Nabi and Jaeeon’s Art and Relationship (08 November 21)

Everybody's favourite unqualified art critic Larisa is back on her bs again today. 

Your least favourite art critic is here to talk about the nuances of NB and JE's individual art and how it ties back to their relationship as a whole.

Aka Nevertheless vs me in a chokehold.

As Hongseo's wise sculpture TA once said, "there's no such thing as qualifications in art". 

You can judge a piece of art by its practical or technical proficiency, but a work that's technically skilled may not necessarily resonate with people. 

And a piece that resonates with someone might not tick all the boxes of technical proficiency. 

I truly believe that the value of art, no matter what form it takes, is reliant on its ability to convey the intentions of its creator, and for it to resonate with another soul.

NB happens upon this piece out of the blue one day. 

Without knowing what the artists' intentions were or what they were trying to convey, it still draws her in. She's entranced by this piece, inextricably drawn in, because she resonates with it.

It's only later that she finds out that this piece also happens to be created by JE. 

It doesn't add to or take from the feelings that have already been stirred up within her. It's just another layer to the complicated perception she has of JE.

Nevertheless establishes earlier that both of them are immensely talented artists, we're told over and over again how talented JE is as an artist. Even NB's peers say and think that it's below JE to be her assistant. 

Is this for lack of skill and passion on NB's part? I don't think so. We know through context and the storyline that NB is indeed a talented artist. 

JE watching NB work, telling her that he likes her ideas, etc. is meant to cement this to the audience.

The intention of the drama is not to compare/belittle NB's talent but to sharply demonstrate the growth in NB. 

It's not trying to say that JE is more talented than NB because he wins awards and is showered with praises, but to show the merit of your art resonating with others and why it's important to be true to yourself and your heart. 

JE, for all his faults and mistakes, is someone who knows themselves very well. Perhaps a little too well. 

He knows what he doesn't want, but perhaps not what he truly wants.

He is reserved and closed off, emotionally unavailable and keeps everyone at arm's length, but he is always honest with what he wants, what he does and does not do, and what the outcome of any dalliances with him will be.

JE lives a life free of attachments or frills, ready to escape at the slightest sign of discomfort. 

But he knows this about himself. He knows his boundaries and what he is capable of, and he never lies or hides this from anybody. It's why his art resonates with so many. 

Looking at this piece that resonated so much with NB, we can learn a lot about its creator in just a glance. 

We only ever see JE work with metal (for his own pieces). This is meant to evoke a more industrial, unpolished, modern style of art.

His classmates question if it's meant to be a bat (which I would argue clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding/connection with the piece or the artist). 

JE himself says it's meant to be a butterfly, but IMO, it's meant to be made in the image of some semblance of a human being, but not entirely so, as the wings would suggest. 

An incomplete, empty/lacking human-like creature (this thread is too long to elaborate), one that so desperately seeks out an escape plan in the event that things get even a little complicated.

The human-like figure of a head and shoulders are the only thing suggesting that this is a man. To me it signifies a clear head, a strong sense of self, and perhaps a "good head on his shoulders".

And then there's the wings: spread wide, ready to take flight at any time.

It's why JE is a perfect foil to NB. 

JE knows who he is and has no problem with it until he meets NB. With his wings spread wide and a clear sense of what he wants, it inextricably draws NB in. 

NB has spent so much of her life binding her wings, keeping them tied up because she's afraid of what will happen if she spreads them.

She's afraid of being like her mother, flighty and unpredictable, ready to dive headfirst into love over and over again. 

Her ex only worsens this, binding her even tighter with his manipulation and systematically breaking her down, until she can't feel them anymore. 

By the time she meets JE, she's exhausted and more wary than she's ever been, and it bleeds through in her art.

When she meets JE she has no choice but to confront all of this. Everything he is and does is so different from what she allows herself.

It's NB's Pandora's box (except the moral lessons). Once she's opened it up, she can't put it all back in the box.

It's only once everything explodes and boils over in the messiest, ugliest way that she reaches this clarity. 

When JE and NB lay all of their cards on the table, she can finally come to terms with her feelings for him and rediscover her passion for art once again. 

Yeoji is meant to represent NB's path and journey, to depict the possibility of growth, change, and the unknown. 

Her PPT essentially says: 

"If you want to do something, there's always hope. It's possible if it's something you want to do."

When NB created her first iteration of Yeoji it was clear that her heart wasn't totally in it. 

She struggled with knowing her heart and accepting what she wanted and because of this, she could not resonate with her own art.

The biggest difference between Yeoji 1 and Yeoji 2 is the wings.

The finished project shows a set of gigantic, breathtaking wings spread wide. 

This is only possible because NB has grown and started to accept who she is and what she feels.

As an assistant, JE brings the practical asset of metal-working, but the metal wings are a very small part of what he helps NB find on the surface. 

The two of them inadvertently and somewhat unwittingly force the other to be true to their hearts.  

thisjieuns