Greetingman

“Greetings are the beginning of all relationships.”
Greeting is a gesture standing for meetings, respect, homage, awe, reconciliation and peace. The 'Greetingman' conveys the depth of the korean greeting form. It also brings out the meaning of peace and reconciliation which overpass the limits imposed between different cultures and racial backgrounds.
Through the 'Greetingman' project, the artist suggests an alternative solution for public art by creating a mutual exchange activity between the artist and the participants, in which everyone becomes customers. 1000 greetingmen will be shared by 1000 customers and these 6m high greeting men will be installed on the meaningful spots on the earth. The 'Greetingman' project will be realized by public participants and it will allow a global communication linking up various people.


Project “Greetingman” 
“The project “Greetingman” suggests a new method of making use of artists and artworks for social means.”
 
To proceed the project, the artist will produce 10000 editions of 'Greetingman' causing a mutual exchange action: paying the cost and owning the artwork between the artist and consumer/participant of the project. With the collected fund through this exchange, the artist will offer his labor to produce the 6m high 'Greetingman' and the project is completed by installing it on a meaningful place.Through this process, the participant will not only own an edition of the artwork installed in a public space but also become an active participant understanding the project's concept. Besides, the owned edition piece will always remind you that the artwork is installed somewhere on the earth and you will also remember that you took part of the project. The public looking at the 6m high 'Greetingman' at its installed location and the participants who have purchased the editions are linked by the artwork and they have emotional and physical exchanges.


Shop
“Shops are the most popular and universal habitat of the modern society.
That is where one encounters the ‘Greetingman’.”
 
A shop merchandising and marketing the ‘Greetingmen’will be opened. At this shop visitors can easily purchase the ‘Greetingmen’without the aura of a gallery or a museum. This is when the physical space of the shop will facilitate bridging of the space between the audience and the artwork, functioning as a part of everyday life.


Montevideo, Uruguay
Montevideo Port in Uruguay located at Korea's antipodes, is considered as a place acquiring the meanings of the earth's edge and its new starting point by Koreans. Inversely, this project will help Uruguayans to get to know about Korea and inform them about the unfamiliar Korean way of greeting. 'Greetingman' project will also contribute to enhance the knowledge on both antipodal countries, carrying out a possibility of mutual exchange between each country's growing youth of the future generation.


Future of the project 'Greetingman'
Preceded by the 'Greetingman' project, I intend to run a permanent 'Greetingman' shop producing various versions of 'greetingman' and selling them. This exhibition is the first step for the Greetingman shop and the project will go on till the day when this dream-like-story comes true: installing 'Greetingman' in 1000 locations such as in conflicted and remote areas, historical or personal but meaningful sites or the places lived by great men who have contributed to humanity.