는 날에는 어떻게 시간을 보내나요? 음악 듣고, 강아지랑 동네 산책도 하고, 십자수도 뜨고, 유화도 그려요. 풍경화 그리는걸 좋아해요. 십자수도 풍경화를 그려요. 나이 차이가 꽤 있는 큰오빠가 미대를 나와서 어렸을 때 미술 숙제 같이 하고 놀면서 배웠어요.

Q. 그림을 그릴 땐 어떤 색을 많이 사용하는 편이에요? 전 흰색을 많이 써요. 저와 잘 맞는 색은 흰색인 것 같아요. 이건 좀 다르지만 노을 색도 좋아해요. 핑크색이 되는 노을 하늘을 보고 있으면 황홀해져요.

Q. 그래서 오늘 그렇게 입고 왔어요? (이날 촬영장에 흰색 롱스커트에 베이비핑크 슬리브를 입고 왔다) 아하하. 그러네요. 생각지도 못하고 있었어요.

Q. 탁한 화이트가 비슷한 것 같다고 말씀하시지만 이렇게 사랑스러운 화이트도 잘 어울리는 것 같아요. 어느 블로그에서 세인씨가 이제 상승세를 타고 있는 것 같다는 글을 봤어요. 저도 봤어요. 정말 감사했죠. 그 누구보다도 저를 봐주시는 시청자들이 사랑해주는 게 정말 큰 기쁨이죠. 오늘 촬영도 그랬어요. 이렇게 사랑을 받아본다는 느낌을 받아본 게 굉장히 오랜만인 것 같아요. 사실 조금 울 뻔 했어요.

Q. 상처를 받을 땐 어떻게 해요? 강아지가 두 마리 있어요 이 아이들에게 위로를 많이 받아요. 제가 해주는 것 보다 그 아이들이 저에게 해주는 더 크죠. 제가 동물을 정말 좋아하거든요. 사람도 좋지만 동물이 더 좋아요. 곰, 사자, 호랑이! 키울 수 있다면 곰과 호랑이 하나씩 키우고 싶어요. 곰은 귀엽고, 호랑이도 귀여워요 Q. 세인씨는 겉보기에 새침한 여우 같은데 속은 깊고 카리스마 있는 호랑이 같아요. 가볍지 않고, 어느 정도 무게도 있고. 저 이러다 화내면 엄청나거든요. 그럴 땐 정말 호랑이 같대요.

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creators

CTRL ALT SPACE

The gallery is evolving. Shadowy lights and soft classic music have been replaced with bright neon signs and new media jazz music to decorate the galleries of modern artists these days. Which once was a people tiptoed around so that others wouldn’t be disturbed, has now become a residential gallery where the artist can continuously produce new artworks at any given time of the day. At the 1st floor coffee shop, one can usually find visitors enjoying an Americano and chatting with the modern artist about his works. A creative space, art Space, alternative Space, etc, are all different names of modern art galleries today. These ‘spaces’ are becoming the center of attention not only in Korea but also in other countries all over Asia as each country has something unique to offer to art lovers all over the world.

Editor. Jean Choi

Ruangrupa in Indonesia

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WTF gallery in Thailand

Vitamin Creative Space in China

Tokyo Wonder Site in Japan

Vitamin Creative Space in China

Vitamin Creative Space in China

Zero Station in Vietnam

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Thailand: WTF Gallery

Once you visit this ‘alternative space’ in Thailand, you won’t be able to forget it because of its special name.

The Wonderful Thai Friendship Gallery, or better known as the WTF Gallery, opened its doors in 2010 and is managed by 13 local artists while exhibiting the works of a variety of local and foreign artists.

“I used to complain a lot about Thailand’s lack of economic support for artistic growth. My husband and I decided to open this gallery so that people could have an easier access to art.” How was it that this gallery, which had been started by Director Somrak Sila and her husband and financed by two friends, continued to carry on as it does right now? “We opened a cafe on the first floor, which actually turns into a stylish lounge where people can enjoy cocktails in the evening. I believe this kind of system is the best in running a profitable gallery. After our gallery and cafe opened last year, a bunch of similarly modeled galleries have also opened in Bangkok. I’m glad because these kind of developments help to fuel the art scene in Bangkok and give artists an environment to be more creative and productive.”

The owners of WTF Gallery have also opened a large “multi-cultural space” across the street called “Opposite”. This newly opened area will focus on following new trends through music, movies, performances, food, and alcohol.

If you ever visit these two spaces, I highly recommend you to look up towards the sky. There, between both buildings, you’ll be able to see a largely crafted Buddha welcoming with a smile. www.wtfbangkok.com

Japan: Tokyo Wonder Site

Hongo. Shibuya. Aoyama. Three branches holding 30 employees and over 400 creative artists. The solid and systematically famous Tokyo Wonder Site is one of the most ideal alternative spaces for many upand-coming artists. “TWS offers a unique multi-step program where new artists would receive continual support,” says Reina Senga, Marketing Manager. She also added that this only became possible as TWS expanded into three different branches. The TWS-Emerging Program starts off in Hongo. Then the next step is in the TWS in Shibuya, where a TEAM exhibition as well as a continuous exchange program with a partnering foreign country will take place. Not only does this program offer a space for artists to make their creations, but it also helps them accumulate the necessary and practical know-how for their successful progression as an artist.

