Fabian Emanuel

download my brother's new album !!

2012-01-05T21:52:00.000+09:00

My brother, Armin, finished his second electro-noise album, entitled "Universal Album." You can download it for free at this link.

interesting article and photo contest

2011-12-03T03:42:00.001+09:00

Lotte Giants fans in Seoul, Mokdong Baseball Stadium

Looking through the net a few days ago, I found myself mentioned in an article on the blog of the official website of S. Korea (www.korea.net).

Last summer I won a prize for a photo essay about Busan, and I was also included in an article about the competition.

You can find the entire article at this link.

You can find some of the photos that I submitted for the competition at this link.

I copied the passage that is about me, you can read it here:

"Fabian Emanuel from Romania has become a true “Busan Sanai” (사나이, a man’s man) who worships the baseball team Lotte Giants with almost religious fervor. He took a photo of cheering at the baseball stadium and commented, “Eventually, if you want to understand the people of Busan, all you have to do is visit the stadium at least once to see the Lotte Giants. In the end, I have become an avid Lotte Giants fan as well.”

and time goes on (seoul at night)

2011-11-27T03:03:00.003+09:00

After a quite long time back to my blog. So many things happened during the last few months, I don’t even know what to start with…

Seoul at Night - Gwanghwamun gate. The newly renovated main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

10:37 PM, I am in the metro, rushing through Seoul and I just realized that I already spent more than two years in S. Korea. Actually, I spent more time living here than in Cluj-Napoca, and for now I call this place my “home.”

Seoul at Night - February 2011, freezing cold at 6 AM. Seoul, the dynamic city full of life, one of the most crowded cities in the world, has its moments of silence. Although one must know were to go to find silence in this metropolis, an early walk over the bridges of the Han River provides a meditative, fresh winter morning.

The songs keep on shuffling on my player and European songs keep on alternating with Korean ones. Living and enjoying my time in Korea definitely changed my preferences, and the time I spent here so far had a benefic impact on my personality. Learning Korean language was one of the biggest challenges of my life, but it was also one of the best experiences so far. After graduating in August from Yonsei University’s Korean Language Institute I can say that for me, learning a new language also meant learning a new culture.

Seoul at Night - Myong Dong, as empty as it can get. Walking in a straight line through Myeong Dong shopping district is impossible in the afternoon and evenings, due to the hundreds of thousands of happy shoppers. However, a walk at 2 AM unveils a totally weird, empty face of the neighborhood.

A graduation ceremony should always be followed by a new enrolment ceremony, and every end is nothing else than a new beginning. Like my grandmother always says, humans learn during their entire lifetime, but still end up dying foolish. I continue to aim higher and since last September I am pursuing a master’s degree in Korean cultural studies at Yonsei University in Seoul. So far, I have mixed impressions, but I assume that the intense program and busy schedule are good indicators showing that Yonsei deserves its reputation as one of Korea’s top universities.

Seoul at Night - Seoul North Tower (Namsan), 2009 and 2011 photos

I don’t have time to go into deep insights, because I will have to get of the metro at the next station, crushed between thousands of people. I will walk among the other passengers, a tall European wrapped up in Korean fashion items, thinking about novels, art, researches or simply just what to do next. Sometimes, totally engaged in the busy life flow of the metropolis I wonder about where I come from, and where I am heading to. During the last half a year, I didn’t really produce any piece of art, and I don’t regret it, since I am not an artwork factory that should create a certain units per month to keep up with the social tag of an “artist.” I have my excuses. I can say that I’ve been busy. But I must admit that I didn’t really feel like doing any art. Although sometimes I think about it, I am just not in the mood for it. Also, if I don’t have the possibilities to realize my projects as I desire, I will not compromise them. Sooner or later, I will start something new. It is just a question of time.

Seoul at Night - Sukdae area

I check my transportation card and I leave the metro station. Rushing up on the escalator. Outside the weather is colder than I expected. This cold reminds me of the atmosphere of the first novel I wrote, about 6 years ago. Since then so many things changed. This year I decided to commit myself more to literature, and I hope that I will have the time and mood to transform my sketches into novels. Sometimes, I feel selfish, and I don’t want to write about the world that I created inside my head, to not share it with anyone. Sometimes, I feel that my writing is too sincere, and it uncovers certain details about myself that I prefer to keep hidden. Sometimes, I am worried about the social consequences that my writings might have. However, probably soon enough I will pick up the challenge and continue writing.

I am waiting for the elevator. It came, finally. Press the button for the seventh floor. Going up.

I hope I will have more things to say soon.

Valentine's Day

2011-05-18T21:49:00.007+09:00

Last week finally I managed to finish my new short novel, called Valentine's Day.

For now, it's about 50 pages long and it's written in Romanian.
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Probably I will post some fragments from the novel after about one month, I still need some time to review it and make some necessary corrections.
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Later I hope I will manage to make some English translated versions of what I'm writing recently, but probably I will need some help from a native English speaker.

As my recent writings try to exploit subjects related to Korean contemporary culture, the novel focuses once again on my female character Lee Seona, also the central figure of my previous work "Circles. Tiny Circles" [Cercuri. Cerculete - 2009].
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The story tends to be a detailed approach toward the feminine psychology, while it explores the Korean celebrity culture and it's depressing impact upon the celebrity's daily life.
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Briefly speaking, the novel unveils one day from Seona's daily life, and throughout a series of flashbacks it analyzes her dark intimate backgrounds.
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Like her fake smile during her fashion photo shooting sessions is in contradiction with her distress, the context of Valentine's Day becomes a paradox while she is facing the huge risks of a public scandal based on her scandalous private life.

More info soon !

I'm fine, thanks. And you?

2011-05-12T16:22:00.000+09:00

The Stick of Love

2011-05-08T13:34:00.000+09:00

Having fun with my piggy character. Just a sketch that I colored yesterday.

Website of artist Radu Ciobanu

2011-03-30T17:32:00.002+09:00

Yesterday I made un update for the website of artist Radu Ciobanu.

I uploaded a set of images of his new sculptures, and I made some small changes on the structure of the site.

Check out his website here !

New Artworks

2011-02-22T17:41:00.000+09:00

See more artworks on my website at the following link !

Shanghai - Contemporary

2011-02-12T22:02:00.001+09:00

Follow me !

2011-02-07T03:55:00.001+09:00

Advertisement for Shanghai Metro [my favorite ad design from China]

From now on, you can also follow me on Facebook. Just search for my name :)

Also, Korean users of Cyworld can follow my Cyworld account at the following link.

내 싸이월드 미니홈피 링크.^^

In Qingdao, China

Shanghai - Traditional

2011-01-31T21:14:00.000+09:00

Dream - Landscape

2010-12-26T20:12:00.003+09:00

Here is a painting that I finished yesterday, on Christmas.

I dreamed the landscape a few months ago, and I can say that so far it was probably the most colorful dream that I ever had.

I tried hard to remember it, and finally yesterday I made a painting after it to not forget the feeling that I had during my dream.

Cover Design

2010-12-16T19:44:00.000+09:00

Cover design for the newly published collection of poems by prof. Park Youngsuk

Gwangju and the Gwangju Biennale 2010

2010-12-09T01:34:00.000+09:00

When I hear the word Gwangju, usually I think about two major events: the Gwangju massacre from the 80’s and the Gwangju Biennale.

Before South Korea experienced its contemporary democratic regime after the 1990’s, the country was kept for decades under military dictatorship. Out of the numerous anti-dictatorial movements that pursued the achievement of a democratic regime, the Gwangju Democratic Movement is considered to be the main effort toward democratization. It marked the contemporary history of the nation, and left a scar in the background of Gwangju City. The Gwangju Democratic Movement was the climax of tumultuous events that marked South Korea after the assassination of controversial President Park Chung-hee. The uprising in the city of Gwangju in May 1980 against Dictator Chun Doo-hwan ended with the intervention of the South Korean army, and with the death of hundreds of civilians.

Park around the Gwangju Biennale expo halls

The second event that pops up about Gwangju is the notorious Gwangju Biennale, Korea’s most important international art event, and probably Asia’s most relevant biennale. Held every two years since 1995 [with a 3 years gap between 1997-2000] the event takes place at about 300 km south of Korean capital city Seoul, in Gwangju city. It also alternates with the more recent Gwangju Design Biennale that is held during the odd years. The Gwangju Biennale is an event that although is being held in a provincial city, it brings tens of thousands of tourist from all over the country, and also numerous international visitors. This year it gathered more than 100 000 visitors in the first three weeks from its opening.

This year’s event, the 8^th Gwangju Biennale, was held between the 3^rd of September and the 7^th of November, and it took place in the same year with the 30^th anniversary of the Gwangju massacre. This edition of the expo was entitled “10 000 Lives” [만인보 - Maninbo] a title inspired by Korean writer Ko Un’s novel with the same title. His main composition, “10 000 Lives” represents a collection of epic poems consisting of 30 volumes, written during his imprisonment for participating in the Gwangju Democratic Movement. The poems are built up as portraits of all the people that the author Ko Un met during his life. Today Ko Un, one of the most respected Korean writers is considered to have real chances for receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, and although his opera is extremely wide, “10 000 Lives” remains his main creation. .

The artistic director of this year’s event was Massimiliano Gioni, an Italian curator who although is still young, already gained valuable experience by participating in numerous world-class events. While so far the most relevant event that he participated in as a curator remains the Venice Biennale 2003, his curatorial backgrounds reach far beyond the boundaries of Europe. Starting from the theme “10 000 Lives,” he came up with a coherent curatorial project, encompassing the works of about 134 artists from various countries, bringing together over 9 000 artworks made between 1901 and 2010.

As the title “10 000 Lives” already suggests, the curatorial project is centered on the relation of people with images, and vice versa - images with people. The artworks selected for the exhibition are generally representing human life and it seems like portraiture was favored due to its direct connection with this year’s temporary exhibition’s theme. The Italian curator avoided to bring into scene the last editions’ fancy installations and futuristic artworks, favoring the traditional media, more suitable for the expo’s theme. He managed to bring together a stunning amount of images and expressed his curatorial vision clearly while creating a harmonious exhibition with a well exploited concept.

Once the visitor enters the exhibition space, he is exposed to thousands of images mostly featuring portraiture under various forms and themes: images of idols, imaginary figures, anonymous faces, dolls, puppets, masks, posters, ads etc. The selection encompasses various techniques from traditional painting and sculpture to the innovative new media installations, ready-mades and performances; however dominant are photography and video - probably the best suitable for the theme of the expo due to mélange of artistic and documentary qualities.

