Thank you so much for being my art patron! YAY for my first month on here.
FEBRUARY has been quite a month. I feel like my heart has exploded and my eyes are opened this month in a good and hard way. I think I'm confronting and recognizing my ethnicity as an Asian American for really the first time. It sounds so crazy!! I've obviously always known it, but I've never dove into it in regards to my parents (who were immigrants from Hong Kong) or as an American or living in the predominant white culture. I'm taking baby steps, and I have a feeling its going to be a long road.
Word:
DISCOMFORT. Pt 2.
Last month I wrote: "I want to learn how to be intentional of where that discomfort lives. An example is that I want to feel discomfort in pushing myself to be more vulnerable to the people around me and through art." OK so its happening. When it comes to race, it's definitely uncomfortable. Even being more vocal and expressive through art and Instagram, it's discomfort in the best way possible. All my dreams of paradigms (of discomfort vs good) and breaking down categorical walls (of work vs art vs relationships vs spirituality) are coming true!
VISUAL:
Article:
"Model Minority" Myth Again Used as a Racial Wedge Between Asians and Blacks
Since the end of World War II, many white people have used Asian-Americans and their perceived collective success as a racial wedge. The effect? Minimizing the role racism plays in the persistent struggles of other racial/ethnic minority groups — especially black Americans.
BOOK:
I enjoyed this book SO MUCH. It hits so many themes that resonated with me - being an artist, mother/daughter relationship, race, socio economic issues, coming of age phases. This month I also read White Awake by Daniel Hill, The Leavers by Lisa Ko, and Imaginings on Love by Alexandria Kelly (my dear friend). Currently I'm reading Swing Time by Zadie Smith and Eager to Love by Richard Rhor if you want to join me!
PODCAST:
Teaching While White: The Myth of the Model Minority. Whoa this podcast really opened my eyes to things I've never thought about. The sound quality isn't the best, but the content is worth it!
MUSIC + Movie:
Duh. Kendrick Lamar: Black Panter.
I've watched some AMAZING movies this month. Two that I also loved was Lady Bird and Call Me by Your Name.
MEMORY MONDAYS:
This piece was about an incident my dad had when he was in college in California. It so reflects the posture of what an "ideal" person should be like in our country: white. READ about it.
Video:
Art medium:
These beauties!! I started working with pastels by Prismacolor and I'm in love.