How are these lucky artists selected to participate and receive the benefits of this program? TWS makes open invitations through their residency and music programs, exhibitions, etc. Upon receiving the applications, professionals from varying fields are invited to select new creative artists for the program. There are five divisions in the residency program one can be selected to participate: 1. project, 2. international creator, 3. local creator, 4. exchange artist, 5. research. Throughout the duration of the program, the artists will not only be working on art pieces, but also get to learn about the cross-fertilization of varying creative experiences. If you’re curious about the artwork in TWS, you should visit a TWS Gallery which can be found in both the Hongo and Shibuya branches. Reina also mentioned that TWS will be holding a commemoratory exhibition titled “NEXT - TWS 10 YEARS!” in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It will go on until the 2nd of October, so those artists and creators interested in getting inspired should hurry and visit Shibuya! www.tokyo-ws.org

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Indonesia: Ruangrupa

“Ruangrupa began 11 years ago. ‘Ruang’ in the Indonesian language means ‘space’ while ‘rupa’ means ‘visual’. It’s ironic, but at that time there was absolutely no suitable area to begin this kind of space,” says Ade Darmanwan, the Director of Ruangrupa. Then Ruangrupa started to grow little by little as young Indonesian artists finally had a place to research and collaborate. As we entered the media generation in 2001, Ruangrupa became more active by having workshops to promote itself through new media and videos. The 2003 OK Video Festival and 2004 Jakarta 32, a forum/exhibition for college students, marked the beginning of Indonesian artists and planners becoming actively involved in new media technology. In 2007, ten employees got together to develop four specialized categories, ArtLab, Marketing/Support, Research, Video/ New Media, for Ruangrupa. “Indonesia has yet to develop a proper art infrastructure, so it’s quite difficult for artists to find places for exhibitions, archive their work, and spread out information or gather research.

Therefore, Ruangrupa serves to become a place where Indonesia’s modern artists can gain strength and support.” Last year, Ruangrupa celebrated its 10th anniversary by exhibiting all kinds of work produced from various artists with the public. More than ten thousand visitors came to this event where they got to experience discussions, publications, collaborations, performances, exhibitions and more. “When it comes to projects or programs in Ruangrupa, we have two views in approaching such matters: first, to facilitate the cooperation within the artist community and to act as a platform for public programs, and second, to no longer allow art to continue on as a passive activity and be isolated from societal and cultural knowledge.”

Philippines: LOSTproject

The LOSTProject in Manila is a self-supported non-profit art organization established by Australian artist David Griggs and Director Sidd Perez.

This organization was established for the purpose of enhancing interaction and exchange among artists, curators, and alternative artists.

By having exhibitions and residency exchanges, the gallery works to promote the variety of artwork by artists from the Philippines and Australia.

“We’re not culturally imperialistic and it’s not all about “Australian Art” and “Philippine Art” here. We look to display the works of those artists who are able build their own identities under the artistic format of paintings, photos, and crafts. That is why the artists under residency here are able to create original pieces that normally can’t be seen in commercial galleries.”

In 2010, David and Sidd took charge of managing and promoting the LOST Project by connecting with their individual networks. Now, the project is being internationally recognized and promoted as it is visited by curators from locations all over the world including the Hayward Gallery in London, the Campbelltown Art Centre in Sydney, the Queensland Modern Art Gallery in Brisbane, and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

Thanks to such support, the project has now built an online website for those wanting get more information about artists, residency, the internet catalogue, and more. www.projectslost.wordpress.com

www.ruangrupa.org

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China: Vitamin Creative Space

Like the way our bodies need vitamins to survive, China’s modern art vitamin seems to be the Vitamin Creative Space. The Vitamin Creative Space is not only a gallery for creators and artists to display their work, but also a blog, online shop, and more. This creative space is both independent and commercial as it actively uses its online store to promote Chinese art.

As China and other areas of Asia rapidly continue to gain interest in new media and independent films, the Vitamin Creative Project has been keeping good pace with this trend as it recently hosted the “2010 Cinema” project. This cinema project, which went on from May 2010 to May 2011, screened four films and displayed the films’ archives around the gallery so that viewers could see at the same time how each film was created. Although viewers can observe artwork of young artists at the pavilion in Beijing, this is a place where people can appreciate the thoughts of Chinese modern artists and feel their sprouting energy.

While looking through the pictures of the Vitamin Creative Space, I can’t help but remember Director Hu Fang as he said that being able to sense the ‘qi’ of a certain space and developing a special emotion in response to that experience is a very important aspect of Chinese modern art.

Vietnam: Zero Station

Vietnamese modern art still continues to be something we’re not too familiar with. “There are only 3 places a person can be educated and trained as a professional artist in Vietnam: Hanoi Fine Art University, Ho Chi Minh University, and Hue Fine Art University. However, even these three universities are seriously lacking when it comes to modern art. In Vietnam, excluding those that are supervised by the government, exhibitions can only be held after they’ve been approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism,” says Nguyen Nhu Huy, Director of Zero Station. He also pointed out that this gap between art and the people was probably the reason why modern art didn’t exist in Vietnam until 2009. That is why he established the Zero Station in 2009 to act as a platform that would help in developing modern art in Vietnam.

