Hnav Hmoob
Recollecting Memories, Identity and Home
A Campaign for my mother
Letter #2: A Campaign Update, Research and Documentation Methods
Kuab Maiv Yaj , Koua Mai Yang
An investigation of what it means to be Hmong in America
Day 286: June 08, 2019
Visited at 14:00
Berlin Carnival of Cultures
https://www.berlin.de/en/events/2092491-2842498-carnival-of-cultures.en.html
My body is slowly becoming more accustomed to the time shift in Berlin. I am finally back at my regular sleep schedule, sleeping at 2am and waking up at 11am. I planned to visit a flea market today but missed my stop while taking the U8. My intentions were to get off and take the next train back to the previous platform, but the train station was slightly confusing. I ended up near the Mehringdamm platform for U6 U7.
I followed the large crowd to the streets and realized that I was next to the Carnival of Cultures in Berlin. I wanted to take pictures tomorrow at this festival because there will be a parade, a showing and celebration of cultural and ethnic performance. The site felt specific to my exploration of cultural dress and embodied performance of Hmong.
Carnival of Cultures, Berlin, Germany 2019
I slowly wandered around and the environment was very similar to the State Fair or your typical festival grounds. Because it was a culture festival, I found myself looking for Hmong-like and Hmong inspired materials. For the first 10 minutes I saw food vendors, lots of Latin, African, Middle Eastern, and Indian inspired food. Similarly I saw African, Latin, Middle Eastern and Indian inspired prints, accessories and clothing. There were a few Southeast Asian and East Asian food vendors selling Korean, Thai and Vietnamese food.
I walked past some Sri Lanka performers in cultural dress and I found myself thinking about the purpose of the festival. Certainly it was a celebratory atmosphere, Berliners sharing and experiencing one another's culture. Seeing a variety of cultures being represented felt familiar, like being at the local markets on University Ave in Minnesota, or strolling down the fashion district in LA.
Yet the majority of people who were the audience were still white people-at least they appear to be white. I found myself thinking about performance, particularly who's celebrating what and who's performing for who? What is culture at the Carnival of Cultures? According to the website, the festival is seen as:
"A proud expression of hybrid cultural identities
The organizers of the festival proclaim that "the Carnival of Cultures is open to everybody and all forms of cultural expression. It is regarded as a platform for a proud expression of hybrid cultural identities, containing traditional and contemporary elements. It includes and attracts all age groups, professional artists and amateurs, people from all walks of life."
Indeed I saw a mixing-hybridity of food, crafts, and bodies. Small vendors selling handi-crafts made from all over the world. It was in these vendors that I saw Hmong. The kind of Hmong that was manufactured from China and other factories elsewhere in Southeast Asia for tourism. The kind of Hmong that was sold back to the Hmong people to sell for survival.
I was going to ask for prices and I thought about purchasing, however, I realized that I cannot own all these materials because I do not have space for them when I travel back home. Additionally, several of the items can be found at the local Hmong market and craft markets in Minnesota. Sometimes you'll find some of these clutch-its at Forever 21, an accessory for the festival summer look.
Carnival of Cultures, Berlin, Germany 2019. Vendor selling hand braided bracelets, trinkets, necklaces, and other accessories. The jean sweater has a mola textile attached on the back.
Carnival of Cultures, Berlin, Germany 2019.
I was excited to see Hmong, but was also not excited because I don't think these vendors are aware of where the textiles and designs come from. I also do not think that these textiles are in the same position as the kind of textiles that I find at local Goodwills or second hand thrift stores. These textiles are not displaced, but designed intentionally to serve the purpose of the festival, tourist attraction, small mementos of the event.
I told myself, to not be too excited by the hint of a reflection of Hmong history and culture because these materials do not bring any awareness for the erasure that happens when hybrid cultures are formed. Looking around I wondered why other cultures were not present? Why is it that the most vulnerable communities become symbols of assimilation stories in larger cities? How different is this Carnival of Cultures from the World's Fair or large expos that were created to educate white communities about the exotic other?
Carnival of Cultures, Berlin, Germany 2019. The last time I saw the black bags on the right was when I was in Sapa, Vietnam. The women and children were selling trinkets and one of these bags were gifted to me. They are machine made, some of the Sapa Hmong stated that these bags were made in China and then resold to them. The trinkets on the left look similar to the ones that mother use to sell at Hmong sports tournaments in the United States. They are either made in China or Thailand.
Carnival of Cultures, Berlin, Germany 2019. Miao and Southeast Asian Hmong textile hand bags and wallets mixed with a variety of other textiles.
