Seexeng Lee

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.