"Visible World" by artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss

The repetition of thousands and thousands of photos, and numerous videos creates somewhat a monotony that makes many of the visitors to skip most of the videos that require tens of minutes of viewing time. It also pushes on many spectators to just walk by the exhibited rows of photos passively, focusing on few images out of hundreds exhibited as groups. However, memorable were the 3000 small photos laid on light tables entitled `Visible World’’ by Peter Fischli and David Weiss depicting people, objects and especially urban and natural landscapes from all over the world.

Furthermore, another artistic project that managed to exploit well the qualities of photography and interact efficiently with the public was the project of Franco Vaccari. His project got built up during the event by asking visitors to take free passport sized photos in photo cabins placed inside the expo hall. The images were posted on the walls covering the exhibition space and leaving a trace of the public’s visit at the biennale.

project of Franco Vaccari

However, instead of being held up for long time in front of the groups of hundreds of images, the viewers seemed to be much more interested about the far more captivating new media artworks, installations and ready-mades, although their number was relatively low. No wonder, taking in account that the Korean public seems to be accustomed with numerous media and digital art festival/expos. These events comprise artworks that involve the viewer not just visually but also sentimentally by interacting with all the five senses, leaving often stronger impressions on the long term. Talking about artworks that imply the public emotionally, I believe the 2010 Gwangju Biennale’s most impressive art project was a combination of performance and media installation made by Croatian artist Sanja Ivekovic. The artwork integrated itself perfectly into the theme of the expo, and also gained a special value for making a direct link to Gwangju’s history. A number of screens lined up by the walls of the exhibition hall were showing slideshows of photos of people who died during the Gwangju Massacre. The people appearing in the images were all represented with closed eyes, after the images were digitally modified. In front of these screens, through a performance offered day by day, the Gwangju movement’s hymn was hummed by about 10 performers appearing as a group of living statues meant to symbolize a monument for the Gwangju democratic movement.

Outstanding was also the project of Tehching Hsieh, who starting from 1980 for an entire year photographed himself day by day, hour by hour to capture the changes suffered by his body throughout a year. Finally, the photos were used to create a few minutes long video showing the process of changing, while the thousands of photos created were exhibited around the hall, grouped chronologically.

Spectacular was the artwork exhibited by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, representing a life size woman packed up in a wooden box prepared for delivery with an inscription spelling “fragile.” However spectacular, satirical and metaphorical it may be considered, the artwork of the world-class Cattelan seemed to be easily eclipsed by the live art performance of Tino Sehgal that took place in front of Cattelan’s exhibit.

Gwangju

An exhibit that although didn’t seemed to attract the general public, intrigued me both through its meaning and the origin of the artist. I’m talking about Romanian artist Irinia Botea, who participated with a 24 minutes video entitled “Auditions for a Revolution,” showing a number of people from various countries reading texts written in Romanian. The subjects of the texts were related to the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the event that marked the fall of communism in the East European country. The actions and the lines read by the actors of the film seemed to be foreign for most of the Korean public that lacked the historical background info necessary to comprehend Irina Botea’s video. Furthermore, although the film has a clear idea related to a major political event, Botea’s exhibit may be described as a relatively disappointing artwork. Similarly with so many other Romanian artists’ recent works, Botea’s video proves the lack of creativity of producing something that doesn’t talk about the already over exploited subject of the Revolution. I wonder how many generations of Romanian artists will need to pass until that country will be able to produce a truly world scale contemporary artist who doesn’t build up his success on the eye catching and spectacular subject of former Romanian communism, or the pseudo-Romanian culture’s icon - Dracula.

Moving forward, I would stop to say a few words about the exhibited items of Andy Warhol. I have to admit that so far I had numerous chances to see the well-known prints of Warhol through galleries, art fairs and other expos in Korea, so just like most of the people I started to think about Warhol as a repetitive artist, a Warhol name that doesn’t stand for a person, but rather a commercially successful industry. However, Gwangju 2010 showed a different, intimate face of Andy Warhol. The exhibits were objects that he collected throughout his life, packing them in tens of boxes with the intention of selling them later as traces of his existence. However, they were never sold, and some of the items remained to be exhibited, showing intimate letters, books, objects that belonged to his mother, posters and many other things.

Throughout its five large galleries, a folk museum and an art museum the 2010 Gwangju Biennale brings together artworks, artifacts and documents lined up in a coherent manner, with a clear artistic message. The successful curatorial project blurs the boundaries among the exhibited genres and styles, exploring humanity’s obsession to produce images, collect images and leave images behind. As the organizers themselves describes, images become a symbol of an ephemeral life, carrying memories and nostalgia.

For more photos, full list of participating artists and more info check the Official Website of the Gwangju Biennale here.

The photos posted here have informative purpose. Please do not copy or publish them.

29.5 km of color through Seoul

2010-11-28T22:12:00.003+09:00

Seoul City Hall Plaza

Seoul is the city where you can walk infinitely, touring historical and cultural sites, shopping, enjoying the numerous green spaces or oppositely going deep into the urban jungle.

Sometimes, when I have spare time and the weather allows it, I walk tens of kilometers, without a purpose, or a well defined destination.

I walk until I feel like enjoying it, always planning until the next corner, always discovering new neighborhoods, meeting new people, and learning about the city's culture.

The city's metropolitan size is huge, with a population of over 20 million. While walking sometimes I remember statistics, and I know that no mater how much time I would spend walking, I would never be able to see everything in Seoul.

I noticed that except taxi drivers, even the native Seoulites don't know the city too well, especially its urban history.

On a sunny October Saturday, I walked over 29 km through the capital city, walking from the place where I live now, to the place where I lived last year.

Although I didn't picked the shortest path, I've crossed only a very small part of the metropolis.

I started from Samgakji toward Seoul Station, then Seoul City Hall Plaza up to Myeongdong shopping district. After a short rest in Dongguk University's campus, I moved south to Oksu neighborhood and crossed the Han River toward Apgujeong area. After crossing the fancy Gangnam district, I followed the Teheran Road east until the Olympic Stadium from Jamsil, and finally went until Yangjae Station by following the Yangjae River's stream.

I am posting a few photos out of the few hundreds a took during my walk.

More than just resuming it to a few images, I am planing to use my experiences gained during my walks for future projects as well.

Inside Dongguk University Campus

Sunset over the Han River

Highways next to the Han River and Oksu neighborhood

Between Samsung Station and Jamsil Olympic Complex

Near Jamsil

Myeongdong

Between Euljiro and Myeongdong

Dogok neighborhood next to the Yangjae River

Around Euljiro

Oksu neighborhood

Late Impressions from KIAF 2010 [Korea International Art Fair]

2010-11-14T00:36:00.000+09:00

After returning to South Korea this autumn, I made myself a long list with all the major art events that I was planning to see during the following months. So far, I can say that after visiting numerous expos, festivals and art fairs I remained with mixed impressions. I’ve seen a world class Gwangju Biennale that is probably Korea’s most prestigious art event, an event that I will talk about in a later article. I’ve seen the 5th International Media Art Biennale of Seoul, an event that I find rather low quality and over conceptualized compared to its predecessor from two years ago – an event that was a truly innovative media art parade. And I would also mention the Incheon International Digital Art Festival 2010 held in newly built Songdo City, an event that although isn’t very famous yet, it opened a fresh perspective for digital art focusing on artworks that use new technologies for obtaining maximum emotional impact.

However the event that was on the top of my list was the Korea International Art Fair 2010 [KIAF 2010]. After visiting the Korea International Art Fair in 2008, I was looking forward to see the edition of 2010, held like the previous events in Seoul, Gangnam District, Coex Center. I wrote down the following article right after visiting the art fair, September 2010.

image - courtesy of KIAF

Held year by year since 2002, the Korea International Art Fair’s 2010 edition held between September 9 and September 13 in Seoul, once again proved its reputation of being considered one of Asia’s leading art fairs. Just like the Art Taipei, Shanghai Art Fair or Art Fair Tokyo, KIAF reflects the power of the skyrocketing Asian art market, a market that year by year features new emerging ambitious art events. KIAF, far more comprising than its Chinese and Japanese rivals, goes further pursuing its goal of becoming a landmark in the global art arena.

Regarded in its Korean context, KIAF is one of Korea’s most prominent contemporary art events alongside with the notorious Gwangju Biennale. However, besides the fierce international competition, KIAF must face the rivalry of other first class Korean art events like the Busan Biennale, International Media Art Bienalle – Seoul, Incheon Art Fair, Daegu Art Fair and numerous others..

If we regard the fact that the 2009 edition was visited by 56,000 people in just 5 days, the grand scale and the significance of KIAF become self evident. Moreover, despite the worldwide economical recession the 2009 edition comprised artwork sales of over KRW 13 billion [about €8.5 million]. These numbers reflect not just the tremendous interest of Koreans in the contemporary art market but also the prime quality of Korean art.

The 2010 edition featured a total of 193 galleries from 16 nations, 120 galleries participating from Korea, respectively 73 from Europe, Asia, Australia and both North and South America. The total number of participating artists was around 1,500, exhibiting over 5,000 artworks. Although the number of participating galleries and countries was smaller compared to the 2008 edition, this shouldn’t necessarily be regarded as a decline of the event’s quality. Oppositely, it can be interpreted as a sign of overall improvement of the event’s international status, showing that it became more exclusivist making it more difficult for smaller, less competitive galleries to participate in the event. As an example in this sense one might dare to mention as examples the galleries from India and Switzerland participating in the previous editions, but having insufficient presence at this year’s event. India was invited as the guest country of the 2009 edition, but out of the small number of galleries that participated last year none of them returned in 2010. The numerous Swiss galleries representing the guest country of the 2008 edition displayed contemporary artworks from a rather different point of view compared to other European galleries, however only two galleries showed up in 2010. Should this be considered as a sign of commercial or artistic failure for the mentioned countries, or just the mentioned galleries prefer focusing on smaller markets?

Even though the event is intended to function as an art fair, obviously not all those thousands of people who visit KIAF come with commercial purpose. KIAF is a place that brings together connoisseurs representing art institutions, private collectors, artist and thousands of amateurs willing to take a glance at good quality expos. However, the event presents a relative lack of coherency, because every gallery is given unlimited freedom of exhibiting any art genre and artworks representing any type of subjects. This freedom induces the presence of a wide variety of artworks that can satisfy even the most eccentric preferences, creating a real art fest that manages to unite almost every genre. On the other hand, the lack of an overall clear curatorial project creates high contrasts, the event ending up having a totally different atmosphere and purpose compared to a coherent art event. After all, it is an art fair, so variety, contrasts, and freedom of choice should be regarded as pros.