Because of Vietnam’s unique situation and cultural phenomenon, the Zero Station with its residency program and gallery, is financially supported through foreign funds and private investors. “All of our activities have been running with the slogan ‘Transform from Action to Action’. We welcome everyone, even those who aren’t artists or creators, to come and share with your ideas that will transform the world.” www.zerostationvn.org

www.vitamincreativespace.com

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Nguyen Nhu Huy

The emergence of modern art and the alternative space in Vietnam seems like one of the most promising art spaces in Asia. Therefore, Eloquence paid a visit to the Asian Arts Space Network Meeting held in Gwangju and met Nguyen Nhu Huy, art director of Vietnam Zero Station.

Editor. Jean Choi Photographer. Jun O Hwang

Q. How does Zero Station support artists and art in Vietnam?

I think one of the things Zero Station could support to artists and art in Vietnam is to create a real community of dialoguing. Community of dialoguing here means a community where the gap between local audiences and contemporary art practice could be fixed by the “real” touches by two sides, audiences, and artists.

Q. What subject or topic do Vietnamese artist like?

The people who have followed recent development of Vietnamese Contemporary Art must have noticed two new trends in contemporary art practice of some young artists. The first trend is the use of imported contemporary art tools such as analysis tools to focus on the issues related to the past. The second trend is that of new public artistic practice, in which the artists dynamically transform public space and objects to change their meanings, in order to create an impact on the conceptions taken for granted by the people who possess and participate in those public space and objects, bringing their attention to the possibilities of reality seemingly reaching an absolute consensus on aesthetics, morality or even the role of art and art institutions.

Q. What are hot issues in Vietnamese art?

The two trends I mentioned are hot issues in Vietnamese art.

Vietnamese Contemporary art just started few years ago, and the artists and creators are now interacting with the public very actively.

Q. Can you please recommend one Vietnamese artist who also works with Zero Station?

There are a number of Vietnamese artists who worked with Zero Station, but I personally want to recommend young emerging artists instead.

Le Thi Viet Ha, Ngo Dinh Truc and Lam Hieu Thuan are the artists who work with the past of Vietnam, and Ngo Luc is an artist who works with the public. Ngo Dinh Truc, in addition, is the first Vietnamese artist who carried out a public art project called “The Same Gender” and I believe his art project is a worthy example of the Vietnam contemporary art practices.

Q. How do they react to the government’s regulations? I remember you telling us that license or some kind of authorization is needed

when you want to hold an exhibition.

We don’t have any stable tactic to deal with this regulation. We must live with it, and try to move around. Sometime I ask license, and some time not. For my own experiences, up to now, I have never met problem with this. Maybe I’m lucky.

Q. You attended <The 2011 Gwangju based symposium Asian Arts Space Network Meeting> last August. What was your impression about other art spaces in Asia?

It was a great opportunity to know and learn about other alternative spaces in Asia. I must say that the symposium is short but perfectly organized. And yes, to me, this first meeting among Asian alternative spaces, with the particular ideas, discussions, and working plans does not remain as an abstract dream, but definitely a new hope for all of us.

Q. Do you have any projects you want to work with other artists in Asia?

We will conduct a project of residency exchanging among Zero Station and Asian art spaces very soon. This project will provide the real experience for artists to engage to local matter so that they could work with local artists to make collaborating project.

Q. Have you ever worked with Korean artists? If you haven’t, do you want to work with them in the future?

I have many Korean artist friends. In fact, in 2006, I curated a show called “xin chao My Darling”at Stone and Water Space, Anyang. Zero Station also hold a small show and talk of Korean artists. I was officially invited to participate in residency program HIVE artists at Cheongju Culture Complex, in Cheoungju, in 2006. In Vietnam Zero Station is also hold some exhibitions or events by Korean artists. Kim Ji Hye, an independent Korean curator, journalist and author of children’s books, and Nguyen Thanh Truc, a Vietnamese artist and member of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association co-organized the event called ‘Fluctuating Variation’ in December 2010 for a week. According to Nguyen Thanh Truc, the event was a good opportunity for these Korean artists, in the midst of contemporary issues, to share their views on the relationships between them as individuals and the society as a collective whole.

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essay

GWANGJU RISING Embracing art and culture in Korea’s Southwestern city

South Korea’s center of art and culture? Seoul, no? Gyeongju? Busan? All wrong. Gwangju, located in Korea’s southwestern Jeolla Province, is looking to do big things. Having branded itself as the Hub City of Asian Culture, Gwangju wants to be not only Korea’s cultural capital, but also the rest of Asia’s. Eloquence visited the city for its biggest weekend of 2011. Read more to see why we think Gwangju is South Korea’s city on the rise.

Editor. Anna Choi Writer. Andy St. Louis

David Clarke, Spoonie Collection (2011)

2011 Gwangju Design Biennale

In Korea, design is king. This is due (probably) to a combination of factors: the country’s rapid reconstruction, modernization and economic development in the decades after the Korean War; a high level of education and corresponding aesthetic sensibility; a long history of excellence in painting, calligraphy and ceramics; and a governmentinitiated drive to become a global leader in design. It’s no small wonder then, that Gwangju—already world-renowned since 1995 as the home of Asia’s oldest and most prestigious biennial exhibition of contemporary art—would follow in the footsteps of other major biennial cities such as Venice, Istanbul and Sydney by hosting an international design exhibition in its “off” years. The 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale, the city’s fourth since 2005, made a clear departure from its three previous editions by eschewing “designers” in its choice of artistic directors, instead selecting an architect, Seung H-Sang, and a visual artist, Ai Weiwei. As a result, this year’s exhibition takes a decidedly alternative approach to ideas of “design” and provides a refreshing deviation from other Design Biennales worldwide.

