Monday night, Seexang Lee came to talk to the class about Hmong Art. He focused on not just his own experience, but the progression of Hmong art as a whole and different struggles Hmong artists have. He talked about Hmong art used to have functional quality, used in every day life and for a purpose. Then there was an evolution with it and it has moved from usage to more of a display and for enjoyment/its aesthetic qualities. He talked about these changes happened because of a cultural compromise. The story telling art that formed was from a refugee camp as a means to survive, it was made to be sold. He continued to say that change is the natural progression for all things to remain valuable. He talked about the struggles of Hmong artists in the United States, and some of the main ones were lack of support, priorities above art, lack of money, and having things holding one back and having it hard to see the future.
One connection that I felt during this talk was his embracing both cultures, and him finding that it was not a burden, but yet a blessing in disguise. It reminded me of Xang Lee's feelings towards holding on to some of his cultural background of Hmong, and yet embracing the new attitude of America. I find that they really do have