But KIAF goes further than just performing the simple tasks of an art fair. In addition to the freedom given to the participating galleries, KIAF 2010 promoted various subsidiary programs: Artist Discovery, Shooting Hidden Spot, Docent Program, Kids in KIAF, academic conferences and special themed exhibitions. As the names of these future oriented programs already suggest, the purpose of them was to promote young artists side by side with world-renowned artists, bring the public closer to the works and artists through special lectures and guided tours, and to contribute to the future development of art through the involvement of children in education activities regarding contemporary art.

Conversely, one of the major negative points of this year’s edition was the lack of the Performance program. During the recent years every edition featured artists selected for the performance or happening art genre, but this year although the Performance Program was included in the original program, the initial plans were abandoned. Even though the decision of the organizers might involve serious reasons, the sudden change of plans suggests lack of a serious attitude regarding performance art

One of the most important merits of this year’s edition was the creation of a special section for promoting new media art. The special exhibition entitled “Creative Power: Korean Media Art” explored the strong points of contemporary Korean art that excels on the fields of media and digital art. The expo was built up around the national symbol Nam Jun Paik and it reunited some of the most relevant Korean media artists, creating a clear image of the characteristics of Korean media art.

Year by year, through the Guest Country Program KIAF invites galleries from a country with major influence on the contemporary art development to display artworks that embody the unique aspects of the country’s artistic direction. This year’s guest was the United Kingdom, an important landmark both because of the British Pop Art artists, and more recently because of the Young British Artists movement. Besides 14 British galleries that participated in this special section, a series of conferences offered substantial theoretical insight into the significance of British art.

While taking a stroll through the booths of the British galleries one could observe the high interest of the Korean art collectors, but also the cold attitude of the British staff that was way to contrasting with the warm atmosphere inside of the Korean and Japanese galleries. Moreover, disregarding the world class artists’ works, at a first glance the image of British art showcased by the participating galleries seemed to be less innovative and less courageous compared to the creativity that characterized some of the exhibits of the Korean and Japanese galleries.

Furthermore, most of the British galleries seemed to be suffering by an ostentatious “Damien Hirst mania,” most of them having at least a few glitzy artworks made by Hirst. However, these showy artworks that distracted the public’s attention from their surrounding exhibits, were often inferior thematically to the artworks flanking them. And surprisingly, the “Hirst mania” wasn’t limited only to the British exhibitors, several Korean galleries boasted their Hirst signed artworks along with exhibits made by other world class artists.

The overall image created by the exhibits present at KIAF 2010 was an amalgam of artworks by world class artists, newly emerging highly innovative artists, and [like in any art fair] a certain percentage of low quality artists. Along works signed by worldwide famous names like Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, Patricia Piccinini and numerous others, works by the most important Korean artists were showcased by both Korean and western galleries. Names like Nam Jun Paik [백남준], Kim Kira [김기라], Chun Kwang Young [전광영], Lee Jae Hyo [이재효], Park Hyun-Ki [박현기] are just a few of the numerous Korean artists who impressed with both their original techniques and concepts.

Just like the previous editions, KIAF 2010 created a real festival of international art, offering an overview of the art development in the countries influential in the contemporary art scene, and also offered a perspective to predict its future evolution. It proved its reputation as Asia’s prime art fair offering a wide choice of mostly good quality artworks. While the presence of some low quality artworks and lack of proper public relations characterized a few galleries, these issues are relevant only for the respective galleries, not for KIAF itself. Last but not least, the numerous subsidiary programs offered by KIAF represent further strong points that guaranteed the success of KIAF 2010.

Check official website:

http://kiaf.org/

See some of the artworks and list of galleries here:

http://www.kiaf.org/2010/eng/exhibitor_gallery.html

Obscurus Animation DVD Cover

2010-11-02T17:23:00.000+09:00

Armin Fabian's Blog

2010-10-22T21:13:00.000+09:00

Check out my brother's blog here !

Say hi to Mr. Bubo !

2010-10-12T23:29:00.000+09:00

Update !

2010-10-04T22:20:00.000+09:00

I updated my Activity [c.v.] page. Check out here !

Mi-am innoit informatiile de pe pagina Activitate [c.v.]. Vizualizeaza aici !

Some of my artworks on Casa Matei Galley website

2010-09-12T23:12:00.000+09:00

Check out the Casa Matei Gallery website here !

Back to The Land of the Morning Calm

2010-09-07T19:13:00.003+09:00

About 10 days ago I returned to South Korea, The Land of the Morning Calm.
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After spending my last year in Romania for preparing my graduation, exhibitions and presentations it felt wonderful to walk again the streets of Seoul.
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Before returning to Korea, I was wondering how did the capital change during the last year.
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I was surprised to see significant changes, proving that Seoul is a dynamic, modern and constantly improving metropolis.
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If I look back over the last 10 days since my arrival, I notice how many things happened in such a short time.
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Meeting good friends, adapting myself and arranging my new living environment, experiencing a typhoon that hit Seoul, visiting a formal royal palace in Suwon, visiting newly built sky-scraper city Songdo, climbing Namsan several times, visiting some areas of the city that I missed more, and of course, studying at top Korean University, Yonsei.^^

I'm also posting a painting that I made on a rainy Sunday in Cluj, July 2010.

It's made with acrylics on canvas, and for the final effects I used nothing else than natural rain water.

drawing

2010-08-21T19:26:00.000+09:00

Update 2 - Armin New Photo Gallery

2010-08-08T20:18:00.000+09:00

The new photos of Fabian Armin can be viewed here.

My Logo Design

2010-08-08T20:09:00.000+09:00

Update - Download Full Album !

2010-08-05T22:51:00.000+09:00

From now, you can download the full Elara album by Fabian Armin with a single click here !

my new AsiaSaek works online !

2010-07-23T20:20:00.000+09:00

The new artworks of my AsiaSaek series are online. Check out the following link or access the AsiaSaek page from my main website.

Noile lucrari ale seriei AsiaSaek sunt online. Vizualizati urmand acest link sau accesati pagina AsiaSaek a site-ului meu principal.

Preview of AsiaSaek Artwork Series Webpage

2010-07-21T18:30:00.000+09:00

Archives - Some of my engravings

2010-07-18T21:27:00.002+09:00

Taboo [metal engraving] 2006

Valentine's Day [metal engraving] 2006

Nostalgia [metal engraving] 2005

The Apotropaic Butterfly [linocut] 2007

The Ritual of Testosterone [linocut] 2007

Interview - April 2009 - Seoul

2010-07-16T22:35:00.003+09:00

It's been almost one year since I returned to Romania from South Korea, but still I have the chance to meet people who ask me the same stereotyped questions: "how is Korea?" "how are the universities there?" "what did you study there?" etc

Sometimes, I feel quite annoyed by hearing the same repetitive questions from people who never even tried to read a few pages about Korea, and they expect me to answer just out of sudden in a way that they could understand easily.

I know that the cultural differences among East Europe and Korea are tremendous, and this is why during the last year I tried my best to inform the Romanian and Hungarian public about the true values of the Korean culture.

These days, I was just browsing the internet when I found an interview that I gave last year for "The Dongguk Post" - Dongguk University's English Magazine.

I knew about the printed version of the magazine, I still have a copy of it... but I was surprised to find the online version.

Although it's an older interview, I post it, hoping that it might answer some questions about Korean universities.

You can also access the magazine at the following link.

Nowadays at DU [Dongguk University] we can see several exchange students walking around campus. So it isn't so surprising to study with foreign students in the class. Most of these new students come from Asia or English speaking countries. However, some of them come from Eastern Europe. Fabian Emanuel, a Romanian student, is from BABES-BOLYAI University and is at Dongguk as an exchange student. He came to DU last semester and will leave this August. His major is Film & Digital Media. The Post interviewed him and, among many other things, asked about his school life.

The Process of Coming to DU

Romania is a country a long way from Korea. So why did he come from such a long distance? He said: "In fact, it was a very hard decision for me. Many Romanians, myself included, have wondered about Korean life and its culture. So I decided to come to Korea and learn and study more deeply about the country." He added that, after deciding to come here, he chose DU because no other university in Korea had an exchange arrangement with his university. So I asked him if he had any regrets about coming to DU. He replied with a smile: "I don't think so. I think that my choice was very good. This is because DU is so highly valued by Korean people. For example, the Department of Film & Digital Media is famous throughout Korea. Additionally, the Campus, with its proximity to Nam Mountain is big and very beautiful."He added that "Buddhism in DU also interested him. When I lived in Romania, Buddhism is hardly known. So many people, including myself, are fascinated by this religion. I really wanted to understand Buddhism, so now I'll get the chance through coming to the DU."

His Life in DU

So what about his life in DU? He answered that he is really happy with campus life. He said: "Before coming to DU, I worried that I wouldn't do well. In fact, I was the first exchange student from Romania. But I already know that DU students are really kind. When I joined in the group assignments, or in any other situation, I felt the kindness of DU students. Thanks to DU students, I can enjoy my life here." He was also satisfied with the lectures, especially the English ones. "In the English lectures, all students must speak English in class. I was really surprised by the students' ability. So when I joined the class, I was able to improve my English skills and study at the same time." He added that he also registered for classes in Buddhism last semester. "This class was especially interesting; it was one of my favorites! I am really happy about getting closer to Buddhism. There are many monks, temples and classes on Buddhism at DU." He said that he was really satisfied with all the other classes, but especially the ones noted above. He stressed that the quality of DU lectures was very high. However, he had one little complaint about DU. He said: "Then I looked up e-class and the DU home page, it was mostly in Korean, not English. This confused me sometimes. For example, when I was downloading presentation files by e-class, I was really confused by a lot of buttons written in Korean. This is not big problem for other people, but I hope the DU staff will solve this problem."

Advice for other exchange students

He said that to be open-minded is really important for exchange students. "I think that many Western exchange students are afraid to come to an Asian country. They are afraid of getting too close to Asian cultures; not physically, but emotionally. This is because emotionally Asians and Europeans are really different. For this reason, they have many problems adjusting to Korean life. For example, there are many misunderstandings about language, food and other things. However, by being open-minded, we can overcome these problems."

After the interview was over, he remarked that he hoped that more and more DU students would come to this university as exchange students. If any DU student had been rude to him, he never mentioned. If DU students continue to show their kindness then many more will follow his example. This, apparently, will help DU? wish to be a player on the global stage. I hope that DU achieves this aim. I also hope that Fabian returns to Romania with happy memories of his time at our university.

