Love Hotel
Love hotels in South Korea are commonly known to be where lovers go to carry on secret affairs. I was given access to photograph the rooms of a love hotel in Seoul after couples had checked out and before the rooms had been cleaned. Korean culture has many rules and formalities that have always felt very restrictive to me, so I was intrigued by the idea of being where I shouldn’t be and observing things I shouldn’t be observing-remnants of love affairs that were presumably forbidden as well. By visiting the rooms just moments after they had been vacated, I wanted to explore residual tension between the presence and absence of the anonymous couples, and to contemplate the stories implied by what remained. Rather than consider the rooms as a whole I focus on the bed, treating it as a metaphor for love and nostalgia.
Photographs: Grace Kim
Website: grace-kim.com
Voyeurism of the most boring kind. Photos of unmade beds. While this obviously had some internal meaning to the photographer, it’s too personal to speak to me.
Eerily cold, and I can’t stop looking. The lock of hair on the bed, a stain on another, the (likely) pillows under sheets that look like a body, the bright light trying to peer in through the slightly open window. Not an easy subject to portray so mysteriously. Nice job.
Asher
It really “speaks” its own language…
thats for sure…!
If, for example, the photo with the bloodstain was the “opening” one…
then i wouldnt even have to read the above note…or description…
it is strong and it explains…. it was “disturbing”… it “smelled” sweaty, stuffy,
creepy, uncomfortable, weird…
i dont know, i loved it, it moved me… i dont wanna see it again…
but for sure… strong, and to the point…
good job
right on…
loves it…..
I hardly think taking photos of beds and toning them to death makes for good journalism. The story seems like a good idea, but it needs much more work and creativity on the part of the photographer. ” I wanted to explore residual tension between the presence and absence of the anonymous couples.” Just not seeing it, sorry.
Without the text it’s some tossed bedding. With the text it’s tossed bedding with come on it, making it mildly more interesting than my stupid belly button lint.
and now I know why I get ‘weird’ vibes in some hotel rooms..
I’ve always thought of affairs
as passion..
lust…
these images are haunting..
dirty..
the other side of affairs..
I like the concept,
but maybe there are more images to explore besides the bed…
I dunno…
eeewwwww……
**
thank you for all your comments so far, I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts whatever they may be, it’s very interesting as this is an ongoing work in progress. I just want to clarify that I don’t consider myself a photojournalist at all, or even a photographer in the traditional sense. this work is very personal and much more about me than it is about love hotels per se. to the one who called me “stupid photographer”, if you don’t like or understand the work I completely understand and appreciate your criticism, but you sound very angry and there’s really no reason to be nasty about it.
Never even thought to look at this piece as being photojurnalistic. To love photography and still have such a narrow view of what it is is really astounding. Yet it still keeps popping up. Every time. This is not a photojournalism site. Okay?
Moving along.
I think the essay really only needs words to undertand it as a story obout hotels where “forbidden” couplings have taken place. Viewed without words there are some really good pictures here. The use of geometry and shape and a yin-yang like use of black-and white makes some of these photos of beds really work for me.
Not my favorites, nor something I’d hang on my walls, but good and interesting nonetheless.
Just last night I posted below comment under the “Self Service” post. It is well applicable in this case so I am sorry for the re-posting. Replace vehicles with couples, eliminate stains from it and here we go:
I believe in power of ABSENCE of things in photography (and visual arts in general). Often, I find things missing to have more impact then those included (of course, the absent would be meaningless without the components that a present).
That is where this photograph ‘work’ for me; the absence of vehicles, the absence of people, the absence of trash, no stains and no remains of human or any other activity… as if “self” labeled pumps are self-sufficient and need no interaction with humans or technology.
The terrifying effects that absence could create were wonderfully described in the W.G. Sebald’s story about another great author Vladimir Nabokov in his essay “Dream Textures, A Brief note of Nabokov”: “At the very beginning of Nabokov’s autobiography, programmatically entitled Speak, Memory there is the story of a man who, we must assume, is still very young, and who suffers a panic attack when he first sees a home movie shot in his parent’s house a few weeks before his birth. All the images trembling on the screen are familiar to him, he recognizes everything, everything is right except for the fact, which disturbs him deeply, that he himself is not where he has always been, and the other people in the house do not seem to mourn his absence.”
