The Pursuit of Mot

Mot is a Korean term that descibes the beauty within a person as demonstrated through their actions or art. This, at least, is how I understand it.

Giovanni Boldini

Mot cannot exist in the artificial. But it can manifest itself in the material: a painting, a photograph, a sculpture.

Giovanni Boldini

It is a pursuit in Korean culture to attain mot in one’s art, music, dance, and life.

Mary Timony

It is a character trait, both external and internal: benevolence, kindness, sacrifice.

Nokomis

To have mot is to bend to the natural flow of life and harness that spirit while creating.

Isadora Duncan

It is the natural rhythm of your life, your soul, your art, your music, and even your daily responsibilities.

I first learned of Mot through the 1998 Autumn edition of Koreana, a quarterly magazine on Korean art and culture, and I’ve tried to keep this concept in mind ever since. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But the pursuit of mot, in itself, is actual pretty beautiful.