"Every year in spring, the Carnival of Cultures celebrates cultural diversity in Berlin. Costumes, dance, music, rituals - the carnival is a great opportunity for members of Berlin's ethnic groups to make their cultures visible and for everybody else to see and celebrate cultural diversity."
Getting lost today helped push me in a direction of reflection. Walking through hordes of people, I was reminded of growing up Hmong American, a "hybrid" identity; an identity that is not necessarily one without the other, and one where culture and traditions are constantly shifting. I was reminded that in a modern society, it can feel like the larger society is moving so quickly that those who pause to reflect is endangered of moving backwards in time. It seems that people are excited for the contemporary and modern shifts in traditional knowledge and crafts, but I find myself more interested in trying to understand what is lost when these shifts happen under the myth of assimilation. What becomes past, what stays in the present and then the imagined future?
Tags: Hmong, Germany, Berlin, Festival, Culture, Hmong Germany
Day 229: April 12, 2019, To the Ancestors who I have not met
A letter to my ancestors, inspired by Aki Shibata's Dear Earth Project.
A Private Matter
May 06, 2017 in Patriarchy, Identity, Hmong Rants
it's a private matter pain is a private matter it's a personal thing it's a private matter
pain is a private matter Paint is a private matter. It's a personal think, a private matter
Private is pain, a personal matter is. a person matter is a personal thing a matter. It's a private thing, a personal matter.
A Reflection: Hmong clothes #1, khaub ncaws hmoob #1
September 25, 2016 in Art, Community, Hmong American Experience, Hmong Art, Patriarchy, Identity, Reflection
On September 9, 2016, I posted a photo of my work Hmong Clothes #1, khaub ncaw hmoob #1 onto my Facebook Artist page. In this image I was modeling Hmong clothes that I created with camouflage nylon and bullet shells while wearing black high heels and holding a toy gun. I originally wrote about my process in an earlier blog post which you can read about here. In my original post I did not include any context, instead wrote the title of the work, dimensions and mediums as one would do when labeling works of art. Also included in this post was a fragment stating "Maybe, I'll wear it for the Hmong New Year".
About six hours later, this post was shared over 50 times on to other people's Facebook walls, forums, and other social media websites. It generated over 2,000 views on my artist Facebook Page. I made the decision to delete everything on my artist page however the photo was reposted five days later into a public Facebook page and forum called Kuv Yog Hmoob - I am Hmong. Kuv Yog Hmoob is a space where Hmong people from all over the world come together to share Hmong experiences. There are over 24,000 members and it is growing daily. A good majority of the posts and comments are written in Hmong and many active members speak freely based on their opinions, beliefs and experiences. A few friends recognized my photo and brought it to my attention. At this point the Facebook thread had already generated over 100 comments, 270 shares and 470 reactions.
Tags: hmong clothes, hmong textiles, hmong american experience, Online Hmong forums, Facebook, Social media, patriarchy
A Reflection: The Ananya Dance Theater Audience Empowerment Workshop
August 23, 2016 in Art, Community, Creative Spaces, Dance, POC and Indigenous, Theater, Performance
The Ananya Dance Theater (ADT) hosted an Audience Empowerment Workshop on August 22 at the Frey Theater in The O'Shaughnessy complex at St. Catherine University in St. Paul for the community to learn more about "Horidraa: Golden Healing," ADT's 2016 production. ADT dancers performed excerpts from "Horidraa" and after each performance, Ananya Chatterjea, founder, director, choreographer of ADT opened the floor up for reflection and discussion.
My mind is still processing what I experienced. I felt naive as I listened to people's reactions, thoughts, and comments regarding the four pieces performed. Naive in the sense that the movements were familiar. Have I been performing this? When was the last time I was seduced? When was the last time I tried to hide my imperfections? When was the last time I told someone to stop and think about what they were saying, consuming, and enforcing? I realized that on a daily basis these dances are performed. The dance I saw today was unpolished, raw and truthful. Below are a brief observation of the first and second performance.
Tags: Ananya Dance Theater, art, Dance, Healing
Revisiting Traditions: Sketching The Clothes #1
August 18, 2016 in Art, Hmong Art, Hmong American Experience, Dance, Identity, Performance
Hmong Scholars, historians, anthropologist, and Hmong elders have stated over and over again that Hmong textiles, clothing and paj ntaub have been traditionally passed down from grandmothers to mothers to daughters and so on. It's an oral and visual tradition that's learned through memorization and produced by the hands of Hmong women.
I revisited this "traditional" female process to ask the questions: "What if we took this tradition serious? What would Hmong women's clothing look like today if I continued to explore the concept of history, memory and spirituality recorded in the fabric and body? What if we thought serious about the materials that are on the finest traditional Hmong clothing and continued creating? What does it mean to wear The Clothes today?
