[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.20,0:00:01.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The theme of my talk today is,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.89,0:00:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Be an artist, right now."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.10,0:00:08.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most people, when this subject is brought up,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.16,0:00:10.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get tense and resist it:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.78,0:00:13.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Art doesn't feed me, and right now I'm busy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.78,0:00:16.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have to go to school, get a job,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.15,0:00:18.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,send my kids to lessons ... "
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.44,0:00:23.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You think, "I'm too busy. I don't have time for art."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.98,0:00:27.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are hundreds of reasons why we can't be artists right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.44,0:00:28.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Don't they just pop into your head?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.99,0:00:30.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are so many reasons why we can't be,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.82,0:00:33.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indeed, we're not sure why we should be.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.38,0:00:35.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don't know why we should be artists,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.07,0:00:38.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we have many reasons why we can't be.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.97,0:00:43.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why do people instantly resist the idea of associating themselves with art?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.35,0:00:47.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps you think art is for the greatly gifted
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.21,0:00:52.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or for the thoroughly and professionally trained.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.27,0:00:56.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some of you may think you've strayed too far from art.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.61,0:01:01.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well you might have, but I don't think so.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.23,0:01:03.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the theme of my talk today.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.70,0:01:05.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are all born artists.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.50,0:01:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you have kids, you know what I mean.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.54,0:01:13.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Almost everything kids do is art.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.43,0:01:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They draw with crayons on the wall.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.00,0:01:19.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They dance to Son Dam Bi's dance on TV,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.16,0:01:23.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you can't even call it Son Dam Bi's dance -- it becomes the kids' own dance.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.02,0:01:28.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they dance a strange dance and inflict their singing on everyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.30,0:01:32.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps their art is something only their parents can bear,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.28,0:01:37.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and because they practice such art all day long,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.47,0:01:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people honestly get a little tired around kids.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.75,0:01:43.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kids will sometimes perform monodramas --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.91,0:01:47.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,playing house is indeed a monodrama or a play.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.45,0:01:50.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some kids, when they get a bit older,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.13,0:01:52.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,start to lie.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.15,0:01:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Usually parents remember the very first time their kid lies.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.24,0:01:58.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're shocked.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.59,0:02:02.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Now you're showing your true colors," Mom says. She thinks, "Why does he take after his dad?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.16,0:02:05.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She questions him, "What kind of a person are you going to be?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.36,0:02:06.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you shouldn't worry.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.93,0:02:13.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The moment kids start to lie is the moment storytelling begins.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.15,0:02:15.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are talking about things they didn't see.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.34,0:02:17.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's amazing. It's a wonderful moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.13,0:02:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Parents should celebrate.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.20,0:02:23.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hurray! My boy finally started to lie!"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.36,0:02:25.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All right! It calls for celebration.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.58,0:02:28.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, a kid says, "Mom, guess what? I met an alien on my way home."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.97,0:02:33.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then a typical mom responds, "Stop that nonsense."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.42,0:02:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, an ideal parent is someone who responds like this:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.04,0:02:40.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Really? An alien, huh? What did it look like? Did it say anything?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.11,0:02:41.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where did you meet it?" "Um, in front of the supermarket."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.82,0:02:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you have a conversation like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.14,0:02:50.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the kid has to come up with the next thing to say to be responsible for what he started.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.51,0:02:52.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Soon, a story develops.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.68,0:02:57.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course this is an infantile story,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.15,0:03:00.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but thinking up one sentence after the next
