Arena’s Nightmare at the Museum
by javabeans
Park Se-young (School 2013, Faith)
javabeans: Nothing says “edgy” like a photo shoot that is obviously trying way too hard to give you nightmares. We GET it, ARENA, you want to be cutting edge and fashionable. Only when did evil-looking devil-imps sprouting foliage out of their heads come into fashion? Did I miss the memo about spring?
girlfriday: Clearly you’re not getting the deeper meaning behind the… um… artistic juxtaposition of nudity and haute couture. ‘Cause yunno, just wearing a dress doesn’t quite get the point across, apparently.
javabeans: Yes, to sell the pretty dress, you need to set up a tableau and create a story and conceptualize… a concept… that makes you want to spork yourself. Art 1, Self 0.
girlfriday: And they say art appreciation is dead.
A Pink’s Sohn Na-eun
javabeans: The thing starts out normal enough. Well, not normal-normal, but maybe haute couture normal. Park Se-young is… a giantess on a pedestal surrounded by gargoyles, or whatever, and Sohn Na-eun is one-half of a giant dark angel whose other wing got left behind in hell.
girlfriday: Yes, the basic idea isn’t that insane (the shoot is called Girls & Museum). It’s just… the museum gets pretty damn creepy.
javabeans: Yoon-ju’s isn’t too crazy if we ignore that sad naked tree-child in the background…
girlfriday: Because THAT’s likely.
javabeans: …who then moves frame to go pester Esom, who looks like she couldn’t care less. Or maybe like she wants to cut a bitch.
girlfriday: Great, now it’s on the move?
Yoon-ju (Dirty Blood)
javabeans: And then it just gets weirder and creepier until I want to wash my eyes out with soap, because blindness would be preferable. I don’t get why the creepy dryad-people are regular size in some shots, and tiny in others like Sohn Eun-seo’s setup. She looks like a goddess/giantess, and the size differential make them look like her army of miserable bald slaves.
girlfriday: Yes, her army of tiny, starving slaves who are being molested and/or silenced. Whyyyy?
javabeans: Because now I want to go out and buy evening gowns! Don’t you?
girlfriday: Sure, as long as they come with a free memory wipe gift with purchase.
javabeans: And to all our faithful Dramabeans readers: You’re welcome.
Esom (Ghost, Psychometry)
Nam Bora (The Moon That Embraces the Sun)
Chun Woo-hee (Sunny, Vampire Idol)
Sohn Eun-seo (Love Rain, May Queen)
Via Chosun
Tags: Chun Woo-hee, conversation post, Park Se-young, photo shoots, Sohn Eun-seo
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
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1 SH
March 4, 2013 at 8:06 PM
Lol...at least the dresses are pretty :D
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2 danna
March 4, 2013 at 8:09 PM
damn, did not recognize Nam Bora at all
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3 Elizabeth
March 4, 2013 at 8:13 PM
I love Son Na-Eun's shoes.
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4 snow_white
March 4, 2013 at 8:20 PM
your conversations are always fun to read :D
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5 mav
March 4, 2013 at 8:22 PM
Not going to bed anymore... when I close my eyes I see little imp people ... Thank you really.....
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6 termas
March 4, 2013 at 8:25 PM
I...didn't even notice the dresses in the later shots; my eyes were too drawn to the horror going on around the girls.
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verte
March 5, 2013 at 1:08 AM
Yeaaah... me too...
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cmrprindle
March 8, 2013 at 6:16 PM
me three
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7 Mehkko
March 4, 2013 at 8:29 PM
I really like it, but I guess I'm just weird.
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kay
March 4, 2013 at 8:43 PM
i strangely like it too..
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Mehkko
March 4, 2013 at 9:30 PM
It was thought provoking and aesthetically stimulating. I appreciate it in more than a fashion sense, which is rare for all of those fashion shoots that are trying to be more artsy than they really are.
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Nicole
March 4, 2013 at 9:37 PM
I like it, too. It didn't really creep me out..I felt the fashion & tone worked pretty well together. Some shots were better than others, but still. I liked Esom's the most.
I actually really like the statue to the right of Sohn Eun-seo. I keep scrolling back to it - something about the pose, figure, and expression.
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news
March 5, 2013 at 4:32 AM
All those statues and imps I can do without, but Esom looks awesome and her dress is beautiful. I wish there was a shot of her standing up so I could see the design of her dress better.
I like her look and she photographs well which makes me wonder why she isn't known internationally like other Korean models (i.e. Han Jin, Hyoni Kang, Daul Kim (RIP)).
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pogo
March 5, 2013 at 10:07 AM
There is something so striking about Esom's face, she looks like a doll but a potentially very spooky doll.
Daul Kim was one of my favourite models of all time *sigh* I think Seo Joo has a similar image, but Daul's look was unique, it's not at all what you see represented in Korean entertainment or even typical of East Asian models who do high fashion.
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news
March 5, 2013 at 9:10 PM
Daul Kim is also one of my favorite models. She just has that cool and elusive 'it' factor about her that made her stand out. She's versatile and can carry any look effortlessly whether it's her hairstyle (i.e. long blond hair) or clothes. It's like you need a second, third or x-amount of looks to determine what adjective(s) to describe her or whether she's a beauty.
Her wit and dark humor was pretty atypical too. I remember reading a post on her blog comparing a photo of her family to a photo of Dynasty. It made me laugh and wondered what planet she came from to even know Dynasty at such a young age.
Laurita
March 4, 2013 at 9:48 PM
I don't find it bad either. It's interesting, different, it attracts attention. I just wonder if it sells well. But, the models are the celebrities so why not...
