There is a person who can be described with three simple words: Baseball cap, beard, and green painting on a T-shirt. He is Professor Yoon Hoseob who has been drawing green pictures such as trees, fish, birds, and elephants on passersby’s T-shirts at Insa-dong. He is so-called a green designer or an environment designer who tries to protect the environment and create beauty through design. I had an opportunity to meet with him in one of the hottest afternoons by the end of June.

Arts for environment, environment with arts

It sounded familiar but a little special to me. Does the term ‘green designer’ or ‘environment designer’ stand for a designer? Or does it indicate an environmentalist? I decided to get an answer from Professor Yoon. When I asked him, he answered, “The modifier ‘green or environment’ in front of ‘designer’ reveals how serious our environmental problems are in the current society. We just received attention while we tried to make our environment beautiful and healthy through arts and design. Everybody can also do something to protect our environment in his or her own way. I just made some designs using painting which I was most talented at. And those were just based on the environment.”
Professor Yoon used to be an ads designer. Then he has become an environment or green designer. “I don’t find any big difference between my previous position as an ads designer and my current title as an environment designer because I basically draw pictures in both cases. My goal is a little different. After I came to be aware of the environmental problems, I decided to change myself and people around me to save the earth.”

I wondered what he did first as an environment designer when he realized the seriousness of the environmental problems. He said, “I wasn’t ‘suddenly’ changed, but I began to put into action as I felt I need to ‘do something’ after I convinced myself of the significance of the environment. What I could do first was to practice things in my daily life. I try to use public transportation or my bicycle rather than to drive my own car. If it is not too far, I just walk. While practicing these small things, I was able to see the trees on the street, people’s face, and cloud in the sky, which I hadn’t been able to see when I drove. My life is more relaxed and healthier than before.”

Arts as a means of communication to share hope

When I try to define arts, such a word as beauty or creation comes up first. There should be many kinds of tools and materials to create new things. But is it really possible to combine environmental issues with beauty? “It can be either difficult or easy. In order to restore the environment after the nuclear accident caused by the great Japanese earthquake in 2011, a number of artists took the initiative in comforting the refugee. They have a role as a messenger among society, people and environment. They have been sharing hope through arts.”

Right after the nuclear accident occurred, the artistic community in Japan went into enthusiastic action to help the residents in the damaged area. Although most of the cultural events such as performance and exhibition were canceled after the disaster, some of the artists held concerts for charity. Some painters donated their paintings for charity auction. Some architects and designers took part in house renovation project for the victims. I recollected a movie, “Waste Land” which dealt with an artistic activity of Vik Muniz, a contemporary artist, at a landfill in Brazil. In the movie, he tried to create works of art with the catadors (or ragmen) using recycled items collected from one of the largest landfills in the world, and he got to learn what our life really means.

Meeting with Professor Yoon reminded me of this movie which delivered a message about the role of arts in our society.

Written by Park Jeong-hee & Photographs from Yoon Hoseob (Green Canvas)