Last night, Seexeng Lee visited our honors class. He taught us about Hmong art--how it started, how it has evolved, etc.
I think the biggest thing that I got from his conversation with us was that Hmong art has never been just something to look at. One thing that he said I thought was really interesting--that certain decorations that people wear are throught to keep the soul intrigued with their beauty, so then the soul wants to stay with the body. I thought this was a neat concept, even though I obviously don't believe it. It gives an explanation for some of the Hmong fashion, and it's possible that there are similar beliefs in other cultures that I am not aware of.
After the original art that Hmong people made, which served a very useful purpose as clothing, tools, and other daily items, the next wave of art still served a useful purpose, although not in as obvious a way. Many paintings, quilts, etc. show the Hmong journey across the river and the entire story that the people went through. These quilts and paintings, along with the oral tradition and some songs serve as a way of preserving the culture, which is really neat.
One thing that Lee said that I thought was really profound was that "on the surface it's really Hmong, but underneath, it's all of us." He really finds beauty in his heritage, and he encouraged us to dig deeper to find the beauty in our own heritages. As someone who kind of never really thought of myself as someone with a heritage, this was really something to think about, and hopefully something I will be able to find beauty in someday, just like he did.
I think the biggest thing that I got from his conversation with us was that Hmong art has never been just something to look at. One thing that he said I thought was really interesting--that certain decorations that people wear are throught to keep the soul intrigued with their beauty, so then the soul wants to stay with the body. I thought this was a neat concept, even though I obviously don't believe it. It gives an explanation for some of the Hmong fashion, and it's possible that there are similar beliefs in other cultures that I am not aware of.
After the original art that Hmong people made, which served a very useful purpose as clothing, tools, and other daily items, the next wave of art still served a useful purpose, although not in as obvious a way. Many paintings, quilts, etc. show the Hmong journey across the river and the entire story that the people went through. These quilts and paintings, along with the oral tradition and some songs serve as a way of preserving the culture, which is really neat.
One thing that Lee said that I thought was really profound was that "on the surface it's really Hmong, but underneath, it's all of us." He really finds beauty in his heritage, and he encouraged us to dig deeper to find the beauty in our own heritages. As someone who kind of never really thought of myself as someone with a heritage, this was really something to think about, and hopefully something I will be able to find beauty in someday, just like he did.