The show’s theme “dogadobisangdo” (道可道非常道), or “design is design is not design,” provides a framework within which to redefine and broaden the concept of design as something more than an independent and specialized discipline. Rather, the exhibition attempts to locate this concept within a political and civic context, allowing it to transcend orthodox limitations and be more fully understood and recognized as a ubiquitous aspect of contemporary life. In short, it encourages viewers to ask the question “What is design?”—and forces us to come up with our own answers.

Throughout the galleries of Biennale Hall, within which are represented over 130 artists and 70 firms from 44 countries worldwide, a number of themes turn up again and agin, fueling constant reevaluation of our accustomed perspectives on design. Some works present solutions to social, political, environmental, or economic problems; some simply present observations on the state of design in the world; others propose interventions in civic, cultural, and even virtual spaces; another set of works comment on popular notions of “design” and attack them in deconstructionist terms. Although some pieces seem to be intentionally controversial or even absurd, when taken as a whole the exhibition does extremely well in creating an open forum for visitors to question their preconceptions about design and its fundamental nature.

Nowhere are these preconceptions more openly put up for consideration than in Gwangju Folly, a network of public architecture projects that challenges conventions of design in the context of Gwangju’s chaotic city infrastructure. Each of the project’s ten structures (called a “folly”) acts as an urban intervention and catalyst for new ways of engaging with the city.

Heavily trafficked zones of downtown Gwangju—bus depots, taxi stands, bridges and major intersections—take on new and deeper meanings once each folly integrates itself into their urban textures. “Design” becomes one with the banal landscapes of these distinctly “un-designed” areas of the city, epitomizing the Design Biennale’s manifesto while ideologically connecting the interior exhibition spaces of the exhibition with the very streets of the host city, thus forging a more permanent and symbiotic relationship between the two.

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Mee Kyung Shin, Ghost Series (2010)

Art:gwangju:11 Despite being the host of two international exhibitions—the Biennale and Design Biennale—Gwangju boasts a relatively undeveloped local art market.

There are few collectors and no major art galleries of note; a setback for a locale seeking to be recognized as an international hub of art and culture.

Enter art:gwangju, an annual art fair launched last year as a platform for dialogue between galleries in Gwangju and those further afield—both in Korea as well as abroad. True to its promise, this year’s fair proved to be not just a venue for galleries to sell art works, but also an event for cultural exchange.

Art fairs in Korea often lack substance and identity: if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all. Not so, however, with art:gwangju:11, which augmented its obligatory rows of galleries’ booths with a special exhibition project, titled “Double Democracy.” This collection of museum-quality works referenced “democracy” in light of Gwangju’s history as the birthplace of Korea’s democratic movement while leaving room for other interpretations. It also suggested a cultural democracy, perhaps in a deferential nod to Gwangju’s decidedly non-commercial Biennales, wherein both commercial and public aspects of the art market can coexist. At art:gwangju:11, “Double Democracy” exhibited not-for-sale works by leading Korean artists such as Debbie Han, Duck Hyun Cho and Mee Kyung Shin as well as a selection of first-rate video works by William Kentridge, Yeondoo Jung, Cao Fei, Sam Taylor Wood and others. Wood’s 8-channel video installation Sigh (2008) was easily the highlight of the show, enveloping observers in a 360-degree spectacle of artistic and technical mastery.

Sam Taylor Wood, Sigh (2008)

This year’s fair also promoted art in Gwangju beyond the biennial season and sought to foster a lasting local patronage of the arts through two innovative programs. Museum Outlet, a section consisting of 13 international museums and non-profit art spaces, offered editioned works by prominent international artists at special prices aimed at stimulating local interest in collecting art. The fair’s other program, named Videolet, encouraged Gwangju galleries to exhibit video and new media art in an effort to develop the local art scene and embrace the up-and-coming “video art market” that is beginning to take hold in Korea.

2011 marks the second edition for this young fair, which hosted over 70 galleries, including ones from Japan, China, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, France and the United States. A series of talks and forums about the global art market featuring industry leaders from Asia and Europe accompanied the fair and provided a global context for the newest addition to Gwangju’s burgeoning local art market.

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All images courtesy Kunsthalle Gwangju

Kunsthalle Gwangju: Goeshigi?

In Gwangju’s Central Plaza, a site that bears the painful memory of the May 18th Gwangju People’s Uprising, a massive urban redevelopment project is underway. Dubbed the Asian Culture Complex, its completion in 2012 will mark Gwangju’s official rebirth as a center of art and culture.

However, the city isn’t content to sit and wait for the dust to clear on its massive construction project; since May 2010, an eye-catching temporary alternative art space has proudly stood just outside the construction barriers, playing host to an array of events, exhibitions and public programs until its permanent counterpart opens its doors next summer. Originally created as a joint venture between Platoon Cultural Development (the organization behind Platoon Kunsthalle Seoul) and the Gwangju Municipal Government, Kunsthalle Gwangju is more than a stopgap measure. Rather, it is a way for the city to promote and cultivate local art and subculture scenes year-round in a new way that compliments Gwangju’s more internationally-oriented offerings at the Biennale and art:gwangju.