Tags: Hmong America, Hmong Art, Hmong Dance, Hmong Clothes, Drawing, Painting
Cravings for Creative Spaces
July 28, 2016 in Hmong Art, Art, Creative Spaces
The Hmong people have been in America for a little over 40 years. Generally speaking, it's hard to find spaces where artists of the Hmong identity can reflect and have critical conversations about their working processes, especially if the works are influenced by their experiences, histories and cultures.
Today the internet and social media platforms are making it easier to seek out events that elaborate on contemporary issues in the arts. There's a lack of contemporary Hmong conversations about visual and performance art in my community. I've been throwing myself into other community spaces to explore how artist of color and indigenous identities mentor and engage in contemporary American issues. What does it look like to make art influenced by one's identity? Are there similar issues that artist of color and indigenous artist experience?
Tags: Paj Ntaub, Hmong Chronicles, Hmong Artist, Storytelling, Wing Young Huie, Hmong Museum, Photography, Hmong Art
Googling General Vang Pao (GVP)
July 05, 2016 in Hmong Rants, Hmong Books
I've been reading Claiming Place On the Agency of Hmong Women by Chia Youyee Vang, Faith Nibbs, and Ma Vang. There was one particular chapter that forced me think about the visuals that are generally chosen for history books, The Women of "Dragon Capital" Marriage Alliances and the Rise of Vang Pao written by Mai Na M. Lee, a history professor from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis. Who gets to decide what pictures goes into a book? Can the photos in a history book aid or take away from someone's writing?
Tags: Claiming Place, Googling, Hmong, Vang Pao, General Vang Pao, GVP, Photography
Promotional flyer for Seeds of Change
Photography by Mike Hazard.
A Gallery Reflection: Seeds of Change
June 29, 2016 in Community, Hmong American Experience, POC and Indigenous, Gallery Reflection
Seeds of Change is an exhibition which showcases Mike Hazard's photography and a video clip of the landscape in which the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) worked. This exhibition was co-presented with HAFA documenting a farm for one year. I was particularly interested in how the artist showcases change, community and family dialogue.
I first heard about HAFA when I met Pakou Hang (the co-founder of HAFA) about three years ago. She was the keynote speaker at a small Hmong conference at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Hang highlighted her experiences with the politics of race, campaigning, advocating for Hmong representation and activism in the larger Minnesota communities.
Tags: seeds of change, Hmong American Farmers Association, Hmong America, Hmong Farmers, Hmong American Experience, Photography, Mike Hazard, POC Communities
Vacation vs Traveling Part 1
June 16, 2016 in Art Rants, Identity, POC and Indigenous, Traveling and Vacation
My idea of the perfect vacation is booking a nice hotel room (for one week)-on a peaceful island, then lugging with me my gaming equipment, laptop, drawing tablet and headphones. Playing video-games might be the only way to truly distract my brain from thinking about the realities of the world.
I was due for a vacation but even more so was itching to take a break from America. About three weeks ago a friend and I booked a trip to spend two weeks in Krakow, Poland and one week in Berlin, Germany. People asked, "What's in Poland and why are you going there?" These are fair questions, no one saves money for four to five years to buy a plane ticket to the lowest costing trip to Europe...
Tags: Traveling, Vacation, Rants, Othering, POC, Indigenous
Art Rants: Love Hate Relationships with Art
May 08, 2016 in Art Rants, Identity, Art, Hmong American Experience
Why pursue art? Why did you decide to walk down this path? The questions that I ask myself once in awhile. I am always reassessing myself and the work that bubbles out of me. I create in various state of minds. Sometimes I make in a trance when my imagination, thoughts and energy are at its highest, to a point where I have to release or live with being overwhelmed by emotions. Other times I slowly chip away at a thought and spend years to add one mark at a time.
Tags: art, rants, Hmong America
Untitled. Mixed Media. 2010
An Investigation of what it means to be...
April 30, 2016 in POC and Indigenous, Patriarchy, Dance, Hmong American Experience, Performance, Art Rants, Identity, Community
It's been one year since I moved to Minnesota and I am coming into full awareness of being-myself. Although I'm not quite completely out of my comfort zone, I am finding that it is hard to exist without a place to call home. I am within driving distance of one of the most concentrated Hmong communities in the United States, and though I am Hmong I cannot say that I belong here.
I moved to the Twin Cities to continue my investigation of what it means to be Hmong in America and since moving I have found the ground to confront who I am, a product of patriarchy.