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.97,0:03:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the same thing a professional writer like me does.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.04,0:03:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In essence, they are not different.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.42,0:03:10.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Roland Barthes once said of Flaubert's novels,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.10,0:03:12.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Flaubert did not write a novel.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.71,0:03:15.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He merely connected one sentence after another.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.71,0:03:20.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The eros between sentences, that is the essence of Flaubert's novel."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.44,0:03:23.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's right -- a novel, basically, is writing one sentence,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.22,0:03:26.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then, without violating the scope of the first one,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.68,0:03:28.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writing the next sentence.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.39,0:03:29.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you continue to make connections.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.90,0:03:31.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take a look at this sentence:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.96,0:03:34.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.43,0:03:36.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, it's the first sentence of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.88,0:03:40.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Writing such an unjustifiable sentence
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.04,0:03:42.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and continuing in order to justify it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.49,0:03:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kafka's work became the masterpiece of contemporary literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.92,0:03:49.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kafka did not show his work to his father.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.67,0:03:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was not on good terms with his father.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.99,0:03:55.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On his own, he wrote these sentences.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.79,0:03:59.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Had he shown his father, "My boy has finally lost it," he would've thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.05,0:04:00.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's right. Art is about going a little nuts
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.96,0:04:03.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and justifying the next sentence,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.21,0:04:06.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is not much different from what a kid does.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.47,0:04:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A kid who has just started to lie
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.00,0:04:11.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is taking the first step as a storyteller.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.13,0:04:13.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kids do art.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.69,0:04:15.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't get tired and they have fun doing it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.12,0:04:16.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was in Jeju Island a few days ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.88,0:04:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When kids are on the beach, most of them love playing in the water.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.99,0:04:24.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But some of them spend a lot of time in the sand,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.90,0:04:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making mountains and seas -- well, not seas,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.14,0:04:31.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but different things -- people and dogs, etc.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.09,0:04:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But parents tell them,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.50,0:04:34.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It will all be washed away by the waves."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.26,0:04:36.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, it's useless.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.08,0:04:37.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no need.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.23,0:04:39.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But kids don't mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.10,0:04:40.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They have fun in the moment
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.27,0:04:42.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they keep playing in the sand.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.43,0:04:44.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kids don't do it because someone told them to.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.70,0:04:46.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They aren't told by their boss
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.29,0:04:49.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or anyone, they just do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.22,0:04:54.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you were little, I bet you spent time enjoying the pleasure of primitive art.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.62,0:04:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I ask my students to write about their happiest moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.98,0:05:04.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many write about an early artistic experience they had as a kid.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.90,0:05:07.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Learning to play piano for the first time and playing four hands with a friend,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.66,0:05:12.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or performing a ridiculous skit with friends looking like idiots -- things like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.67,0:05:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or the moment you developed the first film you shot with an old camera.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.02,0:05:18.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They talk about these kinds of experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.35,0:05:20.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You must have had such a moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.61,0:05:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that moment, art makes you happy
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.54,0:05:24.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's not work.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.22,0:05:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Work doesn't make you happy, does it? Mostly it's tough.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.75,0:05:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The French writer Michel Tournier has a famous saying.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.86,0:05:31.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a bit mischievous, actually.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.54,0:05:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Work is against human nature. The proof is that it makes us tired."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.52,0:05:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right? Why would work tire us if it's in our nature?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.00,0:05:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Playing doesn't tire us.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.66,0:05:41.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can play all night long.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.10,0:05:43.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we work overnight, we should be paid for overtime.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.53,0:05:46.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why? Because it's tiring and we feel fatigue.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.82,0:05:51.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But kids, usually they do art for fun. It's playing.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.50,0:05:54.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don't draw to sell the work to a client