This summer, Kunsthalle Gwangju pushed the boundaries of contemporary art exhibition praxis with a multidisciplinary site-specific art project led by renowned installation artist Choi Jeonghwa. The project was organized under the title of “Geoshigi?” and roughly translates, via the Gwangju dialect unique to Korea’s Jeolla Province, to “whatchamacallit?” When applied to Kunsthalle Gwangju’s summer-long “art relay” project, the term serves a means of liberation from “serious” art and an invitation to embrace art free from meaning or symbolism: raw art whose only purpose is to delight the senses.

For the exhibition, Choi installed a giant red inflated flower (Breathing Flower) atop the Central Plaza’s monumental fountain. The flower,

approximately ten meters in diameter, is lit from the inside and seems to inhale and exhale slowly as it fills up and deflates. Meanwhile, standing guard on the roof of the Kunsthalle itself is a collection of decommissioned police dummies formerly used to regulate traffic speeds on Korean highways (Funny Game). Both physically inaccessible to the public yet in plain sight of everyone at this major downtown crossroads, these innovative pieces by Choi perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the exhibition. That “whatchamacallit?” reaction reaches its apotheosis, however, once visitors enter the Kunsthalle and the immersive installation that dominates its interior. Cosmos, also by Choi, consists of hundreds of strands of multicolored plastic beads and chains, haphazardly strung up from the ceiling, and made all the more psychedelic by virtue of the walls and ceiling being covered with mirrors. The result is pure “Geoshigi?”— no method, only madness.

For “Biennale weekend,” Kunsthalle Gwangju took its offerings one step further, with an event that was among the biggest in the space’s short but distinguished history. As the Biennale celebrated its opening and art:gwangju:11 along with it, Kunsthalle Gwangju marked the completion of its “art relay” project with a night of art, performance and music. A huge crowd packed the Kunsthalle to see an (anti) fashion show by Seoul hipster phenomenon Andeath, a much-anticipated collaborative mime-versus-piano battle by Yu Jingyu and Kim Jinwoo, and an impromptu performance by participating Gwangju Design Biennale artists Baek Hyunjin and Tuomas Toivonen. DJ sets kept the party going until late at night, transforming Gwangju’s once-poignant Central Plaza into a very palpable symbol of Gwangju’s imminent rise.

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Interview in Gwangju Q. Can you talk a little about the organization of the exhibition? There are different sections, but it’s not set up where each section is separated; it’s very mixed and interspersed. What was the idea behind that?

Traditionally, an exhibition venue is regarded as a kind of neutral space. I like to give a very special sense of place—placeness. In previous times, design was a kind of universal object, but nowadays, place is very important to design. So I decided to change the neutral space into a kind of special “city.” We call this “Biennale City,” and every gallery has a different kind of atmosphere within the space. I like to invite people to wander in the city, to find some design.

Q. But the exhibition is not just at Biennale Hall; there is also the Gwangju Folly project.

I wanted to emphasize the special character of the place, with regard to design. So I felt the need for some special architecture or buildings, regarding this specific place. And I saw that even the citizens of Gwangju, they don’t know about the existence of the old city wall. I wanted to restore the old city wall so people would recognize the history of Gwangju. Along the remains of the city wall, I set 10 projects. Since I was commissioned as director [of Gwangju Design Biennale] last year, I only had a very short amount of time. I needed some very small projects, so I thought “Folly is a very proper example.”

Q. What’s the purpose of Gwangju Folly, then? To remember, to remember and look forward, or to reevaluate the present?

I think they are good public facilities: some resting places, kiosks, things to remember the old gate, a small gallery … Although it is very small, I hope it stimulates the neighbors—already some stores around there, they are thinking of changing their businesses. So I think it is a good change … I think it stimulates the change of the old city and the regeneration of the older part.

Seung H-Sang

Director, 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale Lives and works in Seoul

Q. Has the Design Biennale gone out into Gwangju before or is this the first time?

It’s the first time. I think different kinds of activities [held in Gwangju during previous Biennales] were just temporary, but these facilities are permanent. The Gwangju City Government is also thinking they could [commission more follies], so I think within 5 years Gwangju could be covered with these kind of follies—as a real city of culture.

Q. Gwangju is really pushing to brand itself as a hub of art and culture in the world. Is 2011 the year that Gwangju realizes this goal?

Gwangju has been a little bit politically excluded from the central government throughout history, even in the Chosun Dynasty. Gwangju is known as a place for “voluntary outsiders;” many people who couldn’t work in the central government, only they could enjoy art and music and things like that. So Gwangju is known as a kind of city of art. Also, you know the tragic history in Gwangju. I really like that the city of Gwangju decided to establish the Biennale as the result of that history—in the name of culture. So I think Gwangju deserves to be known as a city of art or as a cultural center in Asia.

Q. What artists are you exhibiting for this year’s fair?

We brought three artists: Monika Paulina Jagonda from Poland, Martin Kohout from Prague, and AGGTELEK, which is an art collective from Spain.

Q. What are your thoughts on the experience—being in Korea, being in Asia, being in Gwangju?

From a commercial point of view, it’s tricky. For me it was very interesting because the aesthetics and the approach were so different [from Europe] … it’s been a real learning experience.

Q. How does this fair compare to other fairs that you’ve attended?

It’s a very young fair. There’s a broad range of works on display, and I think it all brings up the question of aesthetics. There’s a certain sort of “serious art,” you know, and in a way it questions that idea because it’s only our Western little context that calls it serious. Just because LISTE [in Basel] provides that sort of level for that particular audience, does that make it better than, or different from, anything else? This idea of different aesthetics, that’s what I’m going to take from this. We’ve been living in our own little bubble called “the Western art world.”