Tags: Minnesota Hmong Community, patriarchy, Hmong Dance, magnolia yang-sao-yia, Community, activism, Radical healing, Shh...Silence
Quote-Unquote-Hmong-Artists
March 26, 2016 in Community, Identity, Art Rants, Hmong American Experience, POC and Indigenous
In 2005, a group of friends and I founded the first anime/manga club (Fans Revolution) at my high-school. I sold a copy of the Fans Rev. Coloring book-2nd issue, to Tengo Lor, who I met through an online artist network called Hmongartist.net. He was actively advocating for Hmong visual artist, and he gifted me with a variety of collectibles from active artists affiliated with Hmongartist.net among other organizations during that time. I was shocked to find these promotional items in a pile of crap that I was going to toss.
Hmongartist.net/ Hmong Artist Network
Collectibles: Hmong Artist Network
Collectibles from a friend who actively engaged in hmongartists.net, a network that is no longer active online. These works belong their their rightful owners.
Collectibles from the Hmong Artist Network. I received a packet of items in 2007 right before I graduated from High School.
In this image is works by a variety of artist in no particular order: Thao Vang (MN), Pang Xiong (CA), Mankato Yang (MN), Pangra/ illvogue (CA), Vam Txhiaj Moua (CA).
Some of these artists are still producing works in their community. Vam Moua for example have become a well known figure in the Central Valley area of California for his Graphic/T-Shirt business.
Since arriving to America the communist take-over of South East Asia, the Hmong people immigrated to the United States and elsewhere in the world to flee from persecution for siding with the Americans during the war. To "succeed" the American dream, most elders told their children to get a higher education and to become lawyers and doctors. For the young children who had their hearts in arts, sometimes it was shunned upon. It wasn't until recently in the past years that the Hmong art community has bloomed so much, especially in the metropolitan areas of Minnesota. There, through art, Hmong artists and enthusiast has come together to build a community in support of one another.
ART IS THE ESSENCE OF CULTURE
Many civilizations have come and gone. Art is one of the many fundamental identities of a culture. Without art, there is no history and documentation of our people. Imagine, the great Romans, Mayans, Egyptians and other cultures have dwindled away thousands of years ago. How do we know about them even though they have gone and past? We know because they had left their art behind.
The Hmong people are the same. We are a dying culture being assimilated into others. Sure, there can be Hmong doctors and lawyers, but please let the artists become artists. Like the Paj Ntaub past on through our generations, it is only one of the few reasons our new generations can understand our rich cultural past.
Our mission, is to help preserve and nurture the Hmong artists in our community. Through art, we can re-establish our culture and in the process, to learn from it as well as teach it. -- Tengo Lor, Hmong Artists Staff
When the internet was still dial-up and DSL was the fastest way to connect with like minded individuals, Hmong Artist Network (no longer active) and the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent challenged my perception of what it means to be Hmong in America. It is still uncommon for Hmong people to pursue anything other than being a doctor, lawyer or someone who brings in the money. In high-school I found solace in these platforms which encouraged exploration of identity and conversations through creative expression.
Collectibles: Signed Delicious Venom Comic Book
A signed Delicious Venom Comic Book, illustrated by Pang Xiong and story written by Tengo Lor. Copyright 2006 by Hmonga Studio
Delicious Venom (DV) is a duo Hip/hop consisting of Tousaiko Lee and his brother Vong Lee. Through Hip Hop, DV's works explores Hmong experiences in the Twin Cities, MN at large shedding light to the plight of the POC and Indigenous communities with police brutality/violence, historical trauma, and immigration experiences.
Collectibles: Delicious Venom Comic Book
Artwork by Pang Xiong
Story written by Tengo Lor
Copyright 2006 by Hmonga Studio
For the longest time I thought Hmongartist.net was a Center for Hmong Arts and Talent space. As I look through these promotional items, Hmongartists.net is a website owned by Hmong Artist Network, a collective and network of artist who created a space for artists working in Hmong to engage, express and share their experiences. It was through this platform that I began to contemplate the words Hmong artist and Hmong art.
Collectible: I am Hmong Coloring Book
Copyright 2006 Hmongartists.net Coloring Book
Published by Hmong artists, Sacramento, California
Contributing Artists: Teng Vue, Pang Xiong, Chang Vang, Vam Txhiaj Moua, Tengo Lor, Tsim Hawj, Schen, Kong Lor, Vang Yang. Muas One Copyright Muas, Drunkenhmongkee copyright Hmongkee Business, Tsom Tom Copyright Hmonga Studio.
