brochure of urban meditation
DESCRIPTION
Ji Sun Lee "Urban Meditation" - Solo Show gallery hours: Thurs & Fri 2p-6p and by appointment www.jisunlee.net Media Noche 1355 Park Ave. corner store (at 102nd st.) New York, NY 646.228.7950 www.medianoche.usTRANSCRIPT
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Urban Meditation
Today, in the midst of rapidly changing circumstances around us as well the convenient
but yet confusing modernized life styles, people often experience stress and a loss of
control. However, it is often even more difficult to find peace and a sense of calmness
in the course of urban life. Therefore, I would like to explore and design alternative and
suitable ways of meditation that is in tune with urban life and create a space that is
filled with many screens and computers. These alternative ways have been inspired by
experiences of different Asian cultures as well as my personal Korean lifestyle.
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Tea ceremony provides new way of meditation on finding relaxation and harmony with nature.
People in fast-paced New York City usually drink a cup of coffee or tea at Starbucks or rush out
to go somewhere with their cups in hand. However, in Korea the approach to enjoying their tea is
with relaxation in mind. The traditional Korean setups of the tea table is in a teahouse usually in
the garden where can enjoy all four seasons of nature.
Tea Ceremony
6 7Ji Sun Lee _ Tea Ceremony _ Processing and Arduino with sensors _ 2006
Tea Ceremony was inspired by the appreciation for enjoying tea in nature. The core of the natural elements
is water because tea is made by water. Furthermore, drinking tea allows people to purify their body and
mind. The visualizations are based on the concepts related with water; 4 abstract images inspired by
Korean calligraphy. This was recreated in a programming language by Processing, a design interface
dedicated for processing to create an interaction with the tea ceremony set. This interaction is supposed to
symbolize the connection between nature and inner peace.
Tea Ceremony is ideal for one or two user in a quiet room where a large screen is placed on the wall. The
user pours tea into a teacup, and then experiences the drizzle of spring rain, followed by heavy shower of
summer, fog and early bird chirping in autumn and snow with an owl singing in winter. The relaxing music
and warm green tea helps the users release stress and meditate their spirit.
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class Shower { oat xpos; oat ypos; oat showerSize; oat speed; Shower(){ xpos = random(0,width); ypos = -100; showerSize = random(0,33); speed = random(1,10); } void move(){ ypos += speed; } //Check if it hits the bottom boolean rechedbottom() { if(ypos>height){ return true; } else{ return false; }}
void display(){ fill(255,random(3,15)); float f1 = 0.0; beginShape(POLYGON); while(f1 < TWO_PI) { vertex(xpos + cos(f1)*(27-showerSize) + random(0,5), ypos + sin(f1)*(27-showerSize) + random(0,5)); f1 += PI/12.0; } endShape(); }}
Ji Sun Lee _ Tea Ceremony _ Processing and Arduino with sensors _ 2006
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The Four Gracious Plants, otherwise known as the Four Gentlemanly Plants, or the Four
Seasons symbols, consist of plum blossoms, orchids or wild orchids, chrysanthemums, and
bamboo. They were originally Confucian symbols for the four qualities of a learned man, but are
now more commonly associated with the four seasons. Plum blossoms represented courage,
the orchid stood for refinement, the chrysanthemum was a sign of a productive and fruitful
life, and bamboo represented integrity. In modern times, the four have come to be associated
with the seasons as well; plums blossoms bravely bloom in the cold of an early spring, orchids
disseminate a dim fragrance far in the heat of summer, chrysanthemums overcome the first
cold of a late fall and bloom, and bamboo bares its green leaves even in the winter.
The Four Gracious Plants are one of most popular themes in traditional Korean painting. They
are not simply decorative wall paintings but also symbolize a way of life. People hang these
paintings in their studies or living rooms as a daily healthy reminder and to cultivate their minds
in positive ways.
