Faintly over my headphones, I heard:
“What are you doing?”
I looked over to find a stranger sitting on the steps of an apartment building, smoking a cigarette and drinking a lemonade.
Fair enough. It was a decent question. I had been wandering the streets of Seoul’s university district photographing the public graffiti.
“Ah, yes…I’m…just…taking pictures of the art…it’s really beautiful if you look at it…”
“Oh yeah? Why?”
Why? Well…because. Fuck. How to explain why this art…here…was so astounding to me.
“Wanna sit?”
I sat.
“It’s just that, I don’t know…I’ve seen such a lack of inspiration, of breaking the norm, of breaking out of convention here. Where is the passion? And…well, here…I can see rebellion, I can see creativity…expression…and it’s in a public display…just in your face, screaming to break out.”
“well…” he paused and exhaled his cigarette.
And there we went. For hours. Sharing, debating and discussing. The system. The set-up. The culture. The expectations. The boundaries. The rising generation.
“I don’t know…I guess I just see something beautiful in their simple rebellion.”
“You know, not everything has to have meaning.”
Maybe not. Yeah, definitely not.
But perhaps there is a unified symbol of progress behind these street walls.
It was now 4:30am. Goodbye. “It was strange enough to meet once…who knows, maybe we will meet again.”
You found some wonderful pieces! Thanks a ton for sharing.
Beautiful!
Some of the shots have a Blek le Rat feel. I really like the variety and the story that drew me in.
awesome photographs, but very thought provoking conversation!
Some cool work on the walls, but the narrative setup above the photos is great.
I’ve never been to Seoul but almost everybody I know who has, thinks it is just an amazing city. My husband and I hope to get stationed there someday. Great photos!
Those strange encounters make the difference… great photos!
Fascinating art, beautiful photos.Best wishes. Jalal Michael
WOW! These are amazing. Down in Miami, FL we have some streets that, compiled, make up Wynwood Art & Design District, and they’re full of graffiti as well. I love expression through the arts. This post is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing ,i like nice post
Fantastic finds! And I like how there’s more than just several — thanks for posting a bunch.
They all are really good! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Very interesting – what a wonderful meeting.
Though provoking, Edgy. Creative. Love it.
“You know, not everything has to have meaning.”
But perhaps there is a unified symbol of progress behind these street walls.
Amazing paintings with Korean ? symbols. Thanks for that rebellion post.
Amazing.
Great shots! That’s awesome you had the chance to sit and talk about them out loud.
ooww!! absolutely terrific art!! thanks for sharing them with us..
Nice images
I like the giraffe photography the best!! Interesting pieces. Thanks for sharing. http://www.wordpress.segmation.com
I am just as intrigued by your conversation as I am by your photographs. Thought provoking.
beautiful! i love the third one the most, imagine all the work and creativity that went into making something like that!
Nice collection. Graffiti often says so much about how people are really feeling.
Great graffiti. Great photographs and introductory piece. I grew up in Calcutta and I’ve seen many politically motivated poems, caricatures and just sketches like these. Some of them seem to be in English. Is that very common? Is this mostly a university culture or do you find graffiti elsewhere? Thanks for posting.
some of the images are extremely poignant
One of them says in Korean 깨끗한 벽, 벙어리 민족
Literally means, “Clean Wall, a dumb (as in not able to speak) nation”
Let that sink in for a minute.
Thank you for sharing! These are great pieces! I also enjoyed the quote “You know, not everything has to have meaning.”
It’s such a simple truth that often get overlooked.
Thanks
Awesome story and great pictures!
So many amazing stencils! And much more creative/subversive than what I see here in the Netherlands.
I live and teach near Seoul. I’m normally hanging around Hongdae University, but now I’ll definitely have to a stroll around Seoul University. Awesome photos!
Incredible. Did you mean that you found rebellion was the norm, or was it another way? Just a bit confused on what you were looking for vs. what you found. Great finds, though.
rebellion is definitely not the norm. from my time there, I observed and was told by most people living there that it is a culture focused on conformity and fitting in. thanks!
Ah, I gotcha. Well overall a very unique story you told. Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!…so to speak.
” A picture is worth a thousand words ” is what I think of when I look at your photo’s. Each is so expressive. Each with something to say, an opinion or inspiration to think a bit more. Opening the mind and hopefully the intellect of one person who sees their work. I’m all about thinking outside the box and have found that it has served me quite well through many times in my life. A good part of these pieces you’ve shared are really quite nice.
A nice topic to post about and thank you for bringing it.
Art is the freest form of expression
some amazing pieces among that collection, graffiti can be so thought provoking!
Having left the motherland when i was around 7-8 yrs old, i don’t have much of an idea what Seoul (and Korea!) is like. But this post gave me a view of Seoul that I think I wouldn’t really get in conventional Tourist Guidebooks.
Thanks!
Makes me nostalgic for university life all over again (I lived in campus for eight years through bachelors and masters)… My campus had stuff like these too. And I agree. They are art and they are beautiful. More so, they capture the vibe and psyche of a generation.
Thank you for sharing (:
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Reblogged this on kannankutty.
what an incredible encounter around some mind-bending visual subjects
definitely gives a little food for thought. and totally makes me wish i had explored this area more when i was living in seoul!!
Very cool art!
Do you have any idea who/what the “nana’, of Nanaisreal, is?
I was actually curious about the same thing! When I asked around, no one seemed to know, sadly.
I really enjoyed your post! I did the same thing when I first went to St. Louis, and yeah..how do you explain “art”?
Beautiful pictures and fantastic street art. Keep it coming.
Amazing… an artistic mind should be behind all of these; no doubt. Added these on pinterest.
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I miss my family in Seoul! Haven’t been since 2006 and my had it changed from 1988! Doesn’t it all though….great post.
Seoul really have a lot of street arts…Hongdae especially. the street arts changes there changes so fast
Nice Article
beautiful writing …
It’s all out there to be looked at….. You just have to like some of it, and ignore the rest.
Awesome pictures. It’s neat too see art from other areas around the world.
I live in the UK and the street art/graffiti here just plain sucks (giant genitals, anyone?). These are awesome on a wholly different level!!!!
It really must be hard to explain art’s meaning, especially once you acknowledge that sometimes… not everything has a meaning. Beautiful photos!
interesting street! Very creative..