In the early 2000s, many of the artist I met online were from areas of America where there were larger concentrations of Hmong. Growing up in a smaller city in Wisconsin, I could count all the Hmong people that I knew on my fingers. Though I could not fully relate to the Hmong which I saw represented on Hmongartist.net, I felt the need to be active in this platform. It was an exciting time to know that I was not alone in the world, and though I could not agree with everything I was seeing, I was not fully equipped to explain why some images do not sit well with me.
Hmong Artists
What does it mean to be Hmong? A question that I have asked myself multiple times, a question that contemplates where Hmong fit into the conversations regarding race, history, and human experiences. It is a question that blurs my elder's definitions of Hmong, it is a conversation starter to engage everyone to speak about their experiences. In the words of a friend, it is very much about being the "author of your own life". Today, the word Hmong holds diasporic history, collective memories, and complex visual and oral histories. Then, when the word Hmong and artists come together what comes to your mind?
My Roots, Selfportrait, 2007
Unlike my high school self, I now contemplate the words Hmong artists and Hmong art. I am hesitant to carelessly throw around these words as I question the intentions and processes of someone's Hmong art, and where it comes from. Are the words Hmong artists and Hmong art used to describe a collection of voices and experiences? Are Hmong artists exploring art and their expression through Hmong lens? Then by being Hmong and an artist, make Hmong art even if the works produced do not engage in the processes of arts and crafts of the Hmong?
It has been 10 months since I moved to Minnesota and I fear that what is understood as Hmong art to the general community, are works of art which I believe lacks critical engagement and integrity. I find various Hmong artists work problematic. Specifically, Hmong art where women and men are represented only in traditional Hmong clothes, surrounded by popular textile motifs often for the aesthetics of making something looking pretty. What are these artists really saying to their audience? It is problematic when these works of art are sold, mass produced and consumed without considering how violent an image can be. Is this due to the lack of intentionality in the works produced, lack of awareness of Hmong visual history and who consumes art? Are people desensitized to art because everyone is bombarded by images? Is it because anything and everything is art? I am itching to have more conversations with people regarding their working processes to better understand for myself what Hmong art is.
Artists Working in Hmong
Since living in Minnesota, I have come into contact with various artists from all over the United States and elsewhere in the world, who are challenging Hmong experiences through critical engagement in various mediums. To name a few, Pao Houa Her, Jennifer Tshab Her, Sieng Lee, Mai Kue Vang, Vanghoua Anthony Vue, Fres Thao, Andre Yang, Song Yer Thao, Magnolia Yang-Sao-Yia , Victoria Kue, Sao Her...have been engaging in art, identity, movements, and community. In their works, they deconstruct traditions, confront histories, trauma, patriarchy and create spaces for engagement.
As Burlee Vang writes in the book, How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology:
"You can't separate yourself from your ethnicity. But ethnicity shouldn't be for the artist an object of exoticism or a kind of artistic limitation. I am less interested in my being Hmong (unless it serves as a crucial theme or topic) and more concerned with trying to reveal some universal experience or truth, despite how alien the world, situation, or characters I am presenting might be to readers. I am interested in transcending boundaries, to make familiar the unfamiliar, extraordinary. This is how an artist can connect successfully to the audience. This too, I think, is how one can produce that which is eternal. There's one thing I am certain of. Something undeniably spiritual happens when you devote yourself to an art form. By using words as a kind of ethereal lens, one is able to see the soul with some clarity. Art can reveal its elusive shape. . ."
Vang's connection with his work is inseparable from who he is and it is less about being Hmong, but is not something that should be seen as separate from his works. I too hope that artists are seeking truth in their works and are not exotifying and appropriating cultures without trying to reveal some universal experience. That is not to say that artists should not engage in recontextualizing traditional textiles, sounds, oral traditions, or borrowing from other cultures, but to cautiously incorporate or deconstruct these processes from a place of understanding beyond something that looks and feels pleasing, let alone claiming to invent new forms of art without considering the hard work that came before.
As I am becoming more aware of who I am, what I do, and how I communicate to people, I also hope that there is a stronger sense of community support for artists working in Hmong or who has worked in Hmong. Seeing how Hmong people have such strong and often spiritual connections with traditions in oral, visual and performance, I expect no less of quote-unquote-Hmong-artists to engage and challenge histories, traditions, communities, and audiences to engage in Hmong art. However as an artist who works in Hmong, though highly influenced by my identity, my work goes beyond me being Hmong, and as Vang suggests, it is more or less about making a connection with someone. At the moment, I am really obsessed with making a mark, drawing a line and filling space. It brings me pleasure, gives me pain, and if I can bring people to my world, it is a win-win for everyone.