Four Gracious Plants
Asian Traditional Paintings by WizData , iStockphoto.com
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Four Gracious Plants is created by altering abstract images from traditional paintings in order
to suggest the passing of time and the seasons. In the cool early spring, rain drizzles and plum
trees boldly blossom. Pink flowers grow on in its branches. When the plum flowers are gone, the
orchids grow and its flowers open to disseminate a dim fragrance in the heat of summer. When
the summer reaches its peak of hot temperature, the orchids are caught in a rain shower and
then the season changes to fall. In the early morning, chrysanthemums appear in a dense fog.
Then, the chrysanthemums overcome the first cold of late fall and yellow flowers bloom. When
the winter comes, the bamboo raise up with green leaves, even though it is very cold. After the
snow, the season changes again and this cycle repeats indefinitely.
The images on Processing are triggered by switch sensors, which is located inside the book and
detect the turning of the pages. The interaction between the book and the images represent the
relationship between engaging in literary works and the appreciation and cultivation of one’s
mind. The purpose here is to show the audience that such a connection does exist.
Ji Sun Lee _ Four Gracious Plants_ Processing and Arduino with sensors _ 2007
Ji Sun Lee _ Four Gracious Plants_ Processing and Arduino with sensors _ 2007
class Plum {ArrayList a;oat j = 0;int branchCounter = 0;Plum() {a = new ArrayList();PlumBranch b = new PlumBranch(new Vector3D(100,500),new Vector3D(0f,-0.5f ),300f );a.add(b);}void go() {for (int i = a.size()-1; i >= 0; i--) {PlumBranch b = (PlumBranch) a.get(i);b.update();b.render(random(15,20)-j);j= j+0.00055;if (b.timeToBranch()) {branchCounter = branchCounter +1;if (branchCounter>64){createBlossom(b.loc);}if (a.size() < 1024) {a.add(b.plumBranch( 45f)); // Add one going righta.add(b.plumBranch(-30f)); // Add one going left}}}}void createBlossom ( Vector3D loc ) {Blossom new_blossom = new Blossom(loc);blossoms.add(new_blossom);}}
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FanningA BUCHAE(Korean fan) brings about wind and gets rid of dust. It was believed that, as it clears
dust o, it also gets rid of evil spirits that bring bad luck or disease.
People use a fan in the summer to reduce their body heat and enjoy the wind blowing on their
face. “Fanning” creates a soft wind. This wind cools down the heat and helps relieve people’s
stress from the hot temperatures in the city and other annoying things around them.
Korean fan By JoonYoung.Kim
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Fanning creates the feeling of emptiness inside the mind. It creates moments of relief in
stressful situations, which feels as if the stress is being cleared away. It is as if you left the
realities of life behind for a while by Fanning. When the user uses a fan on his or her face, he
or she is able to see a digital version of their face being scattered on the screen by the wind
generated by the fan.
The user is able to control the strength and angle of the fanning motion with his or her hand and
wrist. A tilt sensor detects the angle and the number of the fanning motion which is correlated
directly to the digital images and changes accordingly. The flying pixels of the digital image of
the person’s face on the screen symbolize the blowing away of complicated and stifling realities.
Ji Sun Lee _ Fanning _ Processing and Arduino with a sensor _ 2007
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int tiltSensor = 0; // digital sensorint inByte = 0; // incoming serial byte
void setup(){ // start serial port at 9600 bps: Serial.begin(9600);}
void loop(){ // if we get a valid byte, read analog ins: if (Serial.available() > 0) { // get incoming byte: inByte = Serial.read(); // read switch, multiply by 255 // so that you’re sending 0 or 255: tiltSensor = 255 * digitalRead(8); // send sensor values: Serial.print(tiltSensor, BYTE); }}
Ji Sun Lee _ Fanning _ Processing and Arduino with a sensor _ 2007
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Head of Speech
There are many methods for meditation. In Korean, Head of Speech(usually translated as “head
of speech” which means “true speech”) has been used for general meditation at the temple in
Korea. Used by many enlightened masters of the past, the practitioner endeavors to suspend
logical thinking so that the Original Nature becomes clear through a direct transmission from
mind to mind.
