Through the Lens of BTS and Vermeer: What Small Moments Mean

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Revolutionaries

10 min readApr 24, 2020

If you’ve been around the Internet, chances are you have heard of the Bangtan Boys (BTS), a popular seven-member boy band hailing from South Korea. You may have seen clips that show BTS’ energetic dancing to their bombastic songs. But, there’s more to BTS than those qualities. As I repeatedly listened to BTS’ discography, I noticed a common thread across albums — especially one theme in particular: the mundane. The mundane can be understood as the small things in everyday routines that we may think of as trivial, or even a casual conversation with a friend.

Throughout history, artists have explored many concepts, and in fact, it could be argued that a common misconception of art is that it focuses on elements of life that are mysterious and illustrious. But that is not always the case. BTS are a prime example of a contemporary group who focus much of their analysis on the mundane. This article aims to show some of their lyrics to demonstrate their valuing of the little things. To further illustrate their exploration of the everyday aspects of life, Baroque artist Vermeer will be used; showing how art’s examination of the mundane has been prominent and relevant throughout the ages.

Fig 1. *The Procuress*, supposed self portrait of Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer, Dutch Baroque artist, famously known for his painting Girl with a Pearl Earring. He is primarily known for painting mundane scenes. The Baroque style is named after a Portuguese term barroco, meaning “an irregularly shaped pearl”, describing many painters from 1600 to 1750. Most Baroque painters tend to focus on the drama through sharp contrast of light and dark. Unlike his contemporaries, he uses subtle contrast with light and dark to create a warm, radiant light on his subjects. Therefore, most Baroque painters tend to depict mythological and biblical stories.

Means of Expression
“Paradise” is a track from Love Yourself: Tear, a 2018 release from BTS. The origin behind “Paradise” itself is mundane. BTS’ Suga decided to produce and co-write the song in 2018 based on his address to BTS’ fanbase, known as ARMY, as part of his New Year’s greetings. In the address, he said, “Everything will work out, all of your dreams will come true. If you don’t have a dream, that’s okay too. It’s possible not to have a dream. If you’re happy, that’s all that matters” (BangtanSubs). This greeting provides the synopsis of the song which can be seen here:

It’s okay to have different names to your dream

To buy a laptop for next month,

Or just to eat or sleep

Or to do nothing but to have all lot of money

Dream doesn’t need to be anything grand

You can just become anyone

These following lines from the song go more in-depth of what a dream is. BTS defines a dream as a goal that we wish to manifest, but doesn’t necessarily have to be grand. Society tends to define dreams on an enormous scale such as becoming a CEO, president or celebrity. Yet BTS, as celebrities themselves, say that dreams can be simple as wanting to just eat or sleep. I think they put different names to dreams to show that there are a variety of dreams. Dreams are a thought which allows people to focus their energy to manifest it into reality. One single thought can make one become anything, as BTS has pointed out. There are several stories of renowned people being entranced by one instance that gives them a drive to manifest their own goals into fruition. So, BTS is demonstrating the importance of one small, mundane thought.

Vermeer focuses on routine through The Milkmaid. He captures a specific moment when the milkmaid is pouring milk from the pot to bowl. The light focuses on the maid and therefore highlights her clothes. There is a ruggedness to her clothes seen through visible strings around her tunic that shows her low socioeconomic status. In addition, there is a rough texture of paint around the window with uneven blobs of paint. This shows the unkemptness of the place she resides. Her eyes are directed downward to the bowl which demonstrates her focus on the task at hand. But, there is a sense of peacefulness as she does her task. There is no sharp contrast between light and shadow; instead, there is a gradient from shadow to light on the wall behind her. It seems as though Vermeer wants the viewer to see the importance of calmness while doing a mundane task.

Vermeer is using visual language to show mundane life by providing a snapshot in a moment in time through his painting technique. On the other hand, BTS are using written language and therefore show emphasis on a thought like a dream. Both BTS and Vermeer are influenced by their medium and show different aspects of mundane through visual and written language.

Hometown
If love and hate is the same word, I love you Seoul
If love and hate is the same word, I hate you Seoul

“Seoul” is a song from Mono, a playlist produced and written by RM, the leader of BTS. It is dedicated to South Korea’s capital city, where he works and resides. The chorus above shows his love-hate relationship with the city. Even though this song seems localized, since it focuses on the city where he spent much of his time and foreign to most who have not lived there, the relationship with the city can be classified as a simple yet universal feeling.