By Kim Ji-heon, Post Reporter

Obscurus Animation

2010-07-09T06:35:00.007+09:00

The Changes of East Asian Living Space – Consequence of Social Transformations

2010-07-04T22:25:00.003+09:00

Regarding worldwide cultures, it is obvious that almost every nation has different living spaces, shaped according to their values. Reasons for the development of different architectural types are first of all the natural resources of each area, with further factors including religion, life style or financial status. However, one of the most relevant determinants of the design of a living space is family structure and the type of the fundamental inter-social relations. According to this, the characteristic layout of the Asian housing unit reflects the values within the Eastern families showing also the overall condition of the mainstream society. Viewing the contrast between the traditional houses and the contemporary residential facilities, the radical change of the Asian culture is self evident.

In historical terms the Chinese influence over the East had significant results.

China

is the home country of Confucianism, a major philosophy that had a basic role in shaping society and in extension its basic unit, the family. Furthermore, through family structure Confucianism had an impact on the eastern traditional architecture. Confucianism spread over Korean and

Japan

. Due to local cultural differences although the fundamental building technique remained similar, the layout was developed differently causing distinctive national architectural styles.

View of patriarchal room opened toward the inner courtyard, Korean traditional house, Chungmuro neighborhood, Seoul

In relation to the design of common houses, the main characteristic of Confucianism is that it can be related to architectural principles based on the idea of social hierarchy. Examples of these include the respect toward elders and discrimination of women. Emblematic for its influence can be considered the Chinese traditional home. The overall shape in most cases is one story high and has a rectangular layout. The entrance is on the southern side of the house facing a screen wall in the court for stopping the visibility from outside. This is also the reason for the high walls that surround the house. With one or more courtyards placed in the central area, the rooms are disposed around them, with a strict axial alignment. Due to the courtyard, the interior spaces with different functions are placed in different areas of the house and they are usually linked only through the central opened space, avoiding the built of interior corridors. To receive as much sunlight as possible, the patriarchal room was located north of the courtyard facing south, and due to its primary importance it had the largest size. It was flanked along the court by the living spaces of the sons and their families. The living spaces for the servants were small and together with the storage spaces they were located in the southern section of the house, facing north, so having an unpropitious site according to Feng-shui [풍수].

Most features of this prototype can be analyzed through their relation with the daily life of the family. For example, more than just being a space that connects different rooms, the courtyard represents an area that unites the family. When weather is favorable, it is used as a dinning space and as a playground for children. The main room had the best placement according to the laws of axiality and Feng-Shui. This shows the importance given to the patriarch. His sons were living next to him together with their families. The daughters conform Chinese tradition were moving together with the families of their husbands. Also, the surrounding walls and the screen before the entrance show that families were searching for privacy. Chinese emphasized the family or the clan as a unity of more families, leading sometimes to isolation from the rest of the society.

While Chinese homes with one or two courtyards had the general layout similar to the characters ㅁ or 日, the Korean houses preferred the ㄴ, ㄱ, ㅡ or ㅁ shape. The Korean high class residences like in case of the Yeongyeongdang Estate related to the Changdeokgung Palace also insisted on the concept of hierarchy. There were clear distinctions between the facilities built for the masters and the ones for the servant. Furthermore, the men’s quarter called sarangchae was divided from the women’s quarter, the anchae. These areas were separated by a low fence while the buildings had rooms that might have different uses during the day, but being designed differently for men and for women. Of course, this strict division was made only in case of the high society, because many families could not afford to build different buildings for women, men, servants and for storage space. In those cases members of a family lived inside of the same building, but in different rooms. This features shows that Korean families also followed a Confucian hierarchy, but because of dissimilar social values they adapted it differently than the Chinese. Moreover, the traditional houses show that the widespread type of cohabitation was the extended family. This form of basic social organization type reunited up to four successive generations inside of the same living complex; sometimes closely related families formed a clan whose members lived in close proximity to each other.

Korean Traditional House [Hanok Village - Chungmuro Neighborhood Seoul]

The Japanese society also received significant influences from Buddhism that came in the 6^th century together with Buddhism through

Korea

, a country that was already accustomed to elements of the Buddhist and Confucian philosophies. Having the tendency to “Japonize” every cultural import, the architectural influences were adapted in time to the Japanese people’s necessities. They rejected to formal axiality and the strict hierarchy of the interior space. Unlike the stereotyped monastic environment’s layout, the ordinary people’s house is described by two major characteristics: asymmetry and flexibility of the interior partitioning system. The distribution of the interior space was easily changeable by large slideable doors often used as windows, moveable screens and even slideable interior walls. These possibilities of defining interiors lead to a large flexibility in organizing the homes according to the necessity of the family. Furthermore, the Japanese architecture is often called “organic architecture” because it is closely related to the inhabitant’s needs and size. The basic unit in defining a room’s size was the rice straw tatami floor mat, roughly 1x2 meters large, size defined by the body size of average Japanese. This size defines the minimum sleeping space of a person, leading to rooms that are multiples of tatami mats. These organizing principles reflect the rational approach toward building houses, a rationality and pursuit of perfection that remained an iconic attribute of the contemporary society. Also, this layout type reflects the Japanese characteristic of being easily sociable and being able to adapt effortlessly to any situation, or any small living space.

Details of Gyeongbokgung Palace with modern sky scrapers in the background. The combination of traditional and contemporary urban landscape is specific for Seoul

The durability in time of these traditional building styles is amazing. But more staggering is the rush of the East Asian countries to abandon the traditional building solutions while ushering toward modernity throughout the 20^th century. The changes can be closely related the influence of the western civilization. The first to adopt western architecture was

Japan

, in the late 19^th century, the beginning of its industrialization. Throughout the Japanese colonization,

Korea

made important steps to westernize its architecture. The post Korean War period represented the time of the national rebuilding process, the moment when purely western solutions were implemented. On the other hand,

China

’s western architecture came later than in

Japan

. The Chinese urbanization process came lately, but it’s currently skyrocketing. An example like Shanghai, a city that changed completely in just the recent 30 years shows the speed of modernization. But still about 65% of

China

is rural living environment, indicating that traditional architecture was not totally rejected yet.

The reasons of abandoning the conventional architecture that was conceived to be a part of the surrounding nature, in favor of a concrete-steel-glass westernized building style that ends up dominating its surroundings can be closely related to changes of the Asian society. As pointed out previously regarding Japan, the first steps came together with industrialization, after East Asian countries opened up to relations with the West. Another important factor that determined the expansion of the stereotyped apartment blocks was out of control demographic growth. Iconic for this problem is the case of Seoul, were the concentration of the population in the immediate post Korean War period correlated with an unpredicted “baby boom” and raised the need for adequate housing solutions. Although late, the solution came in the 1960’s with an intensive apartment building policy. This solution could provide living space for a larger population on a smaller built surface than traditional homes could. In addition, a major benefit of the new apartments was the increase of comfort. Modernized bathing space, durability, better temperature isolation, and placement in the Metropolitan area are just a few of the benefits appreciated by people who shifted from rural to urban areas.

Southern area of Seoul [Seocho and Gangnam districts - 2 of Seoul's 25 districts]

The drastic change over such a short time produced mixed results. One may claim that the society’s changes determined the choice of new architectural solutions, but on the other hand the new solutions lead to further social changes. Regarding an architectural approach it can be said that the new shapes adopted by the architects came suddenly, unprepared by gradual changes. This lead to stereotyped solutions and created an urban space that in many areas lost the uniqueness of living environment. According to this, modern housing interiors and neighborhood layouts became uniform and sterile, examples of this can be found in metropolises like Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka or Beijing.

In terms of sociology, the main change that can be linked with the change of living space is the doom of the traditional extended family. The modern apartments are more suitable for the nuclear family, composed by the spouses and their children. This change is also closely related to the evolution of social values. The 50’s coincided with the collapse of the Confucian beliefs that united the traditional society. Last but not least, the change of family organization came step by step with the extensive urbanization. While youngsters were moving to cities in pursuit of education, jobs or just higher living conditions, many elders preferred to stick with their long-established rural environments.

Contemporary Urban Landscape - Chungmuro neighborhood - Seoul

In conclusion, the changes of the Asian social values and family organization are closely connected to the changes in living space building style. The conventional homes reflected the unity of the extended family and the hierarchy within the society. Having characteristic cannons that assured proper space distribution, the past homes varied between interior flexibility like in case of Japan, a stereotyped layout with deep philosophical meaning in case of China, and a uniqueness and hierarchy of space in Korea. Abandoning these customary solutions that guaranteed social balance, East Asia adopted and adapted western housing standards. The inexorable changes came promptly, leading to changes in family distribution and alteration of traditional social values. Seeking social balance with the new cultural conditions, the emulation of western values was appreciated as a proper solution. The result is a modernized society that although continues to preserve in each East Asian countries, it has lost several cultural and traditional characteristics, in favor of progress to the detriment of its own built and cultural heritage.

The Korean Dream - Statement

2010-06-11T17:38:00.001+09:00

Date: October 2008, Seoul, South Korea --- January 2010, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Technique: mechanical pencils on paper

Size: 230 x 65 cm

Recently, someone asked me what is the concept of my artwork “The Korean Dream.” Since she wasn’t the kind of person who would listen to my never ending descriptions, I answered briefly in two words simply saying “contemporary Korea.” I was surprised to find out that she became so intrigued by my short and resumed answer that she spent the next half an hour asking details, and building up a conversation based on the artwork.

Regarded in the context of my entire creation until now, The Korean Dream represents a radical shift from my previous dark and gloomy style. It is also the first step that opens my new series Asiasaek [아시아색]. It is a work that raised my standards, after my stay in Korea. I started to make the first sketches for the work during my first days in Korea, but later on the project became more complex including somehow my theoretical research about Seoul.

The Korean Dream’s title can have multiple interpretations. First of all, regarded from an international perspective it makes an allusion to the American Dream. Looking back to the late 19^thand 20^thcentury, for many Europeans the American Dream stood for a new life, a brand new start in the land of modernity, evolution or just simply a good life in a highly developed country. While in the 21^st century the US is slowly but clearly losing its superiority with faded influence over Europe, East Asia experiences an unprecedented development. Japan and South Korea are developed top of the world countries with high life standards, while China’s skyrocketing development is quickly pushing it toward becoming a world superpower. In this context, soon, the American Dream might lose its attractiveness and its place might be taken by the Korean Dream, the Japanese Dream or the Chinese Dream.

