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| Romanian-American artist Mari Calai's son Samuel blows the seeds off a red-seeded dandelion in the woods located in Falls Church, Virginia, in this September 2016 file photo. Calai released a photobook titled "ADAGIO" featuring her son and daughter growing up with nature, last week, five years after the photos were taken. / Photo from Noonbit Publishing |
Romanian-American artist chronicles her kids growing up with nature in 'ADAGIO'
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Romanian-American artist and photographer Mari Calai's two children depicted in her recently published photobook, titled "ADAGIO," are very different from Korean kids of the same age group.
Unlike Korean children who rush to test prep institutions once their schools are over and spend several hours there to hone their testing skills, Sofia and Samuel learn from nature. They spend most of their time in an "outdoor classroom" and have free time to explore the world surrounding them.
Unlike Korean kids whose lives are inseparable from smartphones as they constantly communicate with their parents and friends through smartphone chatting apps, Calai's children live a tech-free life.
Calai, 41, a Seoul-based artist, says childhood is supposed to be full of wonder and self-learning experiences, both in a positive and negative sense.
"My goal of the photo project was to create a visual legacy that years down the road will mean something important for my kids," she told The Korea Times in a recent interview.
"I thought documenting our children's lives through photos would be one of the best things we could ever give to them as a gift. My photos are not just portraits of them."
Inspired by her own fond childhood memories, Calai said she zoomed in on their wonder of discovery, the gentleness of trust, the joy of exploring as well as frustrating moments and disappointment they have experienced.
Just like the title of the book suggests, ADAGIO serenely narrates her son's and daughter's world.
Calai encourages her readers to feel the whispering forest and see the carefree children playing and running around there.
Moments captured in her photography include a naughty boy teasing his older sister and Sofia showing a cut on her leg. The siblings taste fruit they picked on a farm. Samuel relaxes in a bubble bath with a satisfying smile on his face. Sofia cuddles a dog.
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| Sofia, front, and Samuel taste fruit they picked on a farm in Tennessee, in this May 2016 photo. / Photo from Noonbit Publishing |
Calai chose ADAGIO as the title of her book with the help of her mentor and artist Yoo Beyl-nam.
"Adagio means 'in slow tempo' and it is usually used in music," she said. "It reminded me of how childhood ― the best and most innocent times of our lives ― should be remembered. It's slow and should be cherished to the fullest."
The Romanian artist kicked off the photo project about her two children five years ago. It was initially her personal project.
Photos were taken from 2015 in several cities of the United States, Italy and Romania.
Selecting the best shots, Calai presented a collection of her photos at an exhibition in Seoul last year.
Her poetic photography grabbed the attention of Noonbit Publishing founder and President Lee Kyu-sang.
"Each picture she took shows unique emotion. Her photos exude feelings and poetic emotions," Lee said.
He said her photos make viewers wonder who the photo artist would be, mainly because of her unique style.
"Her photos captivate viewers and strike a chord with people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, regardless of culture. They remind us of our and our children's childhoods of which memories are slowly fading," he said.
Drawn by Calai's photography, Lee asked her if she'd be interested in publishing a photobook of her children, an offer that made her indecisive in the beginning.
She said she felt her photos were too personal. But she took courage to share them with others through a book project.
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| Mari Calai / Courtesy of Yoo Beyl-nam |
Her mentor Yoo praises her book for its artistry.
"ADAGIO is a work of art that captivates your eyes," he said. "As you fall into Mari's unique angle, you fall into another world that will unfold to you as you turn the pages."
Calai said she heard plenty of encouraging comments about her photobook from her readers, adding such positive reactions helped her feel proud of her decision.
Born in Romania, Calai arrived in Korea with her family two years ago for work.
She is multilingual with a command of five languages, including English. She has lived outside Romania since she was 21 when she went to Italy and then the United States before she and her family arrived in Seoul two years ago.
She began her career as a professional photographer 10 years ago. Some of her projects include wedding photography.
As a wedding photographer, Calai said she tried to capture the best and most beautiful moments as well as the emotional impact of the brides and grooms whose weddings she shoots. Specifically, she said she tried hard to capture emotions that exist in fleeting moments.
Asked to compare wedding photography and the photo project of her children, she said there are no major differences in her shooting techniques, noting her documentary photographic style.
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