Tags: Hmong America, Hmong Art, Hmong Artist, Hmong American Experience, Hmong Artist Network
Gazillion Strong: Sex, Dance & Rock n Roll
March 10, 2016 in Community, Performance, Dance, Theater, POC and Indigenous
On February 12th, I was invited by my artist, dancer and activist friend Magnolia to attend an event filled with a variety of community artist and activist at Bedlam Theater. Hosted by Gazillion Strong, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of resources and tools that aid marginalized communities
(http://www.wearegazillionstrong.org/), Sex, Dance, and Rock & Roll brought together community members to support the voices and communities of the indigenous people and people of color (POC).
Performing that night was the Ananya Dance Theater which was founded in 2004 by Ananya Chatterjea
(http://www.ananyadancetheatre.org/)
A Life Underground, a hardcore rock band consisting of friends who found each other through their differences (https://www.facebook.com/undergrounders246)
See More Perspective, a politically-and-culturally-conscious hip-hop artist (https://seemoremusic.bandcamp.com/album/sex-tape-or-my-response-to-our-morbidly-underdeveloped-sex-education).
Horidraa: Golden Healing by The Ananya Dance Theater, Feb. 12, 2016
Voice, Power, and Movement: Horidraa: Golden Healing, 2016 http://www.ananyadancetheatre.org/about/touring/ In general, performances are entertaining and connections that are made in real time with beginnings and endings, however I want to focus on the Ananya Dance Theater (ADT) and what it means to be a participant and observer in their work.
The Ananya Dance Theater (ADT) presented Horidraa: Golden Healing, a piece which engaged the entire space in movements and sounds. Though it was my first experience with ADT, based on this one performance I knew that ADT works to curate radical and provocative ways to experience storytelling.
Viewers could not look away from this performance as everyone was brought into a spiritual journey where movement and gestures were made recognizable and yet not recognizable. Right off the bat, the performance set a peculiar tone. The sounds and movements animated the space and the audience were made to let go of their preconceived notions of dance and to solely rely on feels. It was unsettling and uncomfortable hearing the guttural cries of pain, anger, and the huffing and puffing of exhaustion. Their movements went from subtle and pleasing to jarring, grotesque, sad, and pungent. I was a sensory overload, I constantly told myself to take things as they come. In my opinion, the Ananya Dance Theater was re-educating people on how to listen and feel someone's stories.
In particular this performance felt like a personal narrative told in the lens of someone who comes from a different world, yet recognizable despite the unfamiliarity of the movements. It was a humbling experience as I believe many audience members were left feeling unsettled and wanting to know more about the context of the work. Though it's important to have context, I think it really works for this particular piece to have audience members come into the space without any notions of what they are seeing and experiencing in front of them, heightening the importance of what is contemporary dance.
Coming from a small city where POC and indigenous people had no presence, Sex, Dance and Rock n Roll blew my mind away. As I become more familiar with the Twin Cities area, I'm beginning to understand how powerful the voices of POC and indigenous communities can be when there are support systems and especially when there are strong advocators who come together to create. This event creates awareness of these communities and enforces the basic human connections that have been disrupted overtime.
Uploaded by A Life Underground Official on 2016-02-17.
Tags: Gazillioni Strong, Ananya Dance Theater, Dance, Performance, POC, Indigenous, Rock n Roll, movement
Fresh Traditions Fashion Show IX
January 30, 2016 in Community, Hmong American Experience, Identity, Fashion
What is The Fresh Traditions Fashion Show?
As someone who recently moved to the Twin Cities, I believe that Fresh Traditions (FT) is hidden gem in the Midwest. FT is a community and arts program founded in 2006 by Kathy Mouacheupao, the previous director of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent ( http://www.aboutchat.org/). FT highlights the importance of culture, creativity and originality in fashion design while exploring Hmong history and traditions through fabrics. This year Fresh Traditions is turning 10, how many Hmong arts programming can you name that has been consistent and lasted this long?
So Why Should You Be Interested In This Show?
My thought processes in making art involves lots of research, conversations and experimentation. I believe there's much to learn from being a participant and observer. I attended my first Fresh Traditions Fashion show in September of 2015. This show is a nationally known platform for Hmong designers to collectively challenge and be challenged by design, community and identities. It's the intersection where thinkers, makers and artists have complete freedom of expression.
As a visual artist who works to provoke and redefine Hmong American experiences, I always knew that I would attend this show one day. I believe this show is not exclusively only for designers, it is a platform for Hmong people to explore and bring their stories, history and culture to the forefront. It is an ongoing investigation on how to have conversations about our experiences, through art and design.