Along the course of the song, RM sings, I love fishy scent of Cheonggyecheon; I love the lonesomeness of Seonyudo. According to Doolsetbangtan, translator of BTS lyrics, Cheonggycheon is a stream that runs across downtown Seoul with a recreational space, and Seonyudo is an ecological water park located underneath one of the bridges that connects the north and south sides of Seoul. RM attributes one characteristic that may seem detrimental to the description of the place, but it is what makes him love the place at the same time. I can attribute these kinds of characteristics to local places in my hometown, Ann Arbor, Michigan. For example, I love hanging around the Huron River, a river that runs through my city, despite its dirtiness due to sewage incidents. It seems trivial to think about places that you may have frequented in the place you reside. These places are part of the town’s identity, and the places you go define you as a person because some places can align with your interests. For me, Huron River is what defines Ann Arbor and provides comfort as it is part of the geography of the city,

In addition, RM gives environmental characteristics to Seoul. He sings, “The same, old, ashy expression of yours.” Doolsetbangtan attributes this ashy expression to the high dust levels in South Korea. Even though these lyrics describe a specific environmental problem in a South East Asian country, I can apply this similar kind of problem to the region of the Midwest I live in. For instance, recently, in Michigan, we experienced 70 degree sunny weather to hail and freezing weather in a span of 24 hours. The unpredictability of the weather is characteristic of our state. Last year, we saw snowfall in early April. RM’s and my own climate issues are different yet similar because these are problems we deal with on a regular basis. It may seem trivial to bring up since it is ingrained in one’s consciousness especially if one has resided there for a majority of their life.

Vermeer adds to the idea of localization through the painting, The View of Delft. He depicts Delft in the southeastern direction, beyond which one can see the Schie Canal that runs through the city. Vermeer depicts architectural sites still there today. There is Schiedam on the left and Rotterdam Gate, with its twinned turrets, on the right. In addition, there is the tower of Old Church picked out by the brightest sunlight and the diminutive tower of New Church that breaks out the roofline on the left. These architectural monuments are reflected onto the water.

By the water, there are several different people of varying socioeconomic statuses. Simple garments of black skirts indicate peasant status, meanwhile jackets with white collars indicate an upper class status. Through this, Vermeer shows the variety of people living in his hometown. The emptiness of the landscape combined with the sparsity of people provides a sense of quiet and calm.

Historically, there is a reason as to why Vermeer is emphasizing the New Church with the sunlight. In the seventeenth century, it gained its fame due to William of Orange, a sixteenth century prince who led the Northern Netherlands against Spain. He chose Delft as his residence, and, in 1584, he was assassinated by a political adversary. So, by having the sunlit New Church and dim the Old Church, it shows the spiritual growth in the city. Bringing Christian architecture to forefront, it could be reinforcing Christian values and morals at that time.

Through The View of Delft, Vermeer provides a glimpse into seventeenth century Delft, his hometown, through architecture and the calm atmosphere. RM shows his hometown, Seoul, through key sites and the environment. They both show what defines their homes and take comfort in it.

Social Interactions

In Officer with a Laughing Girl, Vermeer highlights social interaction by having the sunlight on the smiling girl, meanwhile the officer is in the shadows. This is further highlighted with the girl wearing bright clothes such as gold and yellow while the man is wearing a deep red cloak. But, both the girl and officer wear black, which implies their close connection. The open window brings in light and emphasizes the space between the girl and officer. Unlike the girl, the officer’s face isn’t very clear. This visual technique could allow the viewer to immerse themselves as the officer in the painting. It provides a sense of mystery of what the officer is saying that makes the girl have such a radiant expression on her face.

On the wall, there is a 1620’s map showing two regions of the Netherlands, Holland and West Friesland. This map allows the Dutch viewer to place when this conversation between a girl and officer was taking place, providing a snapshot of a conversation in a moment of time.

“Boy with Luv” from BTS’ album, Map of the Soul: Persona, seems like a bubbly, love pop song. But, DoolsetBangtan noted the Korean title of the of song 작은 것들을 위한 시, means “a poem for small things,” embracing the mundane. This Korean title plays a huge role in this song and makes sense in context. BTS starts with “I’m curious about everything, how’s your day?” They ask a simple question, “How’s your day?”, which is a staple opener in everyday conversation. This question leads to the next question that BTS asks: “What makes you happy?” On the surface, this question seems simple, but it inquires one to look into themselves about who they are and what their interests are. Interests may seem small, but they play a huge part of who we are as people.

To continue the theme of embracing small things, BTS sings “From one to ten, everything is special; From your interests, the way you walk, the way you talk, and your trivial, small habits.” These two lines encompasses the theme of the song. They’re embracing everything about the person from their small habits to their interests. These traits are what distinguishes one person from another. Each individual person has differing interests, habits, styles of walking, and styles of talking.

Overall, this song emphasizes the importance of social interaction. It starts with a conversational opener to what makes a person special from simple things like their interests to their habits. It shows why we are social creatures and how we are unique.

With Officer with a Laughing Girl, Vermeer shows the importance of social interaction by offering no clear explanation for the girl’s smile and the connection between the officer and girl. For “Boy with Luv”, BTS starts with a conversational opener by asking the listener how they are doing and trying to learn more about the person through their interests and habits. Vermeer and BTS both demonstrate how humans are social and curious creatures through their separate mediums

Vermeer and BTS utilize their means of expression to give way to their idea of what small things are for them. Vermeer sees small things as a moment in time while BTS sees small things as a thought that changes into action. Vermeer and RM show what their respective hometown means to them through key sites. Our lives consist mostly of the mundane. What BTS and Vermeer have shown us is that it’s the mundane which needs to be celebrated and appreciated more; for that is where we live and connect with others.