Cosmopolitan | vol.14 no.158 | Artist X Artistry Gallery Project ‘Woman’s Most Beautiful Moment’

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ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery Project

Choi Daniel Meets ARTISTRY

Choi Daniel has stepped forward to champion women's beauty. Together with ARTISTRY, official sponsor of the Busan International Film Festival for the second year running, he is supporting the "ARTISTRY Forward Beauty Group," made up of five emerging female artists. Let's hear the beautiful story that he and ARTISTRY are cheering on.

Contributing editors Park Ji-woo, Kim Soo-hyun

What is the "ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery Project"?

Under the theme "Every woman in the world is a work of art," ARTISTRY launches the "ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery Project," a project supporting emerging female artists in Korea. Illustrator Kim So-hyun, installation artist Ji Min-hee, Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, sculptor Kim So-yeon, and painter Kim San-young — the five artists in this project — present works reinterpreting the theme "Woman's Most Beautiful Moment." Through this project, ARTISTRY expands the spectrum of the "forward-thinking beauty" it has pursued, offering more women a chance to reflect on it. Actor Choi Daniel joins as ambassador, helping bring the works closer to the public. This lineup, brimming with the vibrant energy unique to young female artists, can be enjoyed alongside ARTISTRY's full range of products at the Busan International Film Festival booth starting October 4.

Project Ambassador, Actor Choi Daniel

Actor Choi Daniel says art can only be completed when the line that belongs to men meets the color that belongs to women. As ambassador, he hopes to be a "good frame" that makes the artists and their work shine even brighter.

You've taken on the role of ambassador for the "ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery Project." How did you come to join?

Aside from once serving as ambassador for the Grand Bell Awards, this is my first time as an ambassador for anything. What appealed to me most was that this is promotion for the artwork and the artists themselves, not a product. I also liked the message running through the whole project — that every woman in the world is a work of art.

If you agree with the message that "every woman in the world is a work of art," when do you find yourself drawing inspiration from women as works of art?

Every woman is art. Cool and great. If a man is the sketch, a woman is the color. A man is just a man from birth to death, but a woman can be a girl, a woman, a mother, a grandmother. I know women of many different ages around me, and when I talk with them, each one's charm is different. I think the ability to blend in and harmonize with one's surroundings even as circumstances change is a charm unique to women. Men, honestly, think and speak more or less the same way their whole lives. A woman has beauty at every stage of life. I've often found myself inspired meeting female friends in the past — there are times I learn the color I lack from them. If a man is the line and a woman is the color, the two need to be together to be complete.

You once said, "I can draw fairly well — I've thought I might have made a good art teacher." Do you have a favorite artist? If you were active as a painter, what genre and kind of work would you pursue?

My favorite artist is the Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński. I liked his work when I saw it a few years ago, but honestly I'm not sure if I'd feel the same way now, given how dark the mood is. If I had become a painter, I think I would have pursued something more classical — a traditional style rather than fusion. Fusion or crossover can, if handled poorly, end up losing its essence. Whatever work I'd have done, I think I would have stayed true to the reason behind whatever I was doing.

What about your role as an actor? Does it feel like a good fit for you?

Being an actor doesn't feel like clothes that fit me perfectly. I'm quite shy, but today, unlike other times, I led the shoot with the artists myself. Because today I had a role — as ambassador, introducing these artists. If this turns out well, everyone gains confidence and does even better at the next stage. Wouldn't it be nice if a work of art were placed in a good frame? I'm the one making this frame, so if I make it strange, even a good piece will end up feeling not so good, because of me as the frame. I want to play the role of a good frame.

If you were to introduce yourself, not as an artist, what kind of person is Choi Daniel? You've mentioned before that you have a "fancy image" — what part of that are you talking about?

I don't know. I've long thought I'm not really cut out to be "packaged" as a product. When someone tries to standardize and package me as a product, I tend to want to tear through that wrapping and break out. It's a bit of a contrarian streak. The widely known image of me is from romantic comedies, but that's not really who I am, so I end up unintentionally surprising people who remember the "fancy" version of me. But pretending to be that is also silly. There are times even I think, "this doesn't feel quite right."

You've said that no matter what role you take, you ask "why" a lot — and that's also an attitude artists have. What thought do you always keep in mind while working?

I don't think art is anything grand. Film isn't something grand either — the moment you think it's grand, it's over. What is a film, anyway? What is drama? Drama is a story. A story is a process — a person living their life runs into some incident, either confronts it or avoids it, resolves it somehow, and arrives at an ending. A film cuts out one section of a life and shows it. That whole life might be quite ordinary, but because it's been cut out and shone a light on, we watch and admire it. If you cut out and show one scene from the life of an ordinary person like "Kim Cheol-su" next door, he too could be Jang Dong-gun. Grandness hides like a pearl in the mud, so art is the work of wiping away the mud — not the work of creating the diamond itself. Asking "why" is also a way of asking myself, "should this be packaged nicely, or shown as it is?" "Is this a documentary, or a fantasy?"

What role do you think art plays, and how would you like people to enjoy this project?

Art isn't a field that creates something new — it awakens a sensibility we already have and already know, but have forgotten for a while because we're busy. You don't have to go all the way to the Louvre — there's plenty of good art nearby. Look for what you love and like, rather than what others say is good. And show that taste of yours. This "ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery Project" is exactly that kind of opportunity. You can encounter, up close, the individualistic work of artists who each interpreted the theme "Woman's Most Beautiful Moment" from their own perspective, amid the vibrant atmosphere of a film festival. You'll be able to awaken a dormant artistic sensibility, and feel art becoming part of everyday life.

Welcome!

BIFF ARTIST X ARTISTRY Gallery

The works from this project, created by the five emerging female artists selected for the "ARTISTRY Forward Beauty Group" together with actor Choi Daniel, can be seen at the ARTISTRY booth inside BIFF Village, Haeundae, during the 8th Busan International Film Festival.

Dates October 4–12 Hours 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

Illustrator Kim So-hyun, installation artist Ji Min-hee, sculptor Kim So-yeon, Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, and painter Kim San-young, who will join Choi Daniel for the 'ARTIST x ARTISTRY Gallery Project.'

photographer Min Hee-ki | styling Hwang Geum-nam (VOTT) | hair Kim Sun-hee | makeup Kwon Ho-sook | set styling Geunyeodeului Manmulsa | beauty cooperation ARTISTRY 2588-0080 | curated Atelier Achi