[HAVE YOU EATEN?] Work In Progress

I am making a book about food and memories titled HAVE YOU EATEN?. It is the common greeting in Korea, and I am using it to bring up memories related food that I have eaten, to compose a sort of memoir. Images made so far can be seen here, though texts not included yet.

This is the most recent piece I am working on, about Bbopki (baked sugar, probably the cheapest and sweetest snack, obviously bad for your health but whatever, that I loved as a kid), and following piece is "how to make" page.

Speaking of Coffee Vending Machine..

I need to get my texts properly edited for my book project HAVE YOU EATEN? soon, so I was revising some texts I had already written. Somehow the most difficult subject to write about was the vending machine coffee, which was practically the starting point of this whole project. I just had too much to say and it wasn't organized and wasn't that interesting even to me. After a fruitless sitting down session in front of the computer screen for awhile, I just stood up to see what I wrote in 2008 when I made a preliminary painting for this project. (Of course I didn't know it was preliminary, then.)

I still remember I was painting this in 2008 after I became a junior in undergrad SVA. It was special because I did this for fun. I was always overwhelmed by loads of homework when I was in undergrad program, I never made anything for fun. I didn't have enough time for homework. But somehow, this piece made its way out. I was exploring with using gouache on black gessoed wood board, and with my favorite subject. Vending machine coffee had always been nostalgic to me and I just had fun making this. I remember my friend was pointing out bad anatomy and ugly cloths on people. It is a pretty bad painting. (Not that my paintings are any better now. *sob*) Still, somehow, this piece is one of a very few pieces that are out in my room. While pretty good pieces are in the drawer, this one is in fact on the shelf displayed.

When I revisited this piece and read what I wrote on the piece, I was a little surprised. So simple and yet it was actually much better and much closer to the essence of what I wanted to say than the writing piece I was struggling with. Maybe I felt about this subject much more vivid at that time. Still, am I going backwards or what?!

Coffee vending machine pieces after 5 years since the first piece:

A tiny cup of coffee that cost me 150 won (10 cents) ten years ago.

Coffee Break! Coffee was the bridge among people. 

2013 HOPE Poster Competition & Exhibition for REACH

This show is up until February 23rd! See some photos here.

Exhibitions Now On: Bookmaking to Opening

Book exhibition with works done by first year students of MFA Illustration program at SVA, curated by Viktor Koen is up since February 6th. The opening reception was on 14th, and the show would be there until March 3rd. They are all individual projects based on a short story called Mr.Nobody At All by Ann Beattie.  

Bookmaking before the show installation:

figuring out how to arrange pictures in a book

Making 49 images into one accordion book. Gluing, gluing, gluing. 

On February 6th, from early in the morning to the late afternoon, everyone gathered for installation:

Installation & Kim taking pictures of us.

Installation & Marshall trimming large size posters for Broadway Project Exhibition.

After the installation:  

24 images out of 49 images selected and hung: 49 days. 

Cheesy picture, but I had to do it.

With Marshall!!

While first year students were installing the Mr. Nobody At All show in the museum, in the lobby,  Chen-Min and Boyeon were installing Broadway Project Exhibition. The far right image with window scene is mine! 

February 14th, Opening Night:

It was a great turnout! 

People at the opening reception at the SVA museum.

There are a lot of people whom we owe a great deal to put this show together. There are many people whom I owe to finish up this book. There are many stories I wanted to say but didn't say. I was surprised and touched when people read the story that I thought I didn't tell. When I get my book back, after this show is over, I will try to tell more stories. Or maybe not.

HOPE Poster in the Finalists' Show in SVA Westside Project Space

HOPE poster submitted  to Student Health and Counseling Services

I pulled out my woodblock print to turn it into a poster. It was a HOPE poster competition sponsored by SVA Student Health and Counseling Services. We were given certain texts to be included in the poster and everything else was up to us. When I read the description and purpose of the campaign, I thought of this woodblock print I made awhile ago. The key in the campaign, I felt, was support and comfort and it did match well with the intention of this print when I was creating it.

Thankfully, this piece has been selected as a finalist in the competition and will be featured in the Hope Poster Exhibition in SVA Westside Project Space (133/141 West 21 Street) from Saturday, February 9, 2013 through Saturday, February 23, 2013. Works would be printed 18 x 24 poster size, so I am quite excited to see my work as big. The show is not up yet, but I got to see some works selected for the show and there are really some amazing works included! I am honored to be a part of it.