Wonderful, isn’t it?
Best to you all,
Veba
The idea is really good and really interesting…the execution, though, I feel is lacking. The introduction with the text allowed for a perfect segue for stories newly passed (now past) to unfold and present themselves mysteriously. From Grace’s intro, I was expecting to see imagery that explored these mysteries by making educated guesses about the happenings of these vacated love dens. There, in her visual explanation and exploration, I would have seen her connection to these people that she had never met…her fantasy about their fantasy. I know that Grace had commented that these are very personal to her, but I don’t really feel her connection to the subject or feel her fear or anxiousness about exploring forbidden places and witnessing something our eyes are not meant to see. As a work-in-progress, I say, “Bravo!” because the topic is so intriguing…I just would like to feel her presence more through the imagery. Great start.
Veba..
Exactly.. Right on.. U nailed it…
I think that this is a really great start, too, Grace. An interesting subject to ponder, and the spaciousness of your pictures leaves a lot of room to do just that. I also would like to re-emphasis the difference between this kind of work and say newspaper photography (hopefully without trying to speak too much for the photographer): these pictures are not meant to hit you over the head with a very explicit message or story; they are more conceptual in nature, and leave enough ambiguity for the viewer to explore the themes in a personal way. After working at newspapers for a couple years, I can appreciate the role of easily digestible explicit types of imagery within the context of a newspaper. Folks don’t necessarily want to explore ambiguity over their morning coffee. However, this is also an extremely limited and form of communication and expression. It hardly taps into photography’s potential to evoke subtle/complex emotion and alter the way we think.
This essay def. has the potential to do both of those things, and I think its well on its way. It just needs more work. What will make this typology more interesting, is the subtle variations in what each pair has left behind. Right now, there’s a redundancy of rumpled sheets, shot in a similar style and with a similar emotional tone. Definitely on the right track though, and a fascinating project so far!
beautiful thoughts, thank you for sharing
AUGUST…
i do not think there is any attempt by the photographer , nor by me, to show this as an example of “photojournalism”….personal documentary yes, journalism no…
cheers, david
GRACE…
please note that you were NOT being called “stupid photographer”….Stupid Photographer is the writer’s moniker (online name)…he or she was obviously not fond of this work, but the context of the comment must be clarified in your mind….Stupid Photographer has his/her own website and you might want to have a look…very often there is something to really think about…
cheers, david
oh! haha that is funny, thank you for bringing that to my attention david!
David,
Although many of your readers may understand at first look that a particular piece that you present does not fall into photojournalism or any other particular category, many may not. Maybe a reason to categorize the content or even maybe a better argument for an introduction by you? (As if you are not busy enough….
Obviously many readers are using this as a learning experience and maybe some clarification as to where a particular piece of work falls in the photographic world may be of help.
Just thinking out loud….
What a great subject. I hope Grace has the courage to look deeper. While this may have been difficult to gain access, the greater task will be to get closer to the issue and express it. Taking a look at a society’s dark corners is no easy task. Good luck Grace and be safe.
Best,
Paul
What is it with some people and “photojournalism”? It boggles the mind.
Grace, i guess this makes you a ‘spy in the house of love’, no? :) Seriously, i really, REALLY like this project though i couldn’t quite get at why until i read Veba’s comment and then EUREKA! Yes! That’s it, negative space..it’s like the pillows and rumpled sheets and tangled blankets are still palpably imprinted with the bodies in every way and yet there is no body. “8″ looks as if a body was left behind. i found myself staring at these beds trying to gauge the depth of the passion of the couple. If the pillows were tossed around like pellets shot from a gun or if they remained neatly in place, that was a clue. If the blankets were balled up at the foot of the bed or hurled over to the side, that was a clue, if the remote was left on the bed, aha, another clue, were there cups, condom wrappers, towels? all clues. Secretive lovers making love in secret, leaving only discreet silence behind. If you’ve been there, or have been tempted to go there, then you know these beds, literally or metaphorically. Wrecked hurriedly, abandoned in haste, leaving only the physical and emotional detritus as silent witness to the act. Bravo!