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.23,0:05:57.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or play the piano to earn money for the family.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.26,0:06:00.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, there were kids who had to.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.03,0:06:01.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know this gentleman, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.33,0:06:05.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had to tour around Europe to support his family --
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.42,0:06:07.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart --
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.31,0:06:10.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that was centuries ago, so we can make him an exception.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.27,0:06:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, at some point our art -- such a joyful pastime -- ends.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.14,0:06:17.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kids have to go to lessons, to school, do homework
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.53,0:06:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and of course they take piano or ballet lessons,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.05,0:06:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they aren't fun anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.82,0:06:26.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're told to do it and there's competition. How can it be fun?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.15,0:06:31.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you're in elementary school and you still draw on the wall,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.74,0:06:35.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll surely get in trouble with your mom.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.65,0:06:39.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Besides,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.52,0:06:42.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you continue to act like an artist as you get older,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.10,0:06:45.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll increasingly feel pressure --
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.77,0:06:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people will question your actions and ask you to act properly.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.82,0:06:58.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's my story: I was an eighth grader and I entered a drawing contest at school in Gyeongbokgung.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.01,0:07:00.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was trying my best, and my teacher came around
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.92,0:07:04.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and asked me, "What are you doing?"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.51,0:07:06.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I'm drawing diligently," I said.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.32,0:07:08.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Why are you using only black?"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.22,0:07:10.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Indeed, I was eagerly coloring the sketchbook in black.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.60,0:07:13.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I explained,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.67,0:07:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It's a dark night and a crow is perching on a branch."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.92,0:07:17.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then my teacher said,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.92,0:07:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Really? Well, Young-ha, you may not be good at drawing but you have a talent for storytelling."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.24,0:07:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or so I wished.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.97,0:07:28.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Now you'll get it, you rascal!" was the response. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.74,0:07:30.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You'll get it!" he said.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.35,0:07:33.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You were supposed to draw the palace, the Gyeonghoeru, etc.,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.03,0:07:35.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I was coloring everything in black,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.46,0:07:37.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so he dragged me out of the group.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.15,0:07:39.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were a lot of girls there as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.17,0:07:40.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I was utterly mortified.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.72,0:07:45.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,None of my explanations or excuses were heard,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.17,0:07:48.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I really got it big time.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.38,0:07:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If he was an ideal teacher, he would have responded like I said before,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.90,0:07:55.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Young-ha may not have a talent for drawing,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.21,0:07:58.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he has a gift for making up stories," and he would have encouraged me.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.59,0:08:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But such a teacher is seldom found.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.04,0:08:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Later, I grew up and went to Europe's galleries --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.00,0:08:06.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a university student -- and I thought this was really unfair.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.90,0:08:12.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look what I found. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.30,0:08:16.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Works like this were hung in Basel while I was punished
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.63,0:08:22.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and stood in front of the palace with my drawing in my mouth.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.02,0:08:25.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look at this. Doesn't it look just like wallpaper?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.03,0:08:26.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Contemporary art, I later discovered, isn't explained by a lame story like mine.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.94,0:08:30.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No crows are brought up.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.89,0:08:34.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of the works have no title, Untitled.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.22,0:08:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Anyways, contemporary art in the 20th century
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.32,0:08:42.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is about doing something weird and filling the void with explanation and interpretation --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.69,0:08:44.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,essentially the same as I did.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.17,0:08:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, my work was very amateur,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.92,0:08:50.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but let's turn to more famous examples.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.21,0:08:52.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is Picasso's.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.81,0:08:58.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He stuck handlebars into a bike seat and called it "Bull's Head." Sounds convincing, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.61,0:09:03.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Next, a urinal was placed on its side and called "Fountain".
