thought 9

What I am about to say tonight is a thought that I have been holding for a while now because I lack confidence in this field. I am not an art/design major nor a knowledgeable person in the realm of art and curation. But I did decide to write my opinion about the art of curation, because I realized that my ignorance is what makes my ideas valuable and worth sharing.. ^_^ I genuinely hope that this touches some of you guys, this idea is the very core of my passion for art.

I’m a bit nervous since it’s been a while since I’ve written in english haha. But I recommend this song to you guys as you read ^_^.

I came across several articles regarding curation and its importance in current society and this idea is the inspiration for this journal post. In short, the articles claim that the overflow of information and goods are currently increasing the demand for curation. Meaning that because there is too much to choose from, people are more likely to take advantage of reliable sources to choose or to curate for them.

I think this stuck with me much more because it put in words a phenomenon I’ve been witnessing myself… but not have been able to be conscious enough to put into words myself. I think that this is the reason why I love reading. The emotional high I get when someone else so profoundly elaborates on something I cannot do myself……….better than an orgasm.

Okay but this is important not only me but anyone that participates in the current capitalist society. The art of curation does not leave you even if you give zero fucks about art.

For example, newspaper companies are one of the most prevalent “curators” of our time. Curating information for the right niche. Different niche groups have the freedom to choose their most credible source that fits their taste. Another would be social media algorithms. Once you show a certain pattern of taste in a social media platform, an algorithm picks out the supposedly best content for your niche taste. Magazines are also a great form of curation services that we commonly use.

Honestly there is nothing really special or new about above examples. But the interesting part is that recently, these curation services and platforms have been getting more and more specific. Like really really specific. I think this is because consumers now crave something more personal. Goods, services, information, platforms catered to their niche tastes and needs is what consumers attracted to.

My experiences are limited to the US & South Korea)

I really want to talk about my experience in Korea here because (although I may totally be wrong) I noticed that the American market doesn’t really demand such delicate, personal experiences unlike the very demanding Korean market that I’ve experienced.

This is also kind of explained in the subtle difference in the definition of curation in both countries.

I don’t really want to translate everything here but the the idea here is that in Korea, the idea of curation has definitely moved on from just the act of exhibition curation. But in the US, the idea that curation is just a form of art/exhibition curation remains pretty strong.

Based on my own experiences, having “good taste” is a very important characteristic that a person can have in Korean society. Everyone wants to seem like they have good taste in art, fashion, food, alcohol, etc. It’s honestly not so much in American society. Here, only certain groups appreciate good taste, the general public does not care much about what taste they have. I really don’t want to talk about which is better or worse, because I believe both have their own pros & cons.

One of the best curation experiences that I had in Korea was book curation. All bookstores have some sort of categorization or suggestions in place. I take a look at the best sellers or categories that I am looking for. This generalized strategy used by most bookstores works if you are barnes and nobles. But smaller, independent bookstores in Korea had a different strategy. They understand that they cannot appeal to the general public, so they add in a touch of personal taste. I think this goes hand-in-hand with branding strategies. The idea here is that they curate books for the niche taste. When I walk into a bookstore with good book curation, I understand their message. I understand what kind of books they love, what they want to show us. And when their taste fits mine, I am hooked to their store.

The pages I follow on instagram and the channels I subscribe on youtube are all forms of curation. Within millions of vintage stores, I follow only a handful because they cater to my taste. I am not attracted to vintage stores that carry “everything.” I subscribe to certain magazines because their niche is mine. I read archdaily because I am interested in architectural news. I shop my perfume at ScentBar because they cater to niche perfume consumers. I save a playlist on Spotify because they curated music to my taste.

Like such, I’m sure that you guys also rely on certain services or people to curate certain information or goods for you guys. This is because you trust their taste or relate to them.

I have a habit of saving places that I have visited and love or wish to visit on my google and Naver maps. This habit started when I graduated high school and I’ve been piling up with amazing places to go within various regions of Korea and Los Angeles. At first, it really wasn’t about curating places to go to. It started because when I visited Korea yearly, I wanted to be able to just look at my Naver map to choose cafes/restaurants nearby without having to search places to go to on the spot. This was because I usually didn’t have cellular data when I visited Korea in high school and internet searching was a hassle. Then over the years, it became my little curating journal. I recommend many places to my friends, I keep record of places that I need to visit in the future, and the categories are extremely specific. It genuinely gives me happiness when I take my friends to really cool places that I’ve found and they also love it. Recommending menus in a restaurant, recommending galleries around Seoul, and recommending neighborhoods that I think my friends would like is all part of the fun.

Curating is not about having good taste for me. It’s really about the fun of figuring out what I love, what I hate, and seeing my taste evolve over time.

I love seeing myself grow over time. Experiencing nostalgia is the reason why I created @jochatgee & @mikanits, mikanits.com, and my notebook. I am so passionate about recording my most genuine thoughts and emotions so that I can really look back years later. And because they are so raw and genuine, they are so personal and meaningful to me. Sharing these moments with you guys mean so much to me. I hope you guys really understand that!!!!!!!!

I hope to create a small magazine by the time I graduate. I want it to include interviews, my small projects and their backstories, places I love, and mostly oversharing about my passions.

I really really love taking advantage of my status as a student. Guys. I’m not saying that you guys have to necessarily create a magazine but really take advantage of this. People are so much more willing to help you if you are a student. I don’t know if it will work but I want to kind of extend the little interview incident I had during senior year of high school. If you’ve heard of me talk about that experience please laugh with me.

Anyways, I think I really went all over the place today. I wanted to talk about applying curation into our mundane lives. Curating is not fancy, is not only art, and is not pretentious. I hope my oversharing journal helped a little to the reflection of your own experiences in curation. When you guys reach out to me separately about each of my posts and how it affected you guys it really gives me so much motivation to write more mundane thoughts :( I 愛情 you all.

07/05/2022 1:56 am