PETE…
frankly, i like to see where the readership goes with it…by the time one reads all the comments on any particular essay or single, the readers here have pretty much summed it all up …it should be pretty obvious by now that photojournalism is not the intent of many of the photographers here (nor the intent of BURN), although we have had some pretty good photojournalists as well and many more soon will be published…
i find most “definitions” to be pretty stifling in our modern world of photography…the myriad of possibilities with photography fascinates me…all the different ways a photographer can be an author…i am afraid that if i somehow tried to categorize the work, i would automatically be putting a ball and chain on the work….what i could do however, is to encourage the photographer to just say a whole lot more about their intent, or how THEY categorize the work…most do that in their captions, some choose to let us figure it all out…
i try to play this site like a piano (yup i have hit some bad notes!)…but, to one day give you one thing, the next another….i even read the comments for one picture or essay and then play the next post to either dispel or prove the trend of the previous posts comments…it does not always work, but sometimes it does…daily updating of anything is bound to have its weaknesses…
you are right, there is an educational imperative to BURN…but i do not believe in teaching from a pulpit…i like for young photographers to have an open mind..be exposed to all sorts of things…schools and newspapers and magazines have a rigid set of “this is right, this is wrong” mission statements… but, i think an open mind is the only thing that will lead the next generation to a higher plateau…i do find folks are pretty damned smart…i think they know journalism from personal expression,and the sometimes combo of the two…and the minute that anything becomes dogma, or gospel, or a “rule” i just cringe..always have, always will…
i am sure you were reacting to the comment of Missouri grad student August Kryger…i know where August is coming from ..i was a grad student at Mizzou too…i know what they teach at Mizzou…it is solid photojournalism..and it works…lots of students have come out of there and gotten jobs at newspapers just like yours…the integrity aspect of journalism is a good thing…but unless there is “mind expansion” beyond this one very small aspect of photography, then i am afraid the August Krygers of the world will feel “let down” by the time they are forty…they will have missed their chance at authorship….and true authorship only comes from not having any “contest-like categories” locked into their head as “the way to go”…
Pete, you are a very good man…and i truly thank you for thinking…and what you are doing online with American Journal and 37th Frame is totally commendable…perhaps together, and along with many others, we are giving exactly the educational experience that may be helpful and unique for a new generation…
cheers, peace, david
I see what you mean… Makes sense.
By the way, did you get the email I sent you the other day?
PETE..
i am in e-mail hell to beat the band…i have not seen yours…but , i will go looking…
David,
I may as well ask the same question. Did you get my email? I wrote you back the other day.
A response wasn’t/isn’t necessary but with all the mail you receive it’s good to know for sure that you got the message.
Well, all this talk of porn without people is all very well and good, but just as an aside totally from left field, I sold a picture this week at a photographic exhibition in a town just down the road from our happy little burg, which made me feel better but did very little for my bottom line. It was a photograph of Pete Seeger and went for $30, of which I got $22.80. It ain’t much, no two ways about it, but it’s more than I had before and I was trying to get rid of the frame anyway. I used the frame in last year’s show; in fact, the picture I had in the frame last year is still there—I just turned the cardboard backing around. Last year’s picture was that of Jesus hanging from the Cross, which, when you think about it, is a neat lesson in how being an anti-government agitator has changed from that time to this. In America, Pete Seeger gets investigated by a bunch of sweaty pols hoping that investigating subversive banjo players makes them look good to the voters back home, and then damned if all their efforts to nail him are for naught. Pete goes on to receive Grammys and a host of other honors and gets to live to a ripe old age, a time where he can look back at a life spent fighting the good fight for the poor and oppressed of the world. By contrast, Jesus of Nazareth had no such luck. The Romans, who didn’t give a rat’s ass what the folks back home thought about anything one way or another, beat the shit out of Jesus and then nailed him to a tree as a warning to any other smart-mouthed Jewish agitators who thought that the poor and oppressed of the world had anything other than a good swift kick in the teeth coming to them and that anyone other than Tiberius Caesar was King of the Jews. America, though, is a different kind of place. Amongst other things, we have flush toilets and high definition television, not to mention Pete Seeger.
