We were lucky to catch up with Jae Kim recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jae, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Concerted/ Rest is the name of a project in public space that went live in May 2024. I conceived of the installation/ intervention and won grants for it through my work with the NPO, Angel City Arts, who produce the Angel City Jazz festival (now in its 17th season).

I was finishing up a Homeless Count survey in 2017 and I paused to ask the person what might help in the short term while he awaited housing. His answer was immediate, ‘Music and light.’.

Concerted – brought an evening of live music performance to street residents taking refuge in public parks. The site-specific, original music was recorded so it could be part of Rest, a sound responsive light installation which returned the following week, the overall goal being to create a space (if temporary) of peace and well-being.

What’s meaningful is that the state of California and two LA cities responded to this proposal – and that I was able to hire long term collaborators, a team of 15 or so artist/ employees – and we made this happen, even in a park without electricity. We built the sculptures in an inactive city building and had street residents as neighbors throughout the process.

What else is meaningful is the feeling that happens when you go to a public site and build something there; the communities were impacted at both parks and this activity created a precious array of interactions, conversations, insights, and…robberies. Yes, that’s one of the things that happens when we inhabit a space of need and want and survival.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In my early 40’s, after having a full career in acting and film, I graduated to multi-disciplinary art making with a social practice focus (hence the name of my studio, Second Day). The disciplines are primarily sculpture and music – things that transform space.

What I do well is interact with places that need intervention of some kind – like a space doctor. At heart a minimalist, I find a simple gesture that innovates or accentuates where the place is headed. I see life in people and in objects equally, life force behind everything that exists.

The material I source is usually something discarded by nature or humankind. In circular building (led by architect Thomas Rau), any given material should be expected to have endless uses in its lifetime, and I say especially if it’s toxic to the environment (i.e. plastics). This habit came out of being frugal as an art student and is now a semi-obsession. If you look at the photos – all of the sculptures were made entirely by hand and some of the materials gathered after local wind storms near the ocean where I live.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

13 million people have been displaced in Syria, 9.8 million in Sudan, and we see the ongoing horrors happening in the genocide in Palestine. The amenities, the quality of life, the relative peace we have has an expiration date; there’s only so long we can be a witness to the news feeling relief it’s not us.

I had a very important art theory teacher tell me and my classmates, ‘You are the art.’ And to a strong degree this is true – your life, the way you live it, who you are evolving to be, how you sense the world around you – that is art. I endeavor to make gestures that help the conversation along – to shed light on things that are just appearing, and to act on things that move me.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had up until now several careers that have asked me to constantly pivot, within this past project fulfilled roles that I was very new to and afraid of – from project manager to civic activist to improvisational musician. A big upcoming pivot is finding a new city to live in. Los Angeles is being taken over by people who have money and interests that I don’t share. I see myself finding and aiding cities in and out of this country that prioritize small businesses, community, sane incomes and a decent quality of life for everyone in it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jacquelinekim.com
• Instagram: @seconddaystudio @youcamefromavagina
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaekimseconddaystudio
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thisiheard
• Other: https://vimeo.com/jacquelinekim https://angelcityjazz.com/explorations/concerted-rest/

Image Credits

Robert Humphreys
Jae Kim
Charles Ryan McCrory
Linda Pollack