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.25,0:09:04.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was Duchamp.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.85,0:09:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So filling the gap between explanation and a weird act with stories --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.30,0:09:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's indeed what contemporary art is all about.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.42,0:09:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Picasso even made the statement,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.81,0:09:18.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I draw not what I see but what I think."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.99,0:09:21.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, it means I didn't have to draw Gyeonghoeru.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.51,0:09:25.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wish I knew what Picasso said back then. I could have argued better with my teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.58,0:09:29.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unfortunately, the little artists within us
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.38,0:09:34.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are choked to death before we get to fight against the oppressors of art.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.87,0:09:36.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They get locked in.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.47,0:09:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's our tragedy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.55,0:09:42.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what happens when little artists get locked in, banished or even killed?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.81,0:09:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our artistic desire doesn't go away.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.20,0:09:47.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We want to express, to reveal ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.29,0:09:52.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but with the artist dead, the artistic desire reveals itself in dark form.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.53,0:09:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In karaoke bars, there are always people who sing
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.50,0:09:58.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"She's Gone" or "Hotel California,"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.04,0:10:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,miming the guitar riffs.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.36,0:10:02.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Usually they sound awful. Awful indeed.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.60,0:10:05.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some people turn into rockers like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.08,0:10:07.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or some people dance in clubs.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.16,0:10:10.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People who would have enjoyed telling stories
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.56,0:10:13.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,end up trolling on the Internet all night long.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.57,0:10:16.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's how a writing talent reveals itself on the dark side.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.96,0:10:20.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes we see dads get more excited than their kids
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.92,0:10:23.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,playing with Legos or putting together plastic robots.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.90,0:10:25.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They go, "Don't touch it. Daddy will do it for you."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.63,0:10:27.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The kid has already lost interest and is doing something else,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.27,0:10:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the dad alone builds castles.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.28,0:10:35.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This shows the artistic impulses inside us are suppressed, not gone.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.76,0:10:39.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they can often reveal themselves negatively, in the form of jealousy.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.55,0:10:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know the song "I would love to be on TV"? Why would we love it?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.84,0:10:48.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,TV is full of people who do what we wished to do,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.67,0:10:50.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but never got to.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.61,0:10:56.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They dance, they act -- and the more they do, they are praised.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.74,0:10:59.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we start to envy them.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.89,0:11:03.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We become dictators with a remote and start to criticize the people on TV.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.98,0:11:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"He just can't act." "You call that singing? She can't hit the notes."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.84,0:11:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We easily say these sorts of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.12,0:11:15.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We get jealous, not because we're evil,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.07,0:11:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but because we have little artists pent up inside us.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.60,0:11:23.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what I think.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.19,0:11:25.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What should we do then?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.03,0:11:25.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, that's right.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.81,0:11:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right now, we need to start our own art.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.00,0:11:30.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right this minute, we can turn off TV,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.01,0:11:32.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,log off the Internet,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.46,0:11:35.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get up and start to do something.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.16,0:11:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where I teach students in drama school,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.89,0:11:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a course called Dramatics.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.63,0:11:43.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this course, all students must put on a play.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.82,0:11:47.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, acting majors are not supposed to act.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.93,0:11:49.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can write the play, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.95,0:11:52.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the writers may work on stage art.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.67,0:11:54.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Likewise, stage art majors may become actors, and in this way you put on a show.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.98,0:11:58.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Students at first wonder whether they can actually do it,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.73,0:12:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but later they have so much fun. I rarely see anyone who is miserable doing a play.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.30,0:12:07.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In school, the military or even in a mental institution, once you make people do it, they enjoy it.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.46,0:12:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw this happen in the army -- many people had fun doing plays.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.35,0:12:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have another experience:
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.28,0:12:18.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In my writing class, I give students a special assignment.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.92,0:12:24.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have students like you in the class -- many who don't major in writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.82,0:12:29.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some major in art or music and think they can't write.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.40,0:12:33.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I give them blank sheets of paper and a theme.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.12,0:12:34.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It can be a simple theme:
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.74,0:12:37.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Write about the most unfortunate experience in your childhood.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.25,0:12:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's one condition: You must write like crazy. Like crazy!
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.16,0:12:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I walk around and encourage them,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.90,0:12:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Come on, come on!" They have to write like crazy for an hour or two.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.64,0:12:50.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They only get to think for the first five minutes.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.85,0:12:54.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reason I make them write like crazy is because
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.07,0:12:56.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you write slowly and lots of thoughts cross your mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.83,0:12:59.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the artistic devil creeps in.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.28,0:13:03.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This devil will tell you hundreds of reasons
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.31,0:13:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why you can't write:
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.24,0:13:09.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"People will laugh at you. This is not good writing!
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.07,0:13:10.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What kind of sentence is this? Look at your handwriting!"