Still, the success with the Seeger picture has led to other things, as things are wont to do. After seeing the photograph, a local organic hamburger shop (no, I am not kidding) wanted some of my pictures of our happy little burg to hang on their walls. I emailed them some sample black and white pictures and they were enthusiastic about getting some 11 x 14’s of them up on their walls. I must admit that I was mildly surprised at this; urban blight looks good in black and white, to be sure, but I am still failing to see the connection between economically distressed Rust Belt areas and selling organic hamburgers. Perhaps seeing urban decay sets off an atavistic demand for meat that tastes the way it used to before the invention of refrigeration, a time when America got its meat straight off the hoof and complete with speckles of fly dung liberally distributed from one end to the other—perhaps some psychologist can explain this phenomenon to us the ignorant toiling masses—me, I just don’t know.
And what I found especially interesting was this: their hamburgers are 100% organic, they are 100% local, they are 100% grass fed, and they are 100% humane. I was not sure what a humane hamburger might be; do you hug your hamburger before you eat it in an effort to raise its self-esteem or is humanity a special topping, along with the onion and pickle, and will it cost you extra to have your burger with some humanity on it or will the cops, spoilsports that they are, let you get away with something like that? When I enquired, the young man behind the counter told me that humane in this case meant that the butcher killed the cattle with as little pain as possibly and by the most humane methods available.
If our young beef pusher meant to ease my mind, he failed dismally. One may quibble over words like humane or painless in regard to the cow, but to the cow, the difference is largely semantic—they still wind up ground up and cooked between a bun with a side order of French fries and a frosty cold Coke. And what do they mean by humane? Did the butcher or his assistant, in an attempt to ease the cow’s mind about its imminent demise, dress up like a pair of milkmaids and creep up on the cow from behind while the unsuspecting bovine was chewing the morning’s cud yet again and then shoot it a couple of times in the head when the cow wasn’t looking? And once they shot the cow, did they leave the gun and take the cannolis? Our young beefslinger had no answer for any of these important questions and neither did I; I didn’t even stay for a burger. Once they get my pictures up on the wall, I must go back there and see how they taste. They’re organic, after all; they must be good, right?
Akaky, if you ever put a book out, I want to be the first in line to purchase one.
But then you and your alter ego probably would never be able to get through negotiations with the publisher.
그래도, “바보같은 사진가” 라는이름을 고르는 사람이면, 월래 남한테 실례스럽게 원한많고 나쁜 태도를 보이지 않습니까? 장난 아니다!
(Just checking to see if Hangeul comes across on BURN as well as it did on the old “Road Trips”).
Grace, I will look at your photos more thoroughly and comment after I can get to a braodband connection tomorrow.
Cheers,
Sidney
CATHY…
no, i have not seen an e-mail from you either…but, will check soonest…
cheers, david
David,
Have you considered a secretary? (grin)
Funny, I almost find myself wishing these were even more “absent,” I guess more clinical in a sense, like Adam Smith’s Chevron station. I want the photographer to be less present (ie the strange angles for affect, flash ghosts, etc) so I can hang out longer and peruse with a scientific eye the artifacts the lovers left behind (yes, they are subtle). The image that works the best in this way (and is my favorite of the bunch, one that I wish I could have taken) is #13. I love the daylight creeping through the window – is it early morning after a night of lust, or was this a daytime tryste? I love the mystery in that photo, yet it is the one that is the most “horizontal” (straight?) so to speak.
Burn continues to surprise nonetheless. Thanks for publishing this.
Charles and I are on the same page in relation to the photo that struck us as the most successful. For me it was also #13. Everything works in that photo: the evocation of a night of love with the wrinkled undersheet, tousled pillows and crumpled up bedspread; the morning light radiating through the closed shutter; the perfectly balanced composition and contrasting values.
Grace, this is a wonderfully original concept and you’ve made a good start. It will be interesting to see where it goes if you stay with it. Please keep us posted.
Patricia
After looking over the her site I’d say Grace has one photo essay that at his point has been unnecessarily split into 3 parts, one of which is presented here.