Second, regarded from an Asian perspective The Korean Dream can be interpreted as the pursuit of the fast economical, cultural or technological development. The fast development of the Korean economy was an unprecedented event and it served as a model to follow for many other Asian countries. Korean technology became a “must have” for contemporary Asians due to its quality, and especially due to its prestige. Furthermore contemporary Korean culture initiated [and continues to do so] mainstream trends in Asia, mostly thanks to Hallyu, or the “Korean wave” promoted through cinematographic productions. In this context, for many Asians contemporary Korea became a model to follow, like a dream…

Third, regarded through a Korean perspective, The Korean Dream stands for the pursuit of both national and individual prosperity. Being a highly competitive society, it formed generations of ambitious people that compared to Europeans, invest much more effort, time and finances to reach a successful modern life. For them, the dream is related to achieving happiness, and it is more or less directly linked to Seoul.

Although the title of my drawing refers to Korea, it has an important connection with its capital, Seoul. Often called as the “miracle on the Han river,” Seoul’s development speed became synonymous with the successful endeavor for prosperity. Having roughly 200.000 inhabitants during the last years of the Joseon Dynasty, it faced a destructive Japanese colonial domination from 1910 to 1945. After just a few years, the Korean War destroyed Seoul and most of the cities throughout the Korean Peninsula, leaving the country divided, people at the edge of starvation, hundreds of thousands of homeless and no clear plans for recovering. Through the efforts of a couple of generations of hard workers, Korea’s fast development is unanimously considered by historians as unique in the history of the world. Today, Korea became one of the world’s top 10 economies, with high life standards and ubiquitous high-technology. Seoul became the world’s second largest metropolis with approximately 23 million inhabitants, bustling of colors, neon lights, futuristic gadgets and… kind people.

However, high life standards and enviable careers became closely related to consumerism. The Korean Dream’s central concept is closely related to consumerism and shopaholic girls. From the beginning, I have to admit that I have seen excessive shopping oriented habits among East European women as well, but I wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of shopping mania among Korean girls. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not totally against consumerism and shopping, and my artwork shouldn’t be interpreted strictly as criticism toward shopping passion. I have to admit that I spent many nice days on the streets of Myeong-Dong shopping district or in other Malls around the city.

A non-Korean might wonder what is hidden behind the Asian text on the girl’s shopping bag. The left side vertical Korean text spells 쇼핑 세대 [shopping sedae], simply translated next to it in English as “shopping generation.” The smaller text follows the traditional right to left vertical writing and spells 나 강남 여자야. The translation is “I am a Gangnam girl/woman” and it is written in informal Korean, being rather a sincere statement about an intimate fact. To make it clear Gangnam can have multiple meanings. Taken syllable by syllable it means “river” and “south.” So, the first meaning defines the southern area of Seoul, a metropolis divided in two relatively equal parts by the Han River. The southern area usually stands for modernity and a westernized urban landscape composed by high rise buildings. While Gangbuk [the north of the city] preserves the city’s traditional cultural heritage and hosts most of the governmental buildings, Gangnam represents the fancy new areas, business districts, fashion centers, and numerous modern art facilities. Being usually much more expensive, it became synonymous with high life. A second meaning of Gangnam refers to Gangnam district, one of Seoul’s 25 administrative districts. It is obviously located also in the Southern part of the city, and it is known as one of Korea’s most expensive living quarters. It is mostly a business, fashion and shopping area, but it hosts sky scraper apartments as well. Analyzed from a sociologic perspective, living in Gangnam district is a sign of wealth, sometimes even an intended show off of prosperity. Taking it through fashion’s perspective, Koreans often create an analogy among Gangnam district and feminine beauty. It is the home of high life, most wanted stars, glamorous careers and evidently… skyrocketing prices. [More details about Gangnam in my future research about Seoul’s urbanism and architecture]

I’ve heard it quite often among my friends: “I am a Gangnam girl,” but it took some time until I gained enough knowledge about contemporary Korea to fully comprehend the meaning of such a statement. Anyway, it is a cute and quite funny declaration depending on its context, and it doesn’t necessarily suppose that one is boasting herself. However, there is one more thing that links to the Gangnam generation: significant losses of traditional values. And this isn’t reflected only by the urban landscape, or by the life style. Although it isn’t obvious for ordinary foreigners, there is a relevant change of mentalities. I won’t spend time trying to explain the reasons for such a complex flip of mentalities but the essence is related to one’s attitude. Dating back to the Joseon Dynasty [1392-1910] Korea inherited a Confucian based society. This lead to a clear order and strict hierarchy between different social classes and differently aged people. Moreover, modesty in behavior and the pursuit of wise thinking were promoted. Modesty and wisdom were somehow leading to a relative shyness regarding affirming oneself. But these days, hearing from somebody saying “I am a Gangnam girl/woman” while smiling happily/proudly marks a clear change of mentalities and attitudes. It is not just the statement of a social class, a sign of a relative pride, a sign of declaring one’s wealth or beauty. It is a symbol for the overall endeavor of the S. Korean young generations to usher toward high standards and loosing traditions in front of western influences. This leads to loosing the traditional concept of collectivism in front of the western individualist thoughts.

Following a grammatical perspective, we can say that the statement from the shopping bag expresses indirectly an individualist mentality. This is one of the many everyday sentences that one may say during a day, without even fully comprehending the implications that it might say about one’s subconscious. The statement says “I am a Gangnam girl.” Not we, it is just me, “I.” Starting from Confucian values, today’s Korean language steel has expressions that are used on a daily basis like 우리 집 “our house,” 우리 어머니 “our mother,” 우리 나라 “our country” etc. These expressions are based on the idea that something doesn’t belong only to one person, it belongs to a group. It is not only one’s house, it is the house of the entire family; she is not only one’s mother, she is a mother for all the extended family members.

But now things changed. Today one may be a Gangnam girl without ever considering the effects of losing the Korean traditional values under westernization. Today one may be a Gangnam girl living the (pseudo) Korean Dream.

Jiwon Park Yangjun and Fabian Emanuel expo in Casa Matei Art Gallery from Cluj

2010-05-30T01:14:00.009+09:00

Fabian Emanuel - Heaven, Earth, Human and Technology

Fabian Emanuel new media instalations

Fabian Emanuel - Like Cherry Blossom / The 8 Confucian Virtues [Propriety] - digital version

Fabian Emanuel - Like Cherry Blossom / The 8 Confucian Virtues [Propriety] - installation version

Fabian Emanuel's artworks in Casa Matei Art Gallery's second exhibition hall

Master Park Yangjun's Korean calligraphy artworks in Casa Matei Gallery's main exhibition hall

Master Park Yangjun's calligraphy artworks

Together with curator Park Youngsuk and Korean special guests^^

Photos from "Like Cherry Blossom" Korean Festival in Cluj

2010-05-30T00:17:00.006+09:00

Jo Sanjin and prof. Park Youngsuk presenting flower arrangement performance

Jo Eunji giving a Korean cultural presentation

So Woojoo presented the Hanbok - the traditional Korean costume

The exhibition hall getting prepared for prof. Park Youngsuk's presentation about Seoul

Korean Cultural Festival Continues ! - Invitation

2010-05-20T19:10:00.001+09:00

Korean Cultural Center Website Online !

2010-05-14T00:58:00.004+09:00

The new website of the Korean Cultural Center of Cluj-Napoca was launched ! The site was made by Attila Don, who did a wonderful job ! Check out the site on www.kccc.ro or just click here !

Like Cherry Blossom - Poster for Cluj

2010-05-11T06:15:00.000+09:00

Like Cherry Blossom - Festival Events

2010-05-09T21:08:00.003+09:00

The list of events included in the Korean Cultural Festival from Casa Matei Gallery, Cluj-Napoca:

Tuesday, May 18, 18:00 - Opening of "Like Cherry Blossom" art exhibition, presenting calligraphy artworks of Master Park Yangjun and new media installations of Fabian Emanuel

Thursday, May 20, 16:00 - "Gallery Talk" conversation with the public about the exhibited artworks and Korean culture - curator Park Youngsuk and Fabian Emanuel

Friday, May 21, 15:00 - "Introducing Seoul" presentation given by prof. Park Youngsuk

Wednesday, May 26, 18:00 - "Like Cherry Blossom" cultural presentation by Jo Eunji; Korean flower arrangements by Jo Sangjin; presentation about the Korean traditional costume "Hanbok" by So Woojoo

Thursday, May 27 - Closing day of "Like Cherry Blossom" art exhibition

Lista evenimentelor din cadrul Festivalului Cultural Coreean de la Galeria Casa Matei, Cluj-Napoca:

Marti, 18 Mai, 18:00 - Vernisajul expozitiei "Like Cherry Blossom" reunind lucrarile Maestrului Caligraf Park Yangjun si instalatiile new media ale lui Fabian Emanuel

Joi, 20 Mai, 16:00 - "Gallery Talk" conversatii despre exponate si cultura coreeana cu curatorul Park Youngsuk si Fabian Emanuel

Vineri, 21 Mai, 15:00 - "Introducing Seoul" prezentare despre capitala Sud Coreeana sustinuta de prof. Park Youngsuk

Miercuri, 26 Mai, 18:00 - "Like Cherry Blossom" prezentare culturala sustinuta de Jo Eunji, aranjamente florare coreene de Jo Sangjin, prezentarea costumului traditional coreean "Hanbok" de So Woojoo

Joi, 27 Mai - inchiderea expozitiei "Like Cherry Blossom"

Episode 2 - Cluj-Napoca

2010-05-06T19:10:00.006+09:00

After opening the "Like Cherry Blossom" exhibition in Satu Mare Museum of Art on the 14th of April, we are preparing a new and larger event.

On the 18th of May, a second "Like Cherry Blossom" art exhibition will open in Cluj-Napoca. This time, the joint exhibition that features my works and Master Park Yangjun's works will be followed for an entire week by Korean cultural presentations, creating a real Korean spring festival coordinated by prof. Park Youngsuk.

The place that will host the events is the Casa Matei Gallery from Cluj-Napoca. The gallery itself is a place with a special history. The building dates back to the 15th century and it is a combination of Transylvanian Gothic and Renaissance styles. It is attested to be the birth place of Hungarian King Matias Corvinus.

Today the building hosts one of the major art galleries of Cluj-Napoca, promoting exhibitions of artists from all over Europe.

Casa Matei Corvin (image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/92728560@N00/1095713517)

Dupa deschiderea expozitiei "Ca Floarea de Cires" in Satu Mare pe 14 aprilie, pregatim un nou eveniment artistic.

