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Art and Collective Social Justice (2 of 3)
My pieces
I would say with the exception of a few that were
originally created separately from SPP, all of the SPP pieces are collective pieces
because we all contributed some thought, spirit, and/or physical touch
to each. But the two that were sort of born in my heart/mind- “the
puzzle” and “the bridge” - both are meant to include
the audience, to give an experience to the participant. I wanted to challenge
the individualism that is so valued in the art world and the individualism
that pervades American culture in general.
So the 2 pieces are meant to be everyone’s art. Like a movement for social change, they are meant to be built be a community or many communities, not by an individual.
Our Puzzle was inspired by something a friend said- that until he began to learn his family’s war stories, his life was like a puzzle with pieces missing. He used the metaphor of a puzzle that gave me the idea of the piece, but I’ve heard that sentiment from many second-generation folks who have begun to learn about our history. I have felt it myself. The piece of the puzzle I painted is about the older and younger generation communicating with each other (in spite of many barriers to this), about the younger folks learning from those who lived through the war. Then I made it so that people could add on, contribute their stories- so that we are collectively piecing out history and our communal vision of a reconciled and peaceful future together. And the more people contribute, the larger our collectively formed images are. Something like that.
The Bridge of Return- was named after the Bridge of No Return at the Demilitarized Zone. This piece is about active reconciliation, on all levels, from intrapersonal to national. People leave use the knotted cloth to write something they wish to overcome and then cast it under the bridge. When people cross over the bridge, they are physically crossing over that pain or division they have written down and they are also bridging all the other divisions others have left. So hopefully we’re helping each other. And then there’s the center plank, which is made of heavier wood and is stained slightly darker. That is the point of division. For me, in Korea’s case it is the 38th parallel. So by crossing over it we are using our actions to imagine reconciliation and unification on many levels.
