March 2009 Archives

At this Wednesday's convocation we listened to Anil Singh-Molares talk about his life and his experience as a "professional immigrant." I thought he had a lot of good advice to offer us, especially with regards to finding a vocation. He has a very interesting professional, spiritual, academic, and personal background so it was not hard to sit and listen to him speak. I especially like the fact that he said being an immigrant is actually an advantage because that is something I can relate to. I have always been a lot more mature than my peers in a lot of aspects and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I had to rely on myself to adapt to new environments. Being bilingual doesn't hurt either. I agreed with a lot of the things he said.

Anil talked about going through many different phases in his life, all of them leading him somewhere new. What he said about college being the time to explore and get to know yourself is something that all students can relate to. To me the most interesting thing about Anil is the balance he manages to keep in his life. He has been able to balance multiple cultures (I'm still struggling with two) and he was able to manage being in a cut-throat corporate world while still staying true to his moral beliefs. He has also balanced multiple religions (once again, I'm having issues managing one). I have a lot of respect for him and I'm still intrigued by how he has managed to accomplish this. From the sounds of it, he put his cultures and religions on a very basic, general level, found the common things and held on to those concepts in order to create harmony. I think this is a fine way to do it but to me that would almost take out the whole purpose of culture. Culture is supposed to differ and be unique. I liked Seexeng's idea of taking the better aspects of each culture and making your own.

Another thing I don't completely agree with Anil on is immigration. I do agree that we have to be understanding of different cultures entering this country but I think it takes a lot more accommodation on the part of the immigrant's themselves. On Monday night he mentioned that he didn't think immigrants should be required to learn English, although it would be more practical to do so. This is the main issue I don't see eye to eye with him on. I do think that immigrants should be required to learn English because that is the key to surviving in this country. Immigrants since the beginning of the founding of this country have had to learn English and I don't understand why exceptions are being made now. Culture is one thing, and even that sometimes gets in the way. For example, I remember hearing a while back about grocery store clerks with Middle Eastern backgrounds who refused to ring up pork items because it was against their religion to touch it. In my opinion, if they are not willing to fulfill the job requirements, they should be fired. That's like a pacifist joining the army for crying out loud. Of course, they couldn't be fired because of religious freedom but I don't think that's the issue at hand here. I think the main concern should be whether or not the job requirements will be fulfilled.

This is also why I feel language should be mandatory. It's true that Spanish is being spoken at nearly the same frequency as English and as a result many places offer Spanish translations, but where will we draw the line? We can't possibly translate everything into every language spoken in this country. Not learning the language hurts not only the immigrant, lessening their chances of employment and thus a higher quality of life, but it makes life difficult for others as well. Imagine being a landlord trying to explain rent to someone who doesn't understand a word you're saying. It would be great if everyone realized the value of learning English while living in this country, but a new trend in immigration seems to be the expectation that we will bend over backwards getting them whatever they need. I realize I sound very cynical but I'm speaking from experience in dealing with immigrants from many different backgrounds as well as from seeing my mom struggle to learn English while others sit back and coast.

This past Monday Seexeng Lee came to speak to us about Hmong art, his art and the context from which both come from. It was a very interesting discussion because I had no idea Hmong art was so unique. I never realized how American it is to think of art as aesthetically pleasing and nothing more. To be perfectly honest, I have fallen into the trap of liking art for its aesthetics and not taking a deeper look into the context from which it came. While I have enjoyed art my whole life, I now realize that it has always been on a shallow level. I really like the definition Seexeng gave for art and how he believes that art is about the journey, not the final product. I have never really taken the time to consider what art means to me and coming from more of a performing arts background this idea of art is one I can definitely relate to.

Another aspect of art that I never took into consideration is the fact that in most "primitive" cultures art serves a practical purpose. Seexeng pointed out that Hmong art consists of flower cloths and story cloths which are used as clothing, baby carriers, etc. I never really thought of how weird it is to hang a blanket up on a wall rather than use it. Another thing that really caught my attention with using art for practical purposes is the idea that art forms bonds and identities between people. Embroidered clothing is used to distinguish between the different Hmong clans (such as White Hmong or Chinese Hmong). Again, having been Americanized I had never considered art to be a part of an identity for anyone but the artist but now reflecting on it, it seems like common sense. When an artist is putting together a masterpiece, they are not just putting their own identity into it but they are also helping others develop their identity through viewing it, or in the case of the Hmong, through wearing or using it.  

I think the biggest thing I took away from Monday night's session was the importance of thinking about art in the context of the artist. For example, many of the flower cloths represent the Hmong beliefs and their spirituality. Without knowing this, the hats that are made for babies in order to protect their spirits are just hats and nothing more. Or the necklaces worn by men to keep their spirit around are just nice pieces of jewelry. I found it sad to learn that the work of many Hmong artists is rejected and not believed to have content simply because the context of their culture is not very well known. I think after viewing not only Seexeng's art but also the art from other immigrants and refugees at the convocation earlier this semester, my view of art and its importance in society has changed. Art from other cultures allows us a window into that world despite language barriers and I think art can be an important medium for making connections among any one from different backgrounds.