Din 18 mai, a doua expozitie "Ca Floarea de Cires" (Like Cherry Blossom) se va deschide la Cluj-Napoca. De data aceasta, expozitia care va reuni lucrarile mele cu cele ale Maestrului Park Yangjun va fi urmata de o saptamana de evenimente culturale coreene, creand un adevarat festival cultural coreean coordonat de prof Park Youngsuk.

Evenimentele vor fi organizate in incinta Galeriei Casa Matei din Cluj-Napoca. Galeria in sine este un loc cu o istorie speciala. Cladirea a fost construita in secolul 15, intr-o combinatie a stilurilor gotic si renastere transilvaneana. Deasemenea, este atestat drept locul de nastere al regelui Ungariei Matei Corvin.

Astazi cladirea adaposteste una din galeriile de arta de top ale Clujului, promovand expozitiile artistilor din variate puncte ale Europei.

Some New Artworks

2010-05-04T19:18:00.005+09:00

Digital Version

Ca Floarea de Cires / Cele opt virtuti ale confucianismului ( Fraternitate )

Like Cherry Blossom / The eight Confucian virtues ( Brotherhood )

Installation Version

Ca Floarea de Cires / Cele opt virtuti ale confucianismului ( Fraternitate )

Like Cherry Blossom / The eight Confucian virtues ( Brotherhood )

Digital Version

Ca Floarea de Cires / Cele opt virtuti ale confucianismului ( Onorabilitatea )

Like Cherry Blossom / The eight Confucian virtues ( Integrity )

Installation Version

Ca Floarea de Cires / Cele opt virtuti ale confucianismului ( Onorabilitatea )

Like Cherry Blossom / The eight Confucian virtues ( Integrity )

Detaliu din "Cerul, Pamantul, Omul si Tehnologia" - Mica dragalasenie imbracata in Hanbok (costum traditional coreean)

Detail of "Heaven, Earth, Human and Technology" - Little cuteness dressed up in Hanbok (korean traditional dress)

Missing "The Korean Dream"

2010-05-01T22:40:00.003+09:00

Yes, I am talking about the Korean Dream. About my Korean Dream. About the artwork that I feel like I lost. I’m counting the days until I’m going to get her back.

I started working on the artwork, soon after I arrived to Seoul in late 2008 and I finished it in early 2010 in Cluj. It is the first work of the new AsiaSaek series, and it is the only artwork that I treat like it would be a living person.

I got so attached to her… maybe too attached. The woman in the artwork is a simple product of my imagination. She isn’t representing anybody that I would know in real life. However, she gained step by step a name, personality, an own style that only me and some of my closest friends know.

In Seoul, for almost one year this life size artwork was hanging on the walls of my room. After coming back to Transylvania, a placed once again the artwork in my room, choosing its place carefully, like if I would follow some kind of ritual or feng-shui rules. So, for one and a half years, I was falling asleep seeing her, and waking up in the morning looking at her standing in front of me. Day by day, I felt like she is becoming more and more important for me.

I noticed that other people sometimes regarded her as a living thing, probably because of her real life size. There was a Romanian guy who touched her face when he saw her for the first time, and I also knew a Korean guy who tried to touch her breast, making me really angry [almost jealous]. In time, I decided to not talk about her just as “the drawing” or “the woman in the artwork” because it sounded too abstract. I decided to call her Hana [한아], a name with a similar pronunciation with number 1 in Korean. This because she was the first artwork of AsiaSaek series. But the spelling of her name in Korean is different from that of number one, because I’ve chosen syllable “Han” to be the same as that in Han-guk [meaning Korea].

Since she is in the Satu Mare Museum of Art, my place seems so empty. Whenever I look at the wall, there is just a poster replacing the original artwork. A poster can never replace her… I just hope Hana will get back well, untouched and in perfect shape like before.

Download ArmiN FabiaN new song !

2010-05-01T03:36:00.000+09:00

My brother, ArmiN FabiaN is currently working on his second album.

The new songs seem to be less noisy, and more trendy !

He offers a preview of the new album. Free download here.

Fratele meu, ArmiN FabiaN lucreaza la cel de-al doilea album.

Piesele sunt mai putin zgomotoase si ceva mai trendy !

Pentru descarcarea primei piese apasati aici.

Photos from Exhibition Opening in Satu Mare

2010-04-20T20:47:00.006+09:00

Left to right: me, curator Park Youngsuk, manager of Satu Mare Museum of Art Felicia Grigorescu

De la stanga la dreapta: eu, curator Park Youngsuk, directoarea Muzeului de Arta Satu Mare Felicia Grigorescu

Artworks of Master Park Yangjun, South Korea

Lucrarile Maestrului Park Yangjun, Coreea de Sud

My new media - lightbox artwork series

Seria mea noua de lucrari new media - lightbox

Our precious Korean guests^^

Oaspeti sud coreeni la vernisaj

Hosu Sebastian (left) and Catana Alexandru (right) helping me prepare the exhibition. Special thanks for all their help !

Hosu Sebastian (stanga) si Catana Alexandru (dreapta) ajutand la panotarea expozitiei. Multumiri speciale pentru ajutorul lor !

Press Review 4 - Like Cherry Blossom - Expo in Satu Mare

2010-04-16T17:34:00.003+09:00

Articol publicat in ziarul Informatia Zilei, Satu Mare, 15 aprilie 2010 de Viorica Shibata

Link catre articolul original aici.

Press Review 3 - Expo in Satu Mare

2010-04-16T17:16:00.002+09:00

Articol publicat in ziarul Szatmari Magyar Hirlap, Satu Mare, 15 aprilie 2010 de Gyorgy B.

Press Review 2 - Exhibition "Like Cherry Blossom" Satu Mare

2010-04-16T17:06:00.003+09:00

Articol publicat in ziarul Friss Ujsag, Satu Mare, 15 aprilie 2010 de Elek Gyorgy

Press Review 1 - Exhibition "Like Cherry Blossom" Satu Mare

2010-04-16T16:46:00.003+09:00

Articol publicat in ziarul Informatia Zilei, Satu Mare, 13 aprilie 2010 de Viorica Shibata

Miercuri, expoziţie de caligrafie sud-coreană la Muzeul de Artă

Ca de fiecare dată, ne face plăcere să semnalăm la Satu Mare organizarea unor evenimente culturale inedite şi originale. De data aceasta este vorba de o surpinzătoare expoziţie de caligrafie a unui artist consacrat sud-corean. Park Yang Jun va fi prezent începând de miercuri, 14 aprilie, cu nu mai puţin de 20 de lucrări în sălile Muzeului de Artă din Satu Mare. Expoziţia intitulată “Ca floarea de cireş” are ca punct de pornire tema frumuseţii trecătoare a florii de cireş specifică culturii asiatice, dar şi cea a renaşterii.

Alături de lucrările de caligrafie ale artistului din Coreea vor putea fi văzute şi cele ale unui tânăr sătmărean, Fabian Emanuel, student la Istoria Artei şi concomitent la grafică în cadrul Universităţii de Arte din Cluj Napoca. Acesta a luat contact cu cultura asiatică studiind timp de un an la Seul în Corea de Sud. El va prezenta publicului sătmărean o abordare new-media a aceleaşi teme, floare de cireş. Lucrările sale de instalaţii, unsprezece la număr, sunt de fapt nişte light box-uri care îşi proiectează imaginile.

Curatorul acestei expoziţii va fi Park Young Suk, directorul Centrului Cultural Corean din Cluj Napoca şi profesor universitar de limba coreeană la Facultatea de Litere din cadrul Universităţii Babeş Bolyai.

Lansăm tuturor celor interesaţi de arte şi frumos invitaţia de a nu rata o expoziţie inedită şi extrem de interesantă care va avea vernisajul, miercuri, începând cu ora 18.00.

Link catre articolul original aici.

Invitation to Expo

2010-04-10T06:03:00.000+09:00

Poster - Satu Mare Exhibition

2010-04-06T20:58:00.002+09:00

New Series - AsiaSaek

2010-04-05T08:05:00.002+09:00

After the gloomy and acid Transylvanian series Obscure Subconscious [2006-2009] and after the colorful and introspective series Meditative Synestesiae [2007-2008], my third series open a new direction in my creation. The title of the new series is AsiaSaek [아시아색], a name composed by two Korean words: Asia and Saek [meaning Asia – Color]. The first artwork of the new series was envisioned in 2008, and the elaboration of the series went through most of 2009.

The works of the new series are designed around Asian cultural subjects, focusing on South Korea. The subjects are oscillating between traditional and contemporary cultural subjects, aiming to analyze the relation among them. Consequently, AsiaSaek is attempting to reveal the impact of contemporary westernized East Asian pop-culture upon traditional thoughts and surroundings. Also it pursues to present the opposite: the presence of traditional Asian elements incorporated in today’s high-tech metropolises.

The message of the AsiaSaek artworks is expressed through encoded multilayered structures. There is a surface message that can be easily comprehended, but the deep meanings need a close analysis. Compared to my previous series, AsiaSaek’s message is more sublime, and it is more complex and intellectualized. Since it touches Asian cultural details that an average European would not understand, AsiaSaek artworks will be accompanied by introductory statements to avoid naïve misunderstandings. On the other hand, the visuals are based on vivid, eye catching colors and various figurative symbols. Color becomes a way of expressing my thoughts and feelings, a medium to create a spectacular harmony in my artworks, and a channel to express cultural symbols.

From a technical point of view, AsiaSaek explores a new way of creating impact upon the public. The works abandon the classical two dimensional supports and eliminate the necessity of light for viewing an artwork. Most of the works of the new series are related technically and chromatically to the Asian colorful advertisement designs, the possibilities of neon lights and advantages of digital technologies. The works are the result of the combinations between classical painting and drawing and new digital art.

Summing it all up, AsiaSaek is new media art, a deep theoretical research about the fusion of traditional and contemporary Asian elements, and a series of 3D visuals built up from the possibilities of color and space.

AsiaSaek web page will be uploaded soon, with more artworks.

AsiaSaek - 2010 - 35 x 70 cm

Dupa seria deprimanta si acida Subconstient Obscur [2006-2009] si dupa colorata si introspectiva serie Sinestezii Meditative [2007-2008], a treia serie imi deschide o noua directie a creatiei mele. Titlul seriei noi este AsiaSaek [아시아색] [citeste AșiaSek], un nume compus din doua cuvinte coreene: Asia si Culoare. Prima lucrare a seriei a fost inceputa in 2008, iar proiectarea seriei a decurs pe durata anului 2009.

