Fashion Institute of Technology Fall 2017
Communication Design AAS Accepted Portfolio
Jeong Eun (Jay) Kim
Cover
Avocado is an exotic fruit in Korea and very unfamiliar to people, but it is my favorite food. My affection for avocado is so great that I use it for almost every meal. Some people never understand why I am so obsessed with this because it may look and taste so weird to them. Hence, I thought it would be special to make an artwork which shows how the avocado would taste like. I tried to familiarize it with people by the representation of Jeff Koons, a virtuoso of pop art and Kitsch. I wished to show the peculiarities of avocado. By using diverse colors, I wanted to tell avocado has limitless recipes and feelings. I attached mirror paper on uvula to look like it a mirror ball and to tell people that they will be so excited after being fascinated by avocado.
Tropical fruits are interesting not only because of their flavor, but also because of their country of origin. I made posters of tropical fruits to show their overall moods by attaching animals, constructions, characteristic figures. I wanted people to know the diverse characteristics of unfamiliar fruits when the posters and action figures are placed together.
After drawing the Avocado World, I also got interested in other exotic tropical fruits because they have unique shapes and colors. Even though I hardly had a chance to eat them, I had some experiences to try them and they brought out distinct flavors. I wanted to show their flavors through designing action figures. What I focused on is to make people to look at these action figures and to deliver them fruits’ vivid eye-catching colors and taste at once. I visualized each fruit’s taste into different patterns for people who imagine their tastes.
Cats love fish, but ironically they are afraid of water. This fact reflects myself as well: even though I love art, I used to be afraid of becoming an artist and hesitated to have a career in art. However, I decided to become a graphic designer. I wanted to personify myself as a cat trying to jump into a swimming pool that looks like deep sea because I would not know what is inside before diving into it. Piled books behind the cat show how my major changed from Natural Sciences to Graphic Design going through Advertising and Public Relations. High buildings and the day-and-night background mean I am going to study in the opposite side of the earth, in the United States. Lastly, people looking up the cat are my acquaintances who support me. The mountain of background show my hometown’s features and the constellation in the sky is my horoscopic sign.
I was hooked to the band ‘Hyuk Oh’ and especially a song called ‘Hooka’. I thought they illustrate hardships from relations very well. The music video of the song showed a girl or a boy stood alone and looked up the sky with vacant look. The whole movie was colored in black and white, so I felt it described the emptiness of relationship from other people well. I guessed the name ‘Hooka’ was chosen because hooka is a kind of water cigarette and it shows how relationship can harm us and how it evaporates like a fog. I gained the sympathy from it, so I made my own version of their album jacket cover.
I have thought I have known my little brother, Nam Je, very well on his personality and favorites, because I really love him. I used to take a lot of pictures with him. His facial expressions are very dynamic, not like me, so I drew his face and revealed his personality into various visual graphics. I wanted to represent my brother is such a happy virus.
For 22 years, my closest loved ones are my parents, little brother, and my old twin friends. Therefore, I wanted to make a memory box as a gift that contains our memories, because I have to leave my country to study abroad. I designed the labels of cans to show these cans are sealed and retain our private memories. The post cards include some of 1990’s symbols, games, toys that represent my childhood’s culture. The four-year calendar means I am going to stay in the United States of America for 4 years for my study. I made a crosswords puzzle with my personal information.
CLOSE UP LOOK OF CONTENTS IN MEMORY BOX
1. Calendars
2. Labels
3. Quiz Puzzle & Post Cards
As a fashion, people wear animal fur, but behind that beauty there is a sacrifice of innocent animals. I was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s drawing of Athena, because it represents strong goddess of judgement. I wanted to tell we should not wear animal fur and you will get punishment by the goddess of animals if you wear it.
I saw a TV program about looted artifacts from old wars and I was very shocked as a child. I learned a lot of looted artifacts had been displayed in many museums in different countries. I made a museum of the looted artifacts by showing artifacts that should exist in frames being missing. Also, by framing a bunch of arts around the world and presenting the 19thcentury Art salon scenery, I tried to show alphabets through missing parts and tell there are thousands of cultural relics around the world that are misplaced. As artifacts contain their countries’ culture and history, I wanted to insist they should be returned to where they belong.
