by N Rumas - 02.17.08
Blurry People is an ongoing project by my good friend Kyung Park. It’s very simple: he draws people he sees on the Seoul subway, either on the spot or later in the day from memory. He started it quite a long time ago, but just recently turned it into a blog.
The Seoul metro is filled with the most amazing characters I’ve ever seen, and Kyung captures their idiosyncracies perfectly. If you’re at all interested in Korea or quirky comic art, I highly suggest you hit the link below and check it out.
Oh, and while we’re on the subject, take my word for it — Seoul’s subway alone is worth the price of a plane ticket to Korea. If you like observing people, you can’t go wrong.
I don’t remember anything special about Seoul subway. Maybe besides that guy who sold baby hush brownies, I mean lunch puppies, oh wait, hush puppies. Looked delicious if you’d cook’em up.
siro - 02.17.08 2:41 pm
I enjoyed looking through the blog of people he drew. Very cool.
Aaron - 02.17.08 2:46 pm
N Rumas, it’s not an ongoing project. This is his exact description.
This project stems from an old school assignment: Proper Visual Search at SADI in 2001. The objective was to find an appropriate visual image for two random words put together. Each of the students were given the word(s), mine was “blurry people”.
I chose to draw people (basically, faces) I had seen during an average day. Not trying to be exact, but drawing from memory, thereby appropriating the two words together. The objective was not trying to remember exactly how they looked but just how I remembered them.
5+ years on, I found this project (61 drawings) after a day of going through my old files. I wanted to expand on this idea. It was fun when I did it, and after working as a struggling graphic designer during all this time, it was an emotion I sorely missed.
From today, I will post one drawing everyday for the next three years. Or at least try. No resting on holidays, or sick days, one post every day for the next 1,095 days. Granted there will be instances where I will not be able to post, due to work, health or just plain R&R, I will make up for as soon as possible.
My sources will be mainly from my commute to work, either on the subway or bus. I’ll notice someone from the street during lunch or whatnot, I’ll be quick to keep a mental picture and make a drawing of them as soon as I can.
If you’d like to help, send me a picture of yourself and I’ll look at it for 5 secs, erase it and draw your face from memory. Your name will appear along with the post. Oh, and your comments are most welcome too!
Ultimately, I’d like to make this either into a book or a show, maybe I’ll choose a few and create a series of coasters or napkins or some obscure product line. If you’re interested and have some fun ideas I would love to hear from you.
Okay, enough of my babbling, here we go!
luet - 02.17.08 3:13 pm
this is great - i had a lot of fun going through all of these.
very characterful
rey-o - 02.17.08 3:56 pm
I LOVE his work. it’s fantastic.
Cameron - 02.17.08 3:59 pm
>>LUET
Uh… That sounds exactly like an ongoing project to me.
He says he only did 61 pictures for his original project, then he says he’ll post about 1095 pictures over the next three years. That means he’s drawing more pictures.
Scypher - 02.17.08 9:18 pm
I’ll be going to Korea this summer! I will be in Seoul from the 18th to the 30th of June. I can’t wait!
Lonewookie - 02.17.08 9:39 pm
Seoul’s Metro puts the Toronto subway to utter shame. I keep a copy of the map in my wallet to show people here in Toronto.
amanaplan - 02.19.08 3:14 am