Lucrarile seriei noi sunt construite in jurul unor subiecte legate de culturile est asiatice, insistand pe Coreea de Sud. Subiectele oscileaza intre teme traditionale si contemporane, incercand sa analizeze relatia dintre ele. Astfel, AsiaSaek incearca sa prezinte impactul culturii pop al Asiei modernizate asupra spatiului si a gandirilor traditionale. Deasenebea, cauta sa prezinte opusul : prezenta elementelor traditionale in metropolele Asiatice supra tehnologizate.

Mesajul lucrarilor din seria AsiaSaek este codificat pe mai multe niveluri. Exista imagini de suprafata interpretabile usor, de vreme ce mesajul esential este relativ greu accesibil, necesitand o analiza mai detaliata. Comparativ cu seriile anterioare, mesajul AsiaSaek este mai sublim, mai complex si intelectualizat. Din cauza faptului ca dezvolta detalii ale culturilor Asiatice care i-ar fi greu accesibile unui european neinitiat, fiecare lucrare a seriei va fi insotita de un text introductiv pentru a evita interpretarea gresita a imaginilor. Pe de alta parte, imaginile vizuale sunt bazate pe culori vii si captivante si pe simboluri figurative. Culorile devin o modalitate de a-mi exprima gandurile si senzatiile, medii ce creaza armonii spectaculoase si forme de exprimare a simbolurilor culturale.

Din punct de vedere tehnic, AsiaSaek explora un nou mod de a crea impact asupra publicului. Lucrarile abandoneaza suporturile clasice bidimensionale si elimina necesitatea existentei luminii exterioare pentru a fi privite. Majoritatea lucrarilor sunt legate tehnic si cromatic de industria publicitara asiatica, de posibilitatile luminii de neon si de avantajele tehnologiilor digitale. Lucrarile sunt rezultatul unor combinatii intre desenul si pictura clasica si noua arta digitala.

In concluzie, AsiaSaek este arta new media, o cercetare avansata a fuziunii dintre elementele traditionale si contemporane ale Asiei de Est, si nu in ultimul rand o serie de imagini 3D construite din posibilitatile culorii si a spatiului.

Noua pagina web AsiaSaek va fi lansata in curand, cu mai multe lucrari.

New Artwork Series - New Blog Design

2010-04-03T02:38:00.003+09:00

Today I made some changes on the design of my blog. The new design elements are meant to reflect the atmosphere of my upcoming artwork series. More info about the new series soon.

Azi am facut niste modificari la designul blogului meu. Noile elemente sunt menite sa reflecte atmosfera seriei de lucrari aflate in pregatire. Mai multe informatii in curand.

Video - Your Turn

2010-04-02T19:35:00.001+09:00

Your Turn - Performance

2010-03-30T17:54:00.006+09:00

Last Saturday [27 March] together with other two artists: Sebastian Hosu and Alexandru Catana, we organized an art performance in the center of Cluj Napoca. The event was filmed and photographed by Furtmar Gunter Norbert Hans.

The contemporary art performance was entitled "Your Turn." It can be considered a relatively new form of art in the Romanian context, aiming to get the public closer to the artworks. Usually, the artworks can not be touched by the public, the viewer becoming just a passive admirer of the artists' creation. The purpose of our performance was to change this perspective, and provoke the viewers to make some artworks by drawing together with the artists. The interactive event gave the public a chance to express their imagination, and it also stimulated us to adapt our drawings to the sketches made by the public.

It was a memorable and important experience to us, and wonderful and fun moment for the public.(^_^)

Catana Alexandru, Hosu Sebastian, Fabian Emanuel

Sambata trecuta, impreuna cu alti doi artist: Sebastian Hosu si Alexandru Catana, am organizat un performance artistic in centrul Clujului. Evenimentul a fost filmat si fotografiat de Furtmar Gunter Norbert Hans.

Performance-ul artistic contemporan a fost intitulat "Your Turn" [Randul Tau]. Poate fi considerat o forma relativ noua de arta in contextul romanesc, avand scopul de a aduce mai aproape publicul de lucrarile de arta. De obicei publicul nu are dreptul de a atinge lucrarile de arta, devenind doar un admirator pasiv al creatiei artistilor. Performance-ul si-a propus sa schimbe aceasta perspectiva si sa provoace publicul sa creeze niste lucrari de arta desenand alaturi de artisti. Evenimentul interactiv a oferit ocazia oamenilor sa isi exprime imaginatia, si ne-a stimulat sa ne adaptam in functie de desenele publicului.

A fost o experienta memorabila si importanta pentru noi, iar pentru public o ocazie de a iesi din cotidian. (^_^)

Catana Alexandru, Hosu Sebastian, Fabian Emanuel

Episode 1 - Satu Mare

2010-03-23T07:12:00.006+09:00

After about two years since I exhibited my artworks for the last time, next month [April] I am going to return to my hometown for a new expo.

After the group expos of 2005, 2006 and 2007, this will be my fourth time to use an exhibition space provided by the Satu Mare Museum of Art, so I have to admit that I am returning there with nice memories from my previous experiences. Since I don't have any future plan related to my hometown, this will be probably my last exhibition in Satu Mare, but also the most significant so far.

This time, I feel honored to have the chance to open a joint exhibition with Master Park Yang Jun [박양준] from South Korea, one of the most prestigious contemporary Korean calligraphers. Soon, I will post more info about his work.

For those who aren't familiar with Satu Mare, it is a relatively small city [about 120.000 inhabitants] located in the North-West of Romania next to the border with Hungary. It is an old city with a history of over 1000 years, being considered a hybrid space of Romanian and Hungarian population.

The Museum of Art from Satu Mare is located in a new-Gothic building constructed in the 19th century. Today it hosts temporary exhibitions, and a permanent exhibition composed by the works of the most relevant artists from Transylvania. [More info about Satu Mare here]

Satu Mare Musem of Art [photo from: http://www.satu-mare.ro/cultura/muzee.html]

Dupa aproximativ doi ani de la ultima mea participare la o expozitie, luna viitoare [aprilie] ma voi intoarce in orasul meu natal pentru un nou expo.

Dupa expozitiile de grup dintre 2005 si 2007, evenimentul de luna viitoare va fi a patra ocazie in care voi folosi un spatiu pus la dispozitie de Muzeul de Arta Satu Mare. Astfel, trebuie sa admit ca ma intorc cu amintiri placute dupa experientele precedente. Insa de vreme ce nu am planuri de viitor legate de Satu Mare, probabil aceasta va fi ultima mea expozitie in orasul meu natal, dar in acelasi timp cea mai importanta de pana acum.

De data aceasta, ma simt onorat sa am ocazia de a expune alaturi de Maestrul Park Yang Jun [박양준] din Coreea de Sud, unul dintre cei mai prestigiosi caligrafi contemporani coreeni. In curand voi posta mai multe informatii despre creatia sa.

Say Annyeong [hello] to The Color Box !

2010-03-04T08:27:00.003+09:00

Since yesterday my new website is online. During the last week I was working on the final details, translations and testing.

The name of my new digital art is The Color Box, its concept and design being based on the sparkling colors of a box.

The subtitle of the new site is The vivid faces of my personality. The box has 6 colorful sides, each of them corresponding to one of the menu structures: Art, Literature, Web Design, Activity, Animation and Web Design.

The novelties of the site are a brand new design and structure, some new art works, personal statements to support the artwork series that I created so far, some new literature, and a preview for the new artworks that I am preparing for this year. And of course… a new personal colorful style to reflect my inner changes.

Noua mea pagina web este online de ieri. Ultima saptamana am lucrat la ultimele detalii, traduceri si testare.

Titlul noii mele lucrari de arta digitala este The Color Box [Cutia Culoare], conceptul si designul fiind axate pe o cromatica vie a unei cutii.

Subtitlul noului site este The vivid faces of my personality [Fețele vii/colorate ale personalitatii mele]. Cutia este compusa din 6 fatete colorate, fiecare corespunzand unei parti a meniului : Arta, Literatura, Web Design, Activitate, Animatie respectiv Web Design.

Noutatile site-ului sunt un design si o structura noua, cateva lucrari noi, analize personale menite sa sustina teoretic seriile si lucrarile de arta, literatura noua si niste informatii sumare despre lucrarile pregatite pentru anul acesta. Si desigur… un stil personal nou si colorat, reflectand schimbarile mele interioare.

The Korean Dream

2010-01-24T21:59:00.005+09:00

Date/Data: October 2008, Seoul, South Korea --- January 2010, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Technique/Tehnica: mechanical pencils on paper / creion mecanic pe hartie

Size/Dimensiune: 230 x 65 cm

The Korean Dream - Preview

2010-01-10T08:40:00.001+09:00

The Color Box - Preview

2010-01-04T08:56:00.004+09:00

Preview for the design of my new website, entitled The Color Box [finished soon]

Imagine din site-ul meu nou, intitulat The Color Box [in curand]

The End...

2009-12-22T01:35:00.010+09:00

I post a detail of my new work Offering to the Goddess of Pleasure [full image will be available soon on my new website]. I consider this work “the end” of a chapter, the final piece to complete the Obscure Subconscious series.

I conceived this work during autumn 2007, and I made most of the drawing at the beginning of 2008, leaving it untouched until recently. Last days I made some final touches on the backgrounds, in order to be able to bring Obscure Subconscious project to an end. Sincerely, Offering to the Goddess of Pleasure being an old work, I feel that its concept doesn't represent my current thinking. So, working on it didn't felt like creating art, it felt more like restoring something old. Looking back to its theme, I am tempted to consider this work as being among my darkest creations ever made. It is a climax for my critical perspective about the concept of decadent eroticism.

The work itself provides visuals for the gloomy psychological state that I went through between 2006 and 2008, circumstances that lead inevitably to the creation of the most sinister and depraved contemporary Transylvanian image series: Obscure Subconscious.

Damnatio Memoriae…

Postez un detaliu al lucrarii Ofranda Zeitei Placerii [imaginea intreaga va fi disponibila in curand pe noul website]. Consider lucrarea aceasta ca fiind sfarsitul unui capitol, piesa finala a seriei Subconstient Obscur.

Am conceput aceasta lucrare in timpul toamnei 2007, si am facut mare parte din desen la inceputul anului 2008, lasand-o neatinsa pana acum. Zilele trecute am completat o parte din fundaluri, pentru a putea aduce proiectul Subconstient Obscur la final. Sincer, Ofranda Zeitei Placerii fiind o lucrare mai veche, simt ca nu imi reflecta gandirea actuala. Astfel, lucrand la ea nu am avut impresia ca as crea arta, mi se parea mai mult ca restaurez ceva vechi. Privind la tema lucrarii, sunt tentat sa o consider ca fiind una dintre cele mai intunecate creatii pe care le-am facut vreodata. Este un punct culminant al perspectivei mele critice asupra erotismului decadent.