Q. You were invited to art:gwangju:11 by this year’s commissioner. What led you to decide to attend the fair?

It was two things. To get the booth by invitation, of course, that helped to keep the overhead low. But the “Double Democracy” theme, the idea of curating a show specifically for this fair was really the main thing. It was an interesting concept for us to curate the booth. It’s only our second art fair, but we tried to curate a booth instead of just putting works up.

Q. Is this the first time for your artists to be shown in Asia as well?

Oh yeah, sure. For them, it’s great. And there might be other things coming out of it. There were people who run residencies [who visited our booth], so maybe the artists can come to participate in that. A lot of people from residency programs and museums were interested in AGGTELEK.

Christian Siekmeier

Curator, Exile Gallery (Berlin) Lives and works in Berlin

Q. Are you planning on coming back next year?

We have to see if we still exist next year! It’s a tough world out there to make money in art.

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information

World Exhibitions Editor. Jean Choi

Seoul KIAF: Korea International Art Fair 2011 <KIAF> has given influential contribution towards revitalizing Asia Pacific’s art market during the last 10 years. This year <KIAF> is celebrating its 10th anniversary by showcasing 102 galleries from 17 countries, and their up-to-date contemporary art works.

September 22 ~ 26, 2011 COEX Hall A & B www.kiaf.org Building A Void September 16 ~ October 8, 2011 Gallery Chosun www.gallerychosun.com Yong Ik Kim: Timidly Resisting the No-PainCivilization <Timidly Resisting the No-Pain-Civilization> is especially held for celebrating the publication, “Why Do I Art? – How the political is connected to the conceptual”, which is compilation of essays written by this conceptual avant-garde artist who has studied the forms of concept, perception and experience of art in Korea since 1970s.

September 6 ~ October 14, 2011 Art Space Pool www.altpool.org Performing Arts Market in Seoul 2011 <Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS)> is an event that aims to promote creation and production activity in the performing arts and encourage rational distribution and expansion. With its 2011 event, PAMS is making its move toward becoming a venue for discussing currency and collaboration in Asia. Check out the schedule and venue on the official website.

October 10 ~ 14, 2011 www.pams.or.kr Takashi Kuribayashi: INBETWEEN August 5 ~ October 16, 2011 Beyond Museum www.beyondmuseum.com Yoon, Mi-Ran September 29 ~ October 20, 2011 Gallery Ihn www.galleryihn.com

Seoul Fashion Week S/S 2012 October 17 ~ 22, 2011 SETEC www.seoulfashionweek.org Lab01: GOODMONEY September 23 ~ October 23, 2011 KT&G Sangsangmadang Gallery 1 www.sangsangmadang.com Lee Kangso: Natural September 16 ~ October 29, 2011 PKM Trinity Gallery www.pkmgallery.com Seoul Performing Arts Festival The Seoul Performing Arts Festival is becoming the hub of performing arts in Asia by featuring outstanding works from both local and international artists in all genres including theater, dance, musicals, and multi-genre art.

Most of works will be held in Daehangno. Enjoy the performances!

September 28 ~ October 31, 2011 www.spaf.or.kr Agony and Ecstasy: Selected works from the Francois Pinault collection Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Cindy Sherman are all here!

SongEun ArtSpace is presenting “Selections of the Francois Pinault Collection” including portraits, statues, busts, mirrors animals preserved in formaldehyde and photographs.

It is the Francois Pinault Collections’ first exhibition in Asia.

September 3 ~ November 19, 2011 Songeun Art Space www.songeunartspace.org My Way: Jean-Michel Otheoniel PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art is presenting <My Way>

by French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel.

This exhibition encompasses the artist’s unique artistic spectrum from the early works of the 1980s to the latest monumental installations contemplating the philosophy of existence through the formal beauty of glass.

September 8 ~ November 27, 2011 Plateau www.plateau.or.kr

OFF°C Table Station September 2 ~ December 20, 2011 OFF°C www.offdoci.com

London Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 Designed by Peter Zumthor 2011 is the 11th commission in the Gallery’s annual series, the world’s first and most ambitious architectuaral program of its kind. The concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. It is Peter Zumthor’s first completed building in the UK and includes a specially created garden by the influential Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

July 1 ~ October 16, 2011 Serpentine Gallery www.serpentinegallery.org The Shape of Things To Come: New Sculpture May 27 ~ October 16, 2011 Saatchi Gallery www.saatchigallery.com Phyllida Barlow: RIG Phyllida Barlow was inspired by the everyday objects of the city. She has created a group of works that brings the cacophony of the gallery’s external surroundings inside. Like the urban environment form which they are drawn, Barlow’s sculptures are not passive emblems, but instead active objects that swallow their surroundings.

September 2 ~ October 22, 2011 Hauser & Wirth London, Piccadilly www.hauserwirth.com Mathew Sawyer: White Donkey For Sale Mathew Sayer creates objects, actions and events that oscillate between the public and private, the troublingly personal and the unsettlingly familiar. This ongoing series, ‘documentary works’, positions himself as the narrator or storyteller.

September 7 ~ October 22, 2011 Rokeby Gallery rokebygallery.com Glamour of the Gods <Glamour of the Gods> is a celebration of Hollywood portraiture from the industry’s ‘Golden Age’, the period 1920 to 1960. From Greta Garbo and Clark Gable to Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and Marilyn Monroes,

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it is these portraits that transformed actors and actresses into international style icons.

