Thoughts insp. by Intersections S2E1
Jun. 28th, 2022 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
letterstonowhereToday, the podcast Intersections, hosted by art collective Art Basel, released the first episode of their new season starring none other than Kim Namjoon. Upon waking up and hearing about this, I was immediately excited to listen (I am not, however going to entertain the next episode. All my homies hate NFTs.) . I am personally not a huge podcast fan, but last semester in my contemporary art seminar we had a unit about contemporary art podcasts that made me warm up to the medium a bit more. While this episode is not an in depth discussion of a specific artist or artwork, it is an in depth discussion of Namjoon: as a rapper, a lyricist, an art enthusiast, and just a regular guy in Korea.
Namjoon's appreciation of visual art, and how he connects that to his personal outlook on life as well as his song lyrics, has always fascinated me. I especially have a lot of admiration for the way he puts his thoughts into words. Whether it be in Korean or English, he is incredibly well spoken. I am a lover of words and visual art, so I really do admire the way his mind seems to work regarding these topics. I especially thought the quote "some outsider from South Korea, in here; in this small room, me and his footprint or some pieces of his time encountered" and "And it’s really great that people can love one’s tastes and actually be there -visit the museums and the art. When 300 people see the same artwork, they have 300 different feelings" were striking. I'm not at all claiming to be an art expert, but this resonated with me because of the readings I did in that class last semester. While not all of the artists Namjoon mentions in this interview are contemporary, a great deal of the works he posts on Instagram are. And contemporary art, especially in this day and age, works to be accessible. To bring all kinds of individuals together, and to create discussion, because like he mentioned, everyone intreprets art differently. Especially with some contemporary works that are considered controversial because they appear to have no "meaning" or "skill", they generate conversation if people just take a second more to sit with it. And just the idea of activated spectatorship, of participating in the art even if that just means taking a moment longer to think about the emotions the piece creates, is what I personally think makes contemporary art so special. And from what he says, I think Namjoon feels similarly.
Something else Namjoon discusses with the podcast host is longevity, both with visual art and music. I think he brings up a really interesting point of how for many artists, their work doesn't become famous until after their death. And for visual artists who spend their whole life creating, they have the opportunity to change their styles, change mediums, et cetera. In relation, he brings up Philip Guston, a painter whose exhibit Namjoon saw recently in Boston's MFA (lovely museum lovely city). Guston began as a member of the Abstract Expressionist movement, but later in life changed his art style. Namjoon describes how that inspires him to think of his music in a similar way, creating art for art's sake rather than sticking with the same style for his entire life. He also mentions how in the kpop world, turning 30 is seen as becoming old, and I'm glad he doesn't subscribe to that belief. It's so inspiring how he wants to create art for as long as possible and give it lasting impact, instead of immediately moving on to the next album like the industry demands.
And I think that's a really good mentality for musicians to have, that they shouldn't feel forced into the box they began in, especially since BTS is almost a decade old. It's difficult to break out of that mold because of the constant "their old music is better" criticism that I've witnessed with just about every musician I've ever listened to, but I truly believe that Namjoon will be able to do it. I haven't written any long form rambling about BTS' "chapter 2", but I truly think this is a step in a new, and better direction. It makes me happy to see the members putting their well being and artistry first, instead of succumbing to the industry that expects new music faster than they can breathe. It was an incredibly difficult decision, to stand up to the "system" like that, but I'm so very proud of them for it, and I can already tell with the build up to j-hope's Jack in the Box that this new era is going to bring forth some music the likes of which we've never heard.
Also: somewhat related to this topic of interdisciplinary art connections, the CONNECT: BTS project always, always comes to mind. And I wish I had more to say about that, because I'm still so gutted that the project got so little time to shine before Covid came barging in to shut it down. I truly wish we had more time to explore the way they connected BTS to these contemporary installation artists, because it was such a novel idea that I had never seen a musician do before.
When listening to this podcast, I was reminded of Namjoon's interview with Vogue in Dec. 2021, where he discusses a lot of similar ideas, such as longevity and musical trends. I think of the quote "I’ve developed the ability to think in multisensory dimensions, incorporating visual as well as tactile elements. I take a holistic approach with the lyrics, melodies, beats and voices—all the elements of music." a lot, because ever since I first read this interview, I was speechless. When individual interviews with each member are released, whether it be Vogue, Weverse Magazine, or this podcast, it usually takes me longer to read Namjoon's words. He speaks and writes in a way that makes you want to ruminate on each and every word, because from what we see of his thought process in these interviews is incredibly fascinating. To think in multisensory dimensions when creating music... I'd say that's practically unheard of and it makes me wish I could ask him to elaborate, because I could listen to him speak for hours. He also mentioned in the podcast that he is thinking about sharing his own personal thoughts on the art that he posts on Instagram, which I would absolutely love to see. I think he would run a fantastic art blog.