Today, it is often very difficult to find a “peace of mind” by contemplating about your “true self”
like the Head of Speech. People often lack the time or the proper space to engage in such
meditation and to ask oneself questions that are aimed for self reflection.Temple Stay at Hwagyesa - Meditating by sellyourseoul
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Head of Speech asks our views questions about life, our identity, and the relationship between
these two. The screen on the wall will show short and simple questions continuously. Then, the
users will think about the answers to these questions and forget about the stress surrounding
their everyday lives and release tension while they are focused on finding the answers.
Ji Sun Lee _ Head of Speech_ Processing and Mirror _ 2010
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The DotSimilar to the walking meditation style, called Haengseon, the sitting meditation style, or Jwaseon, is also
a common form of meditation in Korea. In the quest for contemplation, this sitting meditation style helps
one to be immersed in specific and general questions one may have about life. For people who are new to
this type of meditation, they can start by imagining a virtual dot on the wall, which should be at the same
height as your belly button in the sitting position. In the sitting position, the person should be able to lean
over slightly and touch the wall with the edge of one hand, marking the recommended distance between the
person and the wall. After placement is assigned, one can start the meditation by focusing on the dot and
counting from 50 to 0. It is important to note that the purpose of this countdown is to prepare the person for
the meditation. At the point of complete tranquility and stillness, he or she experiences the dot growing and
canvassing the wall, leading one to become fully immersed in it.
Temple Stay at Hwagyesa - Meditating by sellyourseo
The Dot helps the user experience this moment of stillness that only happens after some form of meditation.
There is a camera that detects the movement of the user and analyzes whether the user has moved or not.
If the participant successfully focuses on the dot for an extended period of time in stillness, the dot on the
screen suddenly grows. The dot helps the user not only stay focused on the task of meditation at hand, but
also encourage the user to experience this moment of tranquility that is often hard to find in everyday life.
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The small sized digital photo frame displays a small dot on the screen. While in the cross-legged
position, the user should align the height of his or her belly button accordingly with the height of
the dot. The images on the screen will proceed in this order. First, a countdown from 50 to 1 helps
the user become comfortable to the new surroundings and prepare him or her mentally for the
exercise. Afterwards, a black dot with a white background appears and this image stays for 2 to 5
minutes. Then, the black dot expands and becomes the background.
Ji Sun Lee _ The Dot_ Processing _ 2010
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Many people tend to think about people, situations and the circumstances happening in
their lives while they are walking. The “walk” is a sort of medium and place to engage in
such meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a famous monk and the author of a walking
mediation book, conduct walking meditation programs with many people in cycles. The person
participating in the walking meditation exercise watches the heels of the person in front of
them and follow his or her direction. When one person rings a bell during this meditation
exercise, everyone stops and empties their mind of worries, troubles and anxieties
Walking
32 33Ji Sun Lee _ The Dot_ Processing _ 2010
Walking encourages people to walk in the designated space by following footprint images that
are being projected onto the floor. The camera on the ceiling detects the user’s position and
shows the following footprints in front to help guide the participant and indicate the cycle’s
direction. If the user stops or his or her pace lags behind the images, the projections of the
footprint images wait until the user decides to start walk again or catches up. Overall, these
images are shown at a pace where the user will be able to enjoy and relax his or her mind.
Media Noche in New York
02 10 2011 to 03 24 2011
1355 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10029, USA
T. +1 646.228.7950
www.medianoche.us
+82 (0)10 7385 9373
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Twitter: jisunlee
THE MEDIUM in Seoul
01 25 2011 to 01 30 2011
3F, 132-27, Yeonhui-dong,
Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
T. +82 (0)70.4084.8965
www.themedium.co.kr
The First Solo Exhibition in New York and Seoul
This work is licensed underhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/