July 7 ~ October 23, 2011 National Portrait Gallery www.npg.org.uk The House of Annie Lennox This exciting one-room display explores the image and creative vision of Annie Lennox, whose music and personal style is internationally renowned. Costumes, accessories, photographs, personal treasures and awards will be held till next February.

September 15, 2011 ~ February 26, 2010 Victoria and Albert Museum www.vam.ac.uk

Paris Odile Decq September 10 ~ October 1, 2011 Galerie Polaris www.galeriepolaris. com

Salon de la Photo 2011 <Salon de la Photo> is the biggest European photography market event. Over five day, all the key players in the world of photography including manufacturers, importers, schools and professional associations are brought together to show their very lastest products and ideas. Paris Expo Porte De Versailles October 6 ~ 10, 2011 www.lesalondelaphoto.com Otherside -> (NUM)BER <- + Dessins September 8 ~ October 8, 2011 Galerie Jean Fournier www.galerie-jeanfournier.com Love, my reluctant but faithful enemy September 10 ~ October 11, 2011 Galerie Hussenot www.galeriehussenot.com Robert Stadler - Wild at Home September 9 ~ October 15, 2011 Triple V www.triple-v.fr

Catherine MELIN September 10 ~ October 22, 2011 Galerie Isabelle Gounod www.galerie-gounod.com There are two sides to every coin, and two sides to your face September 10 ~ October 29, 2011 Galerie Xippas - Paris www.xippas.com

Probable, preferable, plausible, possible The exhibition <Probable, preferable, plausible, possible> revolves around the figure of the artist as a futurist and as a world builder. It includes different images of the future: talking electronic objects, singing refrigerators, aliens that listen to music, futuristic – but dated – amusement parks being pictures from the science fiction universe.

September 17 ~ October 29, 2011 Galerie Dohyang Lee www.galeriedohyanglee.com Edvard Much, L’oeil Moderne 1900-1944 The Centre Pompidou presents <Edvard Much, the modern eye>, a collection never-seen before in France of around eighty paintings, thirty artworks done on paper, fifty photographs and a film. This exhibition shows how much the artist’s curiousity for all of the forms of representation of his era fuelled his inspiration and his work.

September 21, 2011 ~ January 9, 2012 Centre Pompidou www.centrepompidou.fr

New York Gary DiBenedetto: Sweat Equity DiBenedetto collected antiques during his hearly years, and made numerous multimedia interactive installations. Each sculpture has a moving component, powered manually or by electric motors. As a result, the spectators are able to explore the operations of the many tools that comprise these sculptures.

September 8 ~ October 8, 2011 AC Institute www.artcurrents.org Jeremy Shaw: Best Minds Jeremy Shaw’s work explores altered states and the cultural and scientific practices that aspire to, or attempt to map, transcendental experience. <Best Minds> presents threechannel video installation features sloweddown footage of the crowd at a straight edge hardcore concert in Vancouver, Canada. The exaggerated mode of presentation magnifies each of the slam dancers’ ecstatic moments, allowing viewers to closely identify and examine the observable features of euphoric catharsis.

September 9 ~ October 10, 2011 MoMa PS1 www.ps1.org Paul Henry Ramirez – PLAYCONICS In PLAYCONICS, Pamirez explores the vocabulary he has developed over 20 years. Comprised of eight large and several smaller paintings, this exhibit continues to combine playfulness with his iconic forms. This is evident with two new canvases used in two separate site-specific wall installations and an installation of interactive new TIPSY paintings.

September 8 ~ October 15, 2011 Galerie Richard www.galerierichard.com Transparent Hallucination Bose Pacia is presenting <Transparent Hallucination> with new video and photography

by New Delhi and London-based artist, Siddhartha Tawadey. Having recently completed a residency at the School of Visual Arts, in NY, all works have been conceived and created in the city and were inspired by the artist’s navigation of its urban spaces.

September 8 ~ October 22, 2011 Bose Pacia Gallery www.bosepacia.com Attack of the Bricks: Star Wars Familiar Star Wars characters are the subjects of David Levinthal’s most recent series.

However, theses epic visages are composed of Legos. These photos mimic the cinematic style of the Lucas films, transforming tiny bricks into legendary, largerthan-life Sci Fi stars.

September 8 ~ October 22, 2011 Gering & Lopez Gallery www.geringlopez.com Tris Vonna-Mitchelle: Intensely researched stories September 15 ~ October 22, 2011 Metro Pictures HYPERLINK “http://www.metropicturesgallery. com” www.metropicturesgallery.com Do-Ho Suh: Home Within Home It is Do-Ho Suh’s ongoing exploration of themes surrounding cultural displacement and the co-existence of cultural identities, as well as the perception of our surroundings and how one constructs a memory of a space. <Home Within Home> and a series of fabric objects, all personally revealing works which invite viewers into his homes.

September 8 ~ October 22, 2011 Lehmann Maupin www.lehmannmaupin.com Come Closer Thomas Erben is pleased to present a grouping of paintings by Whitney Claflin, Haaiet Korman, Nolan Simon and HansPeter Thomas. These painters generally use enjoyable colors, friendly geometric shapes sometimes veering into the anthropomorphic, and repertoire abstract styles.

