Frame

There is three-story gallery building near my home. Gallery Dae-lim only houses photograghs. The interesting part of this place is that it had been remodeled from housing to exhibiting space. In the process of turning it into cultural space, architect gave a new window to the building facade.
Colored glass which is designed like the work of Mondrian allows just enough daylights to inside and gives calming atmosphire in the gallery.
Besides these environmental effects, I sensed another reason for that facade design. Since the building was to house photograghs, Mondrian style window itself becomes like an object as well. Before entering the gallery, you might get the idea of what you are about to see- watching art pieces in rectanglar frames.

keeping my composure.

As for non-Korean speakers, you wouldn't have any idea why I took this picture. I took it in front of a hospital parking lot. On that grey post, green word '여유' -yeo yoo- is written.
In Korean it means,
1. room;space;time (to spare);a margin;a margin;allowances;play;clearance;ease;scope
2. composure;placidity;calmness;presence of mind

Here, it means the first one, but when I saw this post it came to me as the second one. I was really having hard time with my school project and desperately needed some time to spare for myself.

Now I got two-month vacation from school, which makes me able to post this photo right now with composure in my mind...

(Since I'm not native English speaker, I happily accept any type of correction in my writing. :D

sweet stories.

copyright to Hyun Son.

You can find a cafe in every corner, anywhere you go in Seoul. A while ago, I had time with my grand father at a cafe. He compained, "since when people enjoyed coffee like this?" In his generation, there were only "coffee" in the menu in cafe. Whereas nowadays various kinds of coffees such as cafe latte, americano, espresso, frappuccino and tons of other names are waitting for our choice. No wonder my grandfather got sick of looking at the menu and let me choose one for him.
Yes, we Koreans didn't enjoy coffee a lot. It's one of the westernized culture to kill time in a cafe. Me, myself is also a part of that culture.
But when I choose a cafe to spend some time with coffee, I prefer a small cafe which has story to tell. whether it's its owner's story or costumer's.
Here, I love watching the photograghs of the owner's cute little kids :D

aren't they lovely?

Heaven's door.

I took this shot at the end of a narrow alley in Inchon, a port city close to Seoul. What's your first impression at this photo? I thought someone had put that door on the edge of road to give people fun. It reminded me of a song 'nocking on the heaven's door' by Guns n Roses.

However there are 20 or so stairs leading to a house sitting few meters down.. :)

make a wish

It is a old tradition to make a wish when you see full moon. Living in the center of a hactic city, Seoul, people hardly look up at the sky. Even though i am the person who loves to lay back and enjoy nature and life, it is still not often to glance sky at night- on top of everything, it's chilly winter now!

However if you have little time to spare, please take a look at sky once a day.

That will give you a break from this stifling life.

water drops, hope arises

yesterday, i went to see an exhibition at hangaram gallery. In the gallery, there was an installation of water drops welcoming us. Falling waters with shining beams made all the visitors to dream a better world. Just by watching the water drop, i got the feeling of purification.

what art can do.

I've been passing by these painted stairs 2 days a week for over an year. These stairs were painted by art major college students nearby. Since the stairs are located outdoor it no longer has its original look, but we can still get the message that the students wanted to deliever.

Seoul has quite uneven contour level. You can see mountains wherever you go in Korea. Seoul is no exception so many house are on the hill.

This district, where I go twice a week to give a lesson, is not not really un 'uptown' even though it's sitted up on the hill. Number of constructions are going on for redevelopment at the moment.

From what I can see, art students intended to give this area fresh breath. To those who go back to home after tiring work, these stairs could have been another stress if they were unpainted. However by touching of young students' brushes, it is giving smile on people who live up stairs.

It is amazing to realize what art can do in the society.

You might have seen this painting of sky in little kid's drawing book or you might remember drawing it in your childhood. With a thoughtful idea of painting the stairs, this simple painting of sky has been an art.