Lucrarea in sine ofera o imagine a starii mele psihologice sumbre dintre 2006 si 2008, circumstanta care a dus inevitabil la crearea celei mai sinistre si depravate serii de imagini contemporane transilvanene Subconstient Obscur.

Damnatio Memoriae...

Site Concept for KCCC

2009-12-07T09:18:00.009+09:00

The first design that I conceived for the website of the Korean Cultural Center Cluj-Napoca. Now we are working on a simplified, more efficient version. Primul design conceput pentru site-ul Centrului Cultural Coreean Cluj-Napoca. Acum lucram pe o varianta simplificata, mai eficienta.

Under Reconstruction

2009-11-28T22:02:00.004+09:00

From today the main web site will be closed for reconstruction. I am working on a new site with a totally new atmosphere, some new works, and more theory to supplement the visuals. Preview soon.

De azi pagina de web principala va fi inchisa pentru reinnoire. Lucrez la un site cu o atmosfera total noua, cateva lucrari noi, si mai multa teorie care sa insoteasca imaginile. Imagini in curand.

Invitation to Presentation

2009-11-24T01:46:00.003+09:00

Presentation about the basic theories in Korean garden design and architecture, by prof. Youngsuk Park and Emanuel Fabian. Prezentare despre teoriile de baza ale gradinii si arhitecturii coreene, de prof. Youngsuk Park si Emanuel Fabian.

Presentation Poster

2009-11-21T01:47:00.003+09:00

Logo and Web Design

2009-11-19T03:05:00.003+09:00

These days I was working on a new design for the web page of the Korean Cultural Center Cluj-Napoca. I post a preview showing the new logo. Zilele acestea am lucrat la un design nou pentru site-ul Centrului Cultural Coreean din Cluj Napoca. Postez o imagine cu un logo nou. Mai multe imagini in curand !

Needed Time to Reinvent

2009-11-12T08:16:00.005+09:00

After returning at the end of August to Europe from Seoul, South Korea, I restarted my work on some projects [multiple spheres] inspired by my Korean experience. The recent inactivity from my website is justified simply by my need to “reinvent” my creation from the basics due to major changes of my personality after encountering a highly dynamic and superior culture. While I sincerely hope to be able to complete my plans, from now on I will start posting information about my new projects.

Dupa revenirea mea in Europa la sfarsitul lunii august din Seul, Coreea de Sud, mi-am reinceput proiectele [domenii multiple] inspirate din experienta acumulata in Coreea. Inactivitatea recenta de pe site-ul meu se explica pur si simplu din nevoia simtita pentru a-mi “reinventa” creatia de la zero, din cauza schimbarilor personalitatii mele dupa contactul cu o cultura dinamica mult superioara. De vreme ce sper sa imi pot duce planurile la bun sfarsit, voi incepe sa postez informatii despre proiectele mele noi.

Manga Fashion

2009-05-11T21:10:00.001+09:00

Held on 9-10 May 2009, the Manga Festival of Seoul, South Korea, reunited fans of Asian animation around their usual meeting point, Yangjae Station. Thousands of fans had the chance to view an extravagant parade of Manga Fashion, more commonly known as Harajuku Fashion due to its Japanese origins. Posing for the photographers, playing games and having fashion contests, they managed to impress the viewers. Controversial fashion, an extreme form of art, or just frustrated teenagers, call them however you like... but you will never be one of them!!!

Tinut intre 9-10 mai 2009, Festivalul Manga din Seul, Coreea de Sud, a reunit fanii animatiei asiatice in jurul punctului obisnuit de intalnire, Statia Yangjae. Mii de fani au avut sansa sa vada o extravaganta parada a Modei Manga, cunoscuta deseori sub numele de Moda Harajuku datorita originii japoneze. Pozand pentru fotografi, jucandu-se si avand concursuri de moda, au reusit sa ii impresioneze pe spectatori.Moda controversata, o forma extrema de arta sau doar adolescenti frustrati, ii puteti numi cum vreti... dar nu veti fi niciodata unul dintre ei!!!

Night Way --> Busan, S. Korea

2009-03-28T20:12:00.002+09:00

Photos taken on 31 October and 1 November 2008 in Busan Metropolitan City, South Korea.

New Fabian Armin Website Finished !!!

2009-02-28T03:45:00.003+09:00

The new Fabian Armin website is online! Check it out here !

Noul website Fabian Armin este pe internet! Vizualizeaza aici !

preview

2009-02-18T16:41:00.007+09:00

working on the new Armin Fabian website...

obscurus

2009-02-13T15:31:00.002+09:00

Between 13 and 15 February 2009, the short animation Obscurus will be projected as additional film of the 2nd Annual Toronto Romanian Film Festival from Canada-Toronto.

Intre 13 si 15 Februarie 2009, scurt metrajul animat Obscurus va fi proiectat in calitate de film aditional in cadrul celui de-al 2-lea Festival Anual de Film Romanesc Toronto, din Canada-Toronto.

Gyeongbokgung

2009-02-09T15:45:00.002+09:00

Gyeongbokgung is one of the five royal palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty in Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed by King Taejo in 1395 and after being destroyed by the Japanese invasion of 1592, it was rebuilt in 1868. The restoration process ended up with a unique architectural complex composed by more than 300 buildings, but the Japanese occupation from the beginning of the XX-th Century damaged the palace’s layout. Today, the restored buildings of the most important areas are opened to visitors, being the most impressive piece of traditional Korean architecture preserved in Seoul.

Gyeongbokgung este unul dintre cele cinci palate regale construite de dinastia Joseon in Seul, Coreea de Sud. A fost construit de Regele Taejo in 1395. Dupa ce a fost distrus de invazia japoneza din 1592, a fost reconstruit in 1868. Procesul de restaurare a dus la crearea unui ansamblu compus din peste 300 de cladiri, dar ocupatia japoneza de la inceputul secolului XX a afectat grav palatul. Astazi cladirile restaurate ale locatiilor de o importanta majora sunt deschise vizitatorilor, oferind imaginea celei mai spectaculoase piese de arhitectura traditionala coreana pastrata in Seul.

literature

2009-01-09T20:11:00.005+09:00

After the long break since the “Parallel Destinies” short novel written between December 2004 and January 2005, I resumed my activity in the domain of literature, working on a new novel. Some of the fragments of the script written for the “obscurus” animation in 2008 will be probably embodied in a chapter of the new work. Soon, I will upload newly written paragraphs.

Dupa o puaza lunga de la scrierea nuvelei "Destine Paralele" intre decembrie 2004 si ianuarie 2005, mi-am reluat activitatea in domeniul literaturii, lucrand la un roman. Cateva din fragmentele scenariului scris pentru animatia "obscurus" in 2008 vor fi probabil incorporate intr-un capitol al creatiei noi. In curand, voi posta fragmente noi.

working

2008-12-30T12:10:00.002+09:00

surroundings

2008-12-23T21:24:00.006+09:00

Images showing the nearby surroundings of my living space situated in the south of Seoul [Southern Seocho-gu, Jangjae-dong]. The neighborhood is divided by a large road composed by eight driving lines that connects the areas outside Seoul with the fancy Gangnam residential district and the Han River that defines the city’s central urban landscape. Near my housing unit, on one side of the main boulevard buildings like Kia Motors and Hyundai Headquarters, LG Center, aT Center, and Shopping Malls are the major landmarks. On the other side, bordered by southern hills a large newly built residential area is located. Small apartment blocks, divided by narrow streets illuminated at night by the colorful neon-light animated advertisements, represent a silent image of the capital’s life.

From left to right: Hyundai and Kia Headquarters, aT Center, view over apartment blocks, back street.

Imagini prezentand imprejurimile zonei in care locuiesc in sudul Seul-ului [Seocho-gu, Jangjae-dong]. Cartierul este strabatut de un bulevard compus din opt benzi de trafic, legand zonele aflate in afara capitalei cu extravagantul cartier Gangnam si cu fluviul Han care defineste peisajul urban central al metropolei. In zona in care locuiesc, de o parte a bulevardului principalele repere sunt sediile Kia Motors si Hyundai, Centrul LG, aT Center si Mall-uri. In partea opusa, marginit in sud de dealuri se intinde un tanar cartier de locuinte. Apartamente in blocuri mici, separate de strazi iluminate noaptea de animate reclame cu neoane colorate formeaza o imagine tacuta a vietii capitalei.

De la stanga la dreapta: sediile Hyundai si Kia Motors, aT Center, panorama asupra blocurilor, strada laturalnica.

Thanks

2008-12-22T21:59:00.004+09:00

Thank you for all those who made my “presence” possible at Dozen Exhibition [Expozitie de Duzina] from Satu Mare. Photos from the exhibition can be accessed from Activity section of the main website.

Multumesc celor care m-au ajutat sa fiu "prezent" la Expozitia de Duzina din Satu Mare. Poze de la expozitie se gasesc la sectiunea Activitate [Activity] a site-ului principal.

updates

2008-12-13T14:37:00.005+09:00

Damnantio Memoriae [detail]

Two new artworks, “Imperator Venericus” and “Damnatio Memoriae” have been added to the Drawings section of the website. Also, a new collection of “Meditative Synesthesias” was uploaded to the Mixed Media section.

Doua lucrari noi, "Imperator Venericus" si "Damnatio Memoriae" au fost adaugate la sectiunea Desen a site-ului. Deasemenea, pagina de Tehnici Mixte a fost completata cu o noua colectie de "Sinestezii Meditative."

obscurus

2008-12-08T23:54:00.006+09:00

After posting on my website a section dedicated to the upcoming “Obscurus” short animation [link here], many visitors asked about the final video.

Because of my departure to South Korea and my coworker Hosu Sebastian’s departure to Italy, the “Obscurus” project was delayed to the late 2009.

I’m posting another preview showing three different stages in the development of a scene.

Dupa publicarea pe site-ul personal a unei pagini dedicate viitorului scurt-metraj animat "Obscurus" [link aici] multi vizitatori au intrebat despre creatia finala.

Datorita plecarii mele si a colaboratorului Hosu Sebastian in Coreea de Sud, respectiv Italia, proiectul "Obscurus" a fost amanat pentru finalul anului 2009.

Ofer inca o imagine noua reprezentand trei etape diferite in crearea unei scene.

2008-10-25T23:13:00.000+09:00