September 15 ~ October 22, 2011 Thomas Erben Gallery www.thomaserben.com Tal Shochat: In Praise of a Dream When visitors enter the gallery, they will be transported to a utopian garden rich with flowering trees. Shochat’s series of photographs captures these trees – plum, fig, cypress, palm and others – in the height of

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their beauty and fertility. Her garden blooms eternally.

September 8 ~ October 29, 2011 Andrea Meislin Gallery www.andreameislin.com Daphne Guinness Daphne Guinness, one of today’s most original fashion icons, is the subject of the exhibition <Daphne Guinness> at The Museum at FIT. The exhibition will feature approximately 100 garments and accessories from Guinness’s personal collection, plus films, videos and images, of and by her.

September 16, 2011 ~ January 7, 2012 Special Exhibitions Gallery, FIT HYPERLINK “http://www.fitnyc.edu” www. fitnyc.edu

Tokyo NEXT - TWS 10 YEARS! Tokyo Wonder Site is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

The visitors can see TWS’s current issues about brining artists together and supporting creative activities. For more information, visit the official website.

July 7 ~ October 2, 2011 Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya HYPERLINK “http://www.tokyo-ws.org” www. tokyo-ws.org Fiona Tan: Rise and Fall Fiona Tan’s video installation <Rise and Fall> and two new works are now showcasing at Wako Works of Art. <Rise and Fall> unravels to depic a portrait of a woman living in isolation, and caught in the memories of her past.

September 9 ~ October 15, 2011 Wako Works of Art www.wako-art.jp Toeko Tatsuno Toeko Tatsuno, one of Japan’s representative woman artists, stayed at the printing studio in Paris and worked on the stone lithography for the first time. This exhibition will show the new works of stone lithography which were made during her stay in Paris.

August 23 ~ October 16, 2011 Shiseido Gallery www.shiseido.co.jp/gallery Bill Viola: Transformations September 6 ~ October 20, 2011 Gallery Koyanagi www.gallerykoyanagi.com 8848 Naoki Ishikawa is a photographer who has graveled the globe with camera in hand, recordking various moments on film as he feels led to on the spur of the moment. This exhibition displays photographs taken by Ishikawa during his climb up Mount Everest with bird’s eye views.

September 9 ~ October 22, 2011 SCAI the Bathhouse www.scaithebathhouse.com Oh Sukkuhn Korean artist Oh Sukkuhn presents a series of works that are derived from the boy named “Chulsoo” and the girl named “Younghee” who first made their appearance in the Korean textbook during the era of Park Chung Hee administration and kept their presence through the mid-1990. The artist sure gives us the moment to think over our memories.

September 20 ~ October 22. 2011 Base Gallery HYPERLINK “http://www.basegallery.com” www.basegallery.com Kentarao YOKOUCHI September 29 ~ October 22, 2011 Kenji Taki Gallery - Tokyo www.kenjitaki.com Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo October 16 ~ 22, 2011-09-19 Tokyo Midtown Hall A tokyo-mbfashionweek. com Leo Rubinfien: Wounded Cities The terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11th, 2011 cast a deep shadow over the world at the advent of the new century. Photographer Leo Rubinfien experienced the unprecedented event at close quarters. He faced the event photographing faces of people in the street in various cities around the world. His aim was to fix his eyes on the essential result of the event – the “mental wound” inflicted within the people by terrorism.

August 12 ~ October 23, 2011 The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT) www.momat.go.jp Leiko Ikemura. Transfiguration There is a woman floating up from the canvas ground. A person is depicted with a cabbage head. A hollow girl has no legs. A monster-like face suddenly emerges out of the rocks. Leiko Ikemura somewhat mysterious 145 paintings and figures are now showcasing at MOMAT. August 27 ~ October 23, 2011 National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (MOMAT) www.momat.go.jp

Beijing Heribert C. Ottersbach: We Are All Alone Again September 4 ~ October 16, 2011 Alexander Ochs Galleries Berlin & Beijing www.alexanderochs-galleries.com

Parallel Country It is ZHAO Na’s debut solo exhibition. As a stand-alone venue of artistic expression, pencil drawing has its unique values, as lines are used to convey the artist’s profound sense of form, structure, rhythm and aesthetic interest.

September 3 ~ October 16, 2011 Mizuma & One Gallery www.mizuma-one.com Man with Hidden Eyes: 2010 CinemaProgram 5 Vitamin Creative Space is presenting four video works, focusing on a camera, its function as “invisible eyes”, and possibility of “hidden reality”in ther future.

September 3 ~ October 21, 2011 Vitamin Creative Space www.vitamincreativespace.com Yan Xing September 4 ~ October 23, 2011 Galerie Urs Melle www.galerieursmelle.com DAYBREAK: Young Chinese Artists <DAYBREAK> which includes 72 works by 13 young Chinese artists, fill the entire 1730 squre meters of Arario Beijing and Arario Cheonan Space now. It spans mediums and encompass painting, drawing, photography, film, animation, performance and installation.

September 10 ~ November 20, 2011 Arario Gallery Beijing and Cheonan HYPERLINK “http://www.arariobeijing.com” www.arariobeijing.com

Asia Addiction to Diagrams The exhibition is an interactive and educational display of information visualization, showing how data and numbers can be reconstructed into fun and engaging visual representations. During the exhibition, the audiences will be encouraged to add themselves and expand the graphs for the interactive concept of social network ‘relationship description.’

September 15 ~ October 8, 2011 WTF Gallery wtfbangkok.com Nintender September 17 ~ October 15, 2011 VT Art Salon www.vtartsalon.com

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