Hey Grace
You’ve got lotsta jam for taking on such a subject, I don’t know where your interest comes from but it is fascinating non the less.
I guess I’m feeling there is not enough here to work for me. I mean the concept is titillating, but I’m not getting much here. I’d love to see the same bed 15 times from the same viewpoint, after different clients used it,Maybe some close-ups of bits and pieces, a blury shot of clients leaving, something, in short more.
You are not telling me the story.
However good on you for showing us as much as you have. I want to see more.
O.K. It isn’t photojournalism. So what do you do with this besides post it on Burn? Publish it in a book? I don’t think 150 pages of messed up beds is going to stir much interest. Put it up on Utube? Put photos of disheveled beds on the walls of a gallery? Hang them on the walls in your house? I don’t require everything to be photojournalism. But what good is it going to do the photographer if there is no outlet for the work? If it’s so personal that people don’t get it (except, perhaps, some folks who read Burn)? If the goal is to do photography only for yourself, then that is a noble goal. But it doesn’t pay the bills.
Jim, now you’ve got me curious. Do you take your photos to “pay the bills” or mount in exhibits or be published in books? Is photography all about how it will be received by others, as in prestigious and/or financially flush others, or could there be something more?
Maybe this would be a good question to throw out to the community: Why do you take your photos, create essays, express yourself this way? Do you need/expect financial and/or public recognition and rewards?
Patricia
If “paying the bills” is your photographic raison d’etre, your photos will reflect that. If personal and/or artistic expression is why you photograph, that’s all the reason there needs to be to photograph. My personal experience, limited as it is, is that when I decided to let go of all the self-imposed expectations, my photography and my photographs became a source of self-nourishment.
Asher
If all artists were to stop creating,
because they didn’t have an outlet for their work..
what a sad state of affairs the world would be…
as Asher stated,
‘my photography and photographs become a source of self nourishment’
om shanti….
**
who said that there is no outlet? just because you and several others on Burn don’t like or understand it, that does not dictate how the rest of the world will feel. you seem very inclined to narrative, editorial, or documentary genres. but the art world is a vast and fertile place for pure ideas and self expression. anyway, if there are one or two people who understand where I am coming from (veba, kathleen, panos..) than that means more to me than any paycheck. there are many more beds to photograph and much more for me to explore as the work develops. the process of creating is just as important as the final piece (if not more important), that is the difference between being an artist opposed to someone who takes pictures.
Patricia/Asher:
“Do you need/expect financial and/or public recognition and rewards” and “If “paying the bills” is your photographic raison d’etre, your photos will reflect that”
I think that if we lived in an ideal world you would be right. I mentioned raising this exact subject to David a while back. Some of us are attempting to make a living out of our work. To say that you must only shoot for yourself is partially true and respectfully; can be seen as slightly elitist.
I shoot and write for a variety of magazines and do my best to make interesting compositions of both words and pics. But is it art? Not really; that’s what my private projects are for. They are for me, and if they achieve recognition then great. If not, my soul sure feels a hell of a lot better for doing them.
If you have a separate fulltime job then fair enough, you can do what you like. I work pretty long hours finding, selling and completing articles; and am fortunate to have seventeen guaranteed articles to complete. Especially in this financial climate.
Are they wonderful commissions for Time or National Geographic? Of course not; they are small 1000 word and pic pieces for small mags. Good solid and interesting work, but art? Sadly no.
But I am fortunate to meet interesting and often inspiring people doing everyday things. For example; today I spent the day out the backcountry farms with one of the local farm livestock buyers. It’s just a “day in the life” type piece for a farm magazine. The buyer is a great guy, I make more contacts in the rural areas where I often work, and it beats the hell out of working in a supermarket (my old job as a butchery manager)!!!
That small mag pays only 10c a word less than New Zealand Geographic, and I get regular monthly work as a bonus. The extra photos I take go in to both the NZ and UK agencies I work with. They are the cream on the top that helps pay the mortgage and guess what? Help me do more work on personal projects.