Something else Namjoon talks about in the podcast, something he says he's never actually told anyone before, is that he wants to create a space to host his own private art collection, possibly two floors and a little cafe. And for me, that just really hits home the fact that he is an artist through and through. That means so much to me as an artist. And hopefully if this idea ever comes to fruition, I'll be able to fly over and see it myself.
Namjoon's appreciation of visual art, and how he connects that to his personal outlook on life as well as his song lyrics, has always fascinated me. I especially have a lot of admiration for the way he puts his thoughts into words. Whether it be in Korean or English, he is incredibly well spoken. I am a lover of words and visual art, so I really do admire the way his mind seems to work regarding these topics. I especially thought the quote "some outsider from South Korea, in here; in this small room, me and his footprint or some pieces of his time encountered" and "And it’s really great that people can love one’s tastes and actually be there -visit the museums and the art. When 300 people see the same artwork, they have 300 different feelings" were striking. I'm not at all claiming to be an art expert, but this resonated with me because of the readings I did in that class last semester. While not all of the artists Namjoon mentions in this interview are contemporary, a great deal of the works he posts on Instagram are. And contemporary art, especially in this day and age, works to be accessible. To bring all kinds of individuals together, and to create discussion, because like he mentioned, everyone intreprets art differently. Especially with some contemporary works that are considered controversial because they appear to have no "meaning" or "skill", they generate conversation if people just take a second more to sit with it. And just the idea of activated spectatorship, of participating in the art even if that just means taking a moment longer to think about the emotions the piece creates, is what I personally think makes contemporary art so special. And from what he says, I think Namjoon feels similarly.
Something else Namjoon discusses with the podcast host is longevity, both with visual art and music. I think he brings up a really interesting point of how for many artists, their work doesn't become famous until after their death. And for visual artists who spend their whole life creating, they have the opportunity to change their styles, change mediums, et cetera. In relation, he brings up Philip Guston, a painter whose exhibit Namjoon saw recently in Boston's MFA (lovely museum lovely city). Guston began as a member of the Abstract Expressionist movement, but later in life changed his art style. Namjoon describes how that inspires him to think of his music in a similar way, creating art for art's sake rather than sticking with the same style for his entire life. He also mentions how in the kpop world, turning 30 is seen as becoming old, and I'm glad he doesn't subscribe to that belief. It's so inspiring how he wants to create art for as long as possible and give it lasting impact, instead of immediately moving on to the next album like the industry demands.
And I think that's a really good mentality for musicians to have, that they shouldn't feel forced into the box they began in, especially since BTS is almost a decade old. It's difficult to break out of that mold because of the constant "their old music is better" criticism that I've witnessed with just about every musician I've ever listened to, but I truly believe that Namjoon will be able to do it. I haven't written any long form rambling about BTS' "chapter 2", but I truly think this is a step in a new, and better direction. It makes me happy to see the members putting their well being and artistry first, instead of succumbing to the industry that expects new music faster than they can breathe. It was an incredibly difficult decision, to stand up to the "system" like that, but I'm so very proud of them for it, and I can already tell with the build up to j-hope's Jack in the Box that this new era is going to bring forth some music the likes of which we've never heard.
Also: somewhat related to this topic of interdisciplinary art connections, the CONNECT: BTS project always, always comes to mind. And I wish I had more to say about that, because I'm still so gutted that the project got so little time to shine before Covid came barging in to shut it down. I truly wish we had more time to explore the way they connected BTS to these contemporary installation artists, because it was such a novel idea that I had never seen a musician do before.
When listening to this podcast, I was reminded of Namjoon's interview with Vogue in Dec. 2021, where he discusses a lot of similar ideas, such as longevity and musical trends. I think of the quote "I’ve developed the ability to think in multisensory dimensions, incorporating visual as well as tactile elements. I take a holistic approach with the lyrics, melodies, beats and voices—all the elements of music." a lot, because ever since I first read this interview, I was speechless. When individual interviews with each member are released, whether it be Vogue, Weverse Magazine, or this podcast, it usually takes me longer to read Namjoon's words. He speaks and writes in a way that makes you want to ruminate on each and every word, because from what we see of his thought process in these interviews is incredibly fascinating. To think in multisensory dimensions when creating music... I'd say that's practically unheard of and it makes me wish I could ask him to elaborate, because I could listen to him speak for hours. He also mentioned in the podcast that he is thinking about sharing his own personal thoughts on the art that he posts on Instagram, which I would absolutely love to see. I think he would run a fantastic art blog.
Something else Namjoon talks about in the podcast, something he says he's never actually told anyone before, is that he wants to create a space to host his own private art collection, possibly two floors and a little cafe. And for me, that just really hits home the fact that he is an artist through and through. That means so much to me as an artist. And hopefully if this idea ever comes to fruition, I'll be able to fly over and see it myself.