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.62,0:13:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It will say a lot of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.20,0:13:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have to run fast so the devil can't catch up.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.70,0:13:18.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The really good writing I've seen in my class
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.78,0:13:21.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was not from the assignments with a long deadline,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.45,0:13:24.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but from the 40- to 60-minute crazy writing students did
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.93,0:13:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in front of me with a pencil.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.34,0:13:30.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The students go into a kind of trance.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.17,0:13:34.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After 30 or 40 minutes, they write without knowing what they're writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.64,0:13:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in this moment, the nagging devil disappears.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:37.60,0:13:39.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I can say this:
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.31,0:13:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not the hundreds of reasons why one can't be an artist,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:43.32,0:13:47.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but rather, the one reason one must be that makes us artists.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.58,0:13:49.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why we cannot be something is not important.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.28,0:13:52.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most artists became artists because of the one reason.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.43,0:13:56.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we put the devil in our heart to sleep and start our own art,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.10,0:13:58.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enemies appear on the outside.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.44,0:14:01.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mostly, they have the faces of our parents. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.29,0:14:04.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes they look like our spouses,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.40,0:14:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they are not your parents or spouses.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.16,0:14:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are devils. Devils.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.06,0:14:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They came to Earth briefly transformed
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.00,0:14:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to stop you from being artistic, from becoming artists.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.95,0:14:16.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they have a magic question.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.87,0:14:23.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we say, "I think I'll try acting. There's a drama school in the community center," or
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.03,0:14:27.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I'd like to learn Italian songs," they ask, "Oh, yeah? A play? What for?"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.50,0:14:31.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The magic question is, "What for?"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:31.17,0:14:34.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But art is not for anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.88,0:14:37.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Art is the ultimate goal.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.13,0:14:41.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It saves our souls and makes us live happily.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.27,0:14:46.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It helps us express ourselves and be happy without the help of alcohol or drugs.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.78,0:14:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in response to such a pragmatic question,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.12,0:14:53.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to be bold.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.54,0:14:57.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, just for the fun of it. Sorry for having fun without you,"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.98,0:15:02.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is what you should say. "I'll just go ahead and do it anyway."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.01,0:15:07.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ideal future I imagine is where we all have multiple identities,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.11,0:15:10.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at least one of which is an artist.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.89,0:15:14.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once I was in New York and got in a cab. I took the backseat,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.06,0:15:18.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in front of me I saw something related to a play.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.21,0:15:19.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I asked the driver, "What is this?"
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.35,0:15:23.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said it was his profile. "Then what are you?" I asked. "An actor," he said.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.40,0:15:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was a cabby and an actor. I asked, "What roles do you usually play?"
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.82,0:15:28.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He proudly said he played King Lear.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:28.84,0:15:30.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,King Lear.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:30.29,0:15:31.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Who is it that can tell me who I am?" -- a great line from King Lear.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.92,0:15:35.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the world I dream of.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.31,0:15:39.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Someone is a golfer by day and writer by night.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.24,0:15:41.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or a cabby and an actor, a banker and a painter,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:41.76,0:15:47.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,secretly or publicly performing their own arts.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.34,0:15:52.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1990, Martha Graham, the legend of modern dance, came to Korea.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:52.21,0:15:57.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The great artist, then in her 90s, arrived at Gimpo Airport
Dialogue: 0,0:15:57.98,0:16:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a reporter asked her a typical question:
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.04,0:16:03.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What do you have to do to become a great dancer?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.65,0:16:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Any advice for aspiring Korean dancers?"
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.23,0:16:11.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, she was the master. This photo was taken in 1948 and she was already a celebrated artist.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.23,0:16:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1990, she was asked this question.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.42,0:16:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here's what she answered:
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.10,0:16:20.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Just do it."
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.02,0:16:21.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wow. I was touched.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.54,0:16:25.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only those three words and she left the airport. That's it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.63,0:16:28.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what should we do now?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.86,0:16:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's be artists, right now. Right away. How?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:32.58,0:16:33.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just do it!
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.58,0:16:35.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.19,0:16:36.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)