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ht
March 4, 2013 at 11:52 PM
Nah, I love this concept.
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alua
March 5, 2013 at 8:47 AM
I like it too. Some (1, 2 and 4) more than others, but, yeah, generally I like it.
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8 Noernov
March 4, 2013 at 8:34 PM
I'll never go to museum,if it's that creepy ;)
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9 drinaros
March 4, 2013 at 8:42 PM
creeeeeeeeeeepppppyyyyy....
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10 Christy
March 4, 2013 at 8:45 PM
At first I was like what are you guys worried about? Seems pretty okay to me...and now? Don't get me wrong, the ladies are beautiful. But seriously, scrolldown fug...cannot unsee...
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11 crazedlu
March 4, 2013 at 9:48 PM
urrrrrkaayyy? but the ladies look lovely. ha.
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12 Dee Dee
March 4, 2013 at 9:54 PM
What kind of museum is this? Why?
This is probably the one Dramabeans post that I'll never look back at again ...
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Arhazivory
March 4, 2013 at 11:16 PM
ditto -_-
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varms
March 6, 2013 at 8:44 AM
Ditto here too.
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13 Stephen
March 4, 2013 at 11:06 PM
Hm. I'm not repelled by the idea, but I don't exactly enjoy it.
There's the absence of awe. I like the clothes, however. I guesd that's what counts.
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TS
March 5, 2013 at 7:08 AM
That's a really good point. Maybe they needed more dramatic lighting.
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14 Addylovesbwood
March 4, 2013 at 11:21 PM
this is kinda disturbing.
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15 blokkoms
March 4, 2013 at 11:24 PM
Perfect timing - since I need to buy an evening dress right now and the dresses themselves are lovely (especially Esom's, and I love the colour on Chun Woo-hee) - but those weird tortured models are creepy as heck. And the concept of 'nightmare at the museum' has so much potential! I would have thought of asking a curator very nicely and incorporating actual museum pieces, rather than this monstrosity. It's more like 'nightmare at the clothes store', with twisted mannequins.
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16 queencircles
March 5, 2013 at 12:44 AM
Why...?
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17 Sajen
March 5, 2013 at 12:45 AM
I like it.
But then you could chalk that up to the fact I love dark fantasy art and couldn't care less about dresses or fashion in general.
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18 Jushi
March 5, 2013 at 1:40 AM
I actually like the whole concept...
and the dresses are pretty. The ladies as well.
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19 Farhana
March 5, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Well I'm glad I'm seeing this in day time rather than before bed...
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20 miya
March 5, 2013 at 2:44 AM
^javabeans: …who then moves frame to go pester Esom, who looks like she couldn’t care less. Or maybe like she wants to cut a bitch.
HAHA Love reading your posts! But you're right, those statues are a bit disturbing. Was wondering if they were actually statues or real models posing as statues.
It's more like Hellraiser meets Vogue. Where's pinhead? Is he lurking in the background somewhere?
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21 skinnymocha
March 5, 2013 at 3:01 AM
Artsy fartsy. That's all there is to it.
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22 Sunshine
March 5, 2013 at 4:50 AM
WHAT KIND OF A MUSEUM is this?!?! i think i am gonna have nightmare for the rest of the day all those naked creepy people in the background...*i think i am gonna puke*
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23 TS
March 5, 2013 at 5:24 AM
Aren't there professional models who're starving themselves for this work?
Yeah, fine, they look cool and all, but perhaps I'm too cranky in the morning to appreciate this.
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24 TS
March 5, 2013 at 5:24 AM
Ooh, who's the hot guy with dirt in his face in the banner?
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25 Gom
March 5, 2013 at 5:25 AM
This is just so creepy on all levels. I mean, I don't care how artistic this is, but it's creepy. Nightmarish-ly creepy.
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26 Bengbeng
March 5, 2013 at 7:57 AM
the dresses are lovely, as well as the shoes, but they doesn't seem to go with each other.
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27 Gidget
March 5, 2013 at 9:51 AM
Why does this concept remind me of Flying Monkeys?
I'm sorry, but I just can't respect a designer that has to try this hard to attract attention...or maybe it's distract attention from rather unimaginative dresses.
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28 comradeS
March 5, 2013 at 11:45 AM
I actually really like this shoot. And the dresses all look gorgeous, especially Esom's. I wish Esom were better well known internationally as a model. She has a marvelous face.
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29 Hugepuffball
March 5, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Um.... well the girls are pretty and all.... but I have no idea which museum would have those statues that look like the are being/have been abused.
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30 peony
March 5, 2013 at 2:36 PM
Yayy. This is just made of unicorns and rainbow vomit.
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31 Anduril
March 5, 2013 at 4:44 PM
The wolf in the first picture reminds me of Lady in the Water (M Night Shyamalan)
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32 Midori
March 6, 2013 at 8:11 AM
The people in the back look like they desperately need a sandwich or 10.
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33 varms
March 6, 2013 at 8:43 AM
EEEEEE!!! It's the middle of the night here. And I skimmed through all the pictures really fast but still.......... Eep.
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34 Skwonto
March 6, 2013 at 4:22 PM
How many boxes are they standing on? There is nothing ethereal or haunting about this shoot. Sour faces is all I see.
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35 hawoojinruinedme
March 6, 2013 at 6:17 PM
At first I thought the pictures are generally okay and nothing out of the extraordinary until I saw those two imps groping and harassing each other. That’s unsettling. And with them being on the foreground, the picture looks much worse. Oh well.
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MsGB
March 6, 2013 at 6:58 PM
Why can't I NOT unsee that? Ugh........my corneas hurt.
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