I can't stress how important this show is to the Hmong people because at large FT is an outlet to challenge people to think of Hmong textiles beyond it's aesthetics. For instance, Google the word "Hmong" and what do you see in the image search results? Majority of what's represented are Hmong women in their ethnic clothing. No doubt these pictures are beautiful, but I think Hmong can be experienced and represented in so many different ways.
Traditions And The Hmong Women's Body Through Arts and Crafts
The reason why I Google search "Hmong" every year is because for those who are not Hmong, for those who have never heard or seen "Hmong" before, the internet is the first place many people will experience other people's cultures and history. When I see Hmong textiles I think about the process and the figures who create these works. I think about the tradition of Hmong women embodying textile crafts. I think about my mother, grandmother, aunts, sisters, I think about Hmong women. So when designers who are Hmong and non-Hmong incorporate Hmong textiles and symbols into their works, are the works about aesthetics or about the history and traditions that embodies the Hmong women's experiences? Are artists and designers eradicating the female body from Paj Ntaub, fabrics and Hmong history for commercial gain? Are aesthetics desensitizing thousands of years of tradition, processes, and history to make something look pretty?
Fashion is such a white world. Heck, in advertising all you ever see are white people represented, Google the word "Fashion" you'll see what I mean. I also think there are very few programming for people of color. To connect the traditional fabric to the body from which it came creates a different experience for people. It reminds people not to erase the body from the experience of clothing and culture.
These are the questions that run through my mind as I see makers, artists and designers engage in Hmong visually. I want to encourage everyone to step back and really think about appropriation and what people are producing. Does what you are seeing and consuming represent who you are.
With this said, Fresh Tradition's application for the 10th show ends tomorrow, January 31st. The best way to engage in these conversations is to be apart of the venues that are able and willing to elevate ideas and creativity. So apply, join the conversation, and participate by attending the show.
Fresh Traditions X: Call for Designers
http://www.aboutchat.org/programs/freshtraditionsfashionshow/fresh-traditions-2016-designer-guidelines/
Tags: Fresh Traditions Fashion Show, Traditions, Design, Community, Paj Ntaub, Hmong Textiles, Hmong American Experience
The Clothes
November 27, 2015 in Identity, Hmong American Experience
The Clothes are such a big part of my life and I've been wearing The Clothes since I was younger. If I could, I'd wear The Clothes every day, similarly like my great grandmother in her pre-American years. She only wears The Clothes and nothing else. She's commando, bra-less and dignified. Upon coming to America, she had to pack The Shirt, The Xauv, The Apron, and The Head-wrap away but she was able to keep The Pants. The Pants was deemed functional by American society, enough for people to not eye her like she doesn't belong.
I wear The Clothes every year, in schools and for celebrations and whenever I feel like it. I wear it to remind myself and others that I am different, that I come from a family and a history of people who do not have much but their memories, metals and clothes. The Clothes isn't just a cultural object, The Clothes represents me, I wear The Clothes for myself.
Tags: The Clothes, Hmong America, Hmong textiles, Hmong New Year
Frog Town Community Mural
August 23, 2015 in Community
Frog Town Community Mural 2015 on 611 Dale St. N, St. Paul, MN 55103
It's been roughly 4 months since I moved to Minnesota. To learn more about the communities in the Twin Cities, I began volunteering for a community mural lead by confident and compassionate youth leaders who title themselves the Frog Town Crew (FTC). This crew consists of high schoolers from the Frog Town Community. It's a program of St. Paul Smart Trips and the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center at the Science Museum of Minnesota and their projects works to promote a healthier lifestyle, safety and the Frog Town community. FTC is led by two community organizers, Tou Saiko Lee, spoken word and hip-hop artist and Marc King an emerging artist and assistant coordinator at the Youth Science Center.
Working in collaboration with FTC is artist Krissana Ari, a multi-media artist, musician and activist in the LGBTQ and various other communities from the West Coast. At the heart of this mural are students who are taking charge of community organizing and learning to become the leaders of their generation. They are leaving a large mark in their community to encourage conversations about positive change. This mural is a portrait of their community and home.
As an outsider assisting in this project, I was extremely moved by these students and their dedication to being the change in their community. I was moved knowing that these teenagers were spending their summer, trying to show how they felt about their community and how it should be viewed differently than how the media portrays it. Upon moving to Minnesota, I've heard many bad things about Frog Town. About how it's always dirty, unsafe, and your car can even get stolen. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like growing up with the gang related violence, police brutality, theft, and negativity. How does anyone believe in positive change when all you hear and see are the negatives?