In Chosun Dynasty, people were divided into several ranks. Nowadays, even though the caste system has been vanished officially, I think it still exists through the amount of money a person has. As a proverb “born with a sliver spoon in one’s mouth” says, Korean people often say their ranks in terms of the color of spoon, such as gold spoon, copper spoon, and dirt spoon to satire the capitalism. I thought the shape of cake would be suitable for expressing modern ranks in a pyramid structure. I made figures on the surface of the cake wearing old clothes from the past because the caste system started from a long ago.
These days, girls are obsessed with their weight loss because they never satisfy with their body even though they are so skinny. This leads them to have many types of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa. I wanted to show what girls are trying to chase is not a healthy body, but a seriously ruined skeleton body.
We have rights to make a voice if something is wrong. Recently, many Korean people attended candle light rallies to raise their voice to make things right, and it made a difference. I was impressed by that, so I used quotes from Bob Marley to show if we have earnest faith and gather with a desire seeking the truth, big changes can occur. I used engraving because it is the one that candle light and the people’s faith can be emphasized remarkably.
Everyone knows cigarette is harmful. I also hate people smoking because when I smell them I feel like I cannot breathe. I started to think how serious it would be when smokers have their babies because babies can be exposed to second-hand smoking. I wanted to show infants can become a heavy smoker even they do not smoke and smokers should stop smoking for their next generation
Plastic cups are made and thrown away so easily, and piled garbage cans around subway stations and roads are one of problems in urban cities. However, I think it also shows how modern people are busy these days, because they spend their busy days easily like the coffee cups they throw away. I wanted to show plastic cups can be shown as an art.
Seoul is mixed with modern and traditional constructions. Among many towns in Seoul, my favorite place is Ik-seon-dong which is surrounded by modern high-technology buildings, but still maintains the traditional atmosphere of Seoul city with Han-ok, a traditional Korean house. Even though I am not old, I really love the atmosphere of that alley portraying nostalgia of old times. Therefore, I relocated my favorite place into five parts using different materials.
I believe in superstition called palmistry that regards our destiny is in our hands. It is really interesting that we can read our fortune on wealth, love, wedding, life, health, study and something else by closely looking into our palms. I remember I used to compare the lengths of my palm lines with my friends when I was young. By showing many symbols of fate such as yin and yang, and maze, people are trying to find their beloved ones constantly through their lives. I once heard that we are connected to our destined love with a red thread. In front of the palm, a woman is standing and looking up the entrance and the exit of the maze. She is connected with a man with the red thread who is standing on the little finger.
Extended 6 Steps Version of 'Your Fate Is In Your Hand'
There are many cafes in Korea, so I go to drink coffee often. Whenever I go to café, I easily can see people work or study there. Sometimes I get confused with café and office because everyone is working with dull faces. I was inspired by David Hockney and Edward Hopper who use the light in their art work very well. I wanted to show emptiness and lethargy of modern people these days even café has warm and nice atmosphere.
I put croquis of nudes on space background, because I somehow thought humans were from the universe. With colorful marbled planets, different posed people are expressed to be natural and harmonic. Because we were born after the space had been made, we are an obvious part of the Universe. Hence, I wanted to illustrate we can truly feel the energy of the universe when we meditate.
I have a lot of dreams that I want to achieve just like everyone else. However, even though I had a lot of dreams such as becoming a graphic designer, initially I did not fully realize what I could do and wanted to become. For me, knowing my talent and my passion that I can influence my future seems like mining and discovering gems. This mine cave has crystal stones that reflect my shining talents; light bulbs represent my thoughts as neuron with symbols of myself. Opened or closed doors and locks tell my artistic abilities that can be shined if my will is desperate. I wanted to show that by mining a cave presents as ‘Perception of My Artistic Talent from Amethyst Mine’ and demonstrate I can become whatever I want to be.
