Maroh Kim

Born and raised in Seoul, Maroh Kim is an inspirational photographer based in New York. While studying journalism, he was deeply fascinated by the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto, Edward Weston and Stephen Shore, and it motivated him to discover his passion for photography. In 2012, he moved to New York, where he was encouraged to realize his full potential. His unique artistic vision and highly sensitive aesthetic sense create a great synergy which allows him to extract hidden beauty from any subject. 

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KALTBLUT: Has growing up in Seoul and moving to New York influenced your work?

Maroh: Sure. Both cities are Megalopolitan and symbolic places which have a concrete jungle and a huge river. Though similar in geographical conditions, both cities are entirely different in culture, tradition, language and art. These diverse urban environments surrounding me give lots of inspiration to create a new idea.

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KALTBLUT: Your projects are all fascinating. How do you come up with one?

Maroh: Thanks. I usually get ideas from music. Regardless of genre, I listen to lots of music: classic, jazz, rock, electronic, new age, pop, indie music, movie OST, etc. And then I visualize suitable images in my head for certain music or lyrics. These images combine to create a new concept of work. Sometimes it goes a different direction from my original intent. But it’s okay. I could find the proper music for altered concepts.

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KALTBLUT: Which artists do you admire most and why?

Maroh: Hiroshi Sugimoto is the person who made me become a photographer. Although we have different ideas and philosophy about photography, but I really want to pursue his minimal photographic style in terms of visual perspective. Also, I admire Bruno Aveillan. I think that he is one of the best artists and has a critical way of combining music and images.

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KALTBLUT: What are you working on right now?

Maroh: This New York cityscape series (The Wind Blows) is still underway. Also, I plan to take this series in cities of Asia: Seoul, Tokyo, etc. Another Work in progress is horse-carriages photographs which is one of the symbols of NYC.

Interview by Emma E. K. Jones

www.marohkim.com

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