Home / Quotes / Quote by Hyon Gyon

Quote by Hyon Gyon

“People do tend to fear and despise shamans but turn to them in times of desperation. Such a contradiction is a human characteristic, no? I'm more pulled to the human drama of shamans - their experience in society and identity struggles - than their transcendental power. Their drastic lives enable them to empathize with others and provide solace.”

Quote by Hyon Gyon

Author

Hyon Gyon, born on June 16, 1979, is an enigmatic figure whose identity and profession remain unknown. more

You May Also Like

“The female experience throughout the history of Korea has been accompanied by physical and mental anguish. This negative aspect of Korean history is one of the driving forces behind my work. To imagine transcending time and space to live in the body of another person is not only one of the key elements that shape my work, but also, it is an opportunity to revisit and understand the ways women have long been viewed and treated in Korea.”

Long Opportunity Imagine Negative Female Driving Anguish Time And Space Korean Transcending

Author:Hyon Gyon

“If you are born a female and live as one, you can't deny your connection to feminism. I think if you are a female, you are a feminist. As far as my work goes, I don't want it to be interpreted solely from a feminist perspective, of course, but for a woman to have no interest in feminism or say that it doesn't concern her is self-denial. I know that sexism still exists within various societies and systems, whether blatantly or subtly. We are, however, much better off than previous generations.”

Thinking Interest Feminism Perspective Concern Female Feminist Various Sexism

Author:Hyon Gyon

“Before she is an individual, a shaman is foremost a vehicle for receiving and expressing the grief and indignation of the people within society. The otherworldly strength that you see during a gut is the raging effort to forget and overcome the weakness of the self and is possible because it bears all the wrath and indignation of the people against oppression. Extraordinary acts performed with remarkable exaggeration encounter the human instinct to demolish one's own limitations, producing catharsis.”

People Individual Forget Effort Grief Weakness Overcoming Instinct Extraordinary Rage Oppression Limitation Guts Remarkable Vehicle Exaggeration

Author:Hyon Gyon

“Art-making is an extension of the kind of spiritual process that shamans unfold in order to demonstrate the connectedness of the world beyond reality.”

World Kind Reality Spiritual Connectedness

Author:Hyon Gyon

“For a shaman, all things considered taboo get ripped apart, and one feels the satisfaction of being freed from agony through vituperation and laughter. Hence, shamanism could be said to have developed a means to tackle and override the barriers, oppression, and despair that tend to obstruct life.”

Mean Despair Laughter Oppression Barriers Taboo Being Free

Author:Hyon Gyon

“It's difficult to define catharsis. But I think that only those who acknowledge and respond to unseen worlds and energies can harness the power of those sources. The catharsis I experienced with my whole body during gut is reflected in my work.”

Thinking World Energy Difficult Acknowledge Guts

Author:Hyon Gyon

“I think when I was doing my very first interviews, I probably brought a notepad and did ask people my first fifteen questions while sitting in a Starbucks or something horrible like that. And I found that, oftentimes, the most important thing at the very first interview is just establishing a personal connection and developing some sort of rapport so that I can go back to them again, and then maybe again, and maybe again after that.”

People Thinking Important Horrible Rapport

Author:Sarah Stillman

“I try to come to my reporting as a real, whole person, not an automaton. And it's always one of the strange discomforts of the job, that you're in this very intense moment in someone's life - you're engaging with them nonstop - and then suddenly your piece is out and that's done. It always reminds me that the journalist's job isn't to be someone's friend, or their psychologist, or anything other than what we actually are. And at the end of the day, that can definitely seem like such a strange, extractive relationship.”

Trying Real Done Moments Strange Intense Psychologist

Author:Sarah Stillman

“It's been nice, actually, to keep in touch with a lot of the people and families that I've written about. Like with the kids I was just writing about from Guatemala, who survived being kidnapped and fleeing violence, it was nice to just sit down in their living room and play bingo with them, go to dinner with the family. And sometimes not thinking about it in such a mechanistic "I am now coming to report and get what I need" way, but just spending time, helps you see a more natural version of who they are too.”

People Thinking Writing Sometimes Helping Kids Natural Nice Violence Living Room Spending Time

Author:Sarah Stillman

“I tend to only be able to obsess about one thing at once, and become fully engaged in and only interested in that thing. But in the longer term, a lot of my stories also give birth to other stories.”

Giving Term Birth

Author:Sarah Stillman