I believe the Frog Town Crew are doing what anyone would have done. They are promoting positive images of where they come from while setting strong examples of how a community can combat and shift the voice and misconception of a neighborhood which has been developing and growing with various different ethnicities and cultures.
I moved to the Twin Cities, Minnesota because I wanted to see for myself what it's like to live in a concentrated Hmong population. My first memory of Frog Town was from the late 90s, when I use to visit my grandmother every summer and stay with her for 2-3 months. She loved St. Paul simply because she was able to converse comfortably and shop at local stores for everything. To her, Frog Town was a big part of her life. It was an extremely humble experience to see the Frog Town Community Mural's process. As an artist, nothing gets better than seeing how supportive the neighbors and businesses were in donating materials, time, and a wall to paint a portrait that will hopefully last 10-20 years from today.
Thank you Frog Town Crew!
To learn more about the Frog Town Community Mural, like and follow them on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/FTCMural
Tags: frogtown, mural, community, frog town crew
Observation: A Basic Skill to Creating
July 11, 2015 in Art Rants
I use to wonder why the drawing instructors made us draw the same shit over and over again and it finally clicked one day.
I think good art instructors don't want to explain every thing to students because ultimately many instructors don't want to alter people's expression and thought process about how to perceive reality. But also keep in mind that studio art is also based on many traditional Western art principles and school of learning. Not all artists create works based on formal concepts of creating.
Observation is an important muscle many visual artist will flex and stretch over and over again. It's unfortunate that art history courses in many institutions have their limitations in how much someone can experience and learn about process and creativity. Most visual artist are masters at observation, meaning they have a good grasp on perceiving reality and the world.
When drawing, I see the things which constructs who I am, and as an artist, I control how I want to make the mark or how I want someone to experience them. With that said, many works of art today simply explore one or multiple aspect of making, reality, and the world. Observation is a basic skill that will open many doors to seeing the world through a different lens and it's taught me that everyone has something different to show, say, and present to the world.
Tags: Observation, creativity, self portrait, drawing
I remember the days when Hmong people use to gather outside their homes at parks. There were so few Hmong families in the town I grew up, so I would see familiar faces everyday.
When we herd the ice cream trucks coming, we run towards our parents to annoy the money out of them. The lucky ones are usually the most persistent criers.
The men would gather in the small parking lot and roll out their handwoven mattresses, home brewed rice wine, and playing cards. The older and younger generations would sit together on the grass, or small woven chairs to smoke and gamble.
The women would stay by the playground and slowly stitch away at their paj ntaub, gossip, or watch their children play.
However today you wouldn't find people at parks and it makes me wonder, where did everyone go? When did these gatherings become less common, and just stopped?
Whenever I see a playground it takes me back to those days. The land, environment and objects contains stories and the memories shared with people. Maybe that's why my relationship with Hmong textiles, symbols, colors makes me feel bitter sweet.
Hmong Inspired Stoles
May 14, 2015 in Commission, Identity
Front and back view modeled by my mother. Materials: polyester/satin, and a variety of polyester fabrics bought from Hmong Village.
A friend asked me to help make two Hmong inspired stoles for her graduation ceremony this coming Sunday. Again, I'm a painter/drawer before anything else, thus this was an extremely challenging project. I finished this project in about one week and most of the second stole was done at Mayo Clinic while waiting for my grandmother's cancer checkup.
My grandma stared at how I was holding my needle and commented that all my stitch work looked like ant legs! Ant legs meant that the stitches were uneven and stretched too far from the edges and were not invisible like the stitch is supposed to be. As I continued to work away at the stole, she smiled and stated that ant legs were how the older generation could tell a beginner sewer from a skilled one. Her eyes glisten and gleamed as she recalled her experiences around paj ntaub.
Overall it was an interesting experience being able to hear the women in my family speak about their memories when they see paj ntaub. Paj ntaub in many ways is the landscape of Hmong history and culture. While the symbols are wearable, ornamental, and aesthetically pleasing, I believe that the process, memories and stories surrounding the creation of paj ntaub is why many Hmong people have come to accept it as a symbol of Hmong identity.
Through this project, I thought about what the needle, thread, and traditional Hmong colors meant to me. I thought about why people feel that emotional, hollow tug in which Hmong people calls "kho siab" when they see these items alongside the traditional garments, tapestry, and textiles. I thought about how my grandmother, mother, and father reacts to a story cloth and other Hmong textiles as though the objects were the land in which they've come from.
I think my friend made a wonderful choice in wearing a Hmong inspired stole to her graduation. She is wearing the visual culture and history of her identity.
Tags: Hmong America, Commission, Graduation Stoles, Hmong, Hmong American Experience, Hmong textiles, Crafts
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