Often I’m able to resell re-worded pieces to other local mags. But; I have now got 3 solid months of work ahead of me; whereas if I was back in a supermarket I could be given the flick with a week’s notice…. Even more so now.
In some ways, if I wasn’t trying to make a go of full time photojournalism I’d have more time/finances to pursue both projects.
But I feel I’m beginning to find the right balance. Doing meaningful magazine work and pursuing projects that interest me in my spare time. Sure, I would absolutely love to spend all my time on my projects, but like most have a mortgage to pay etc. And to be honest, it would be a lot easier to pay if I had stuck in my old “go nowhere” job in a supermarket. But like the old saying goes “I’d rather die on my feet fighting than on my belly crawling”…..
Cheers
Wow….
Not everyone supports themselves with photography, and that allows people to pursue interests that may not necessarily pay the bills but something that genuinely interests people. When I read your comments Jim, its as if you forgot that photography can be something more than merely a way to pay the bills. I sometime imagine what it must be like to shoot things you have no interest in, a.k.a. a daily newspaper job. I imagine it would be a life draining experience.
However, you are wrong on several points. The first one is that something personal would be of no interest to anyone but the photographer. Fortunately we have scores of photographers publishing highly personal works and with great success. Nan Goldin to Jacob aue Sobol, even Larry Towell’s fantastic book about his family. All highly successful artists showing us highly intimate and personal work.
Well said Grace,
I dont want to assume where Jim is coming from but I do sense a certain ignorance about many of the artistic trends boiling away in the photography world. I think that this is project is strong conceptually and will eventually find more than enough outlets.
Van Gogh sold how many painting when he was alive? I do believe he died broke. What a sad world it would be if he gave up on his art.
Rafal;
I agree. I once talked to one of the local news guys from the provincial paper and he said he was jealous of me. I asked him why? He had regular work and wages, a luxury if you’re a freelancer like me. But he explained he had to shoot everything he was sent to, whether he was bored by it or not. He also little time to spend on each job; often only a few minutes.
That was when I decided I was glad I was freelancing. Even though there is no real job security about 95% of the stories I work on are ones I have an interest in.
Cheers
Ross,
I fully respect (and often idolize!) professional photographers and the need to pay bills. In fact, at times I consider myself fortunate that I can shoot at whim and on my own schedule (when my real job allows…); it is indeed a luxury. I have worked as a photographer “semi-professionally”, whatever that means, for a local magazine and newspaper, to the point that I have seen the color of the grass on the other side of the fence. An assignment is a responsibility to someone else. A personal project is a challenge to be true to your own vision, with non-monetary rewards, and occasionally monetary reward as well. But if monetary reward is the driver of a personal project, it just seems to me that that would defeat the purpose.
I guess my point was that, in response to Jim P.’s post, there’s also a need, a time, a place, and a valuable reason for work/art such as Grace’s essay, Bob’s essay, Adam’s photograph, even if it’s not immediately clear whether this is a practical purpose and what that purpose is.
Asher
Asher: “if monetary reward is the driver of a personal project” I totally agree with you!!
thanks again to everyone for your thoughtful feedback, I love the range of viewpoints and the different turns this discussion has taken so far
Grace,
“the process of creating is just as important as the final piece (if not more important), that is the difference between being an artist opposed to someone who takes pictures.”
Beautifully written.
I think the search for the photograph is, sometimes, maybe, almost more fulfilling than actually firing the shutter, which can even be anticlimactic (staying within the theme of your essay…). Looking at your photos (again) from this project I think you’ve found a groove that will progressively become a bigger piece of your essence.
Asher
thank you Rafal, I appreciate that
yes! perfectly, that was well said. did you write that in hangeul yourself or is that auto-translation? just curious
(preface: i’m hungover and can’t compose my thoughts properly)
-like the idea of the project (in theory)
-the execution left me wanting
-wondered why the photographer chose to shoot in black and white
-seems color would better serve the project
-wish this was being shot in color
-don’t know why but the black and white doesn’t work at all
-can’t emphasize enough that the black and white doesn’t work
-please continue this with color film and probably medium format if you can
-definitely feels like something is ‘missing’
-yes color
-no black and white (for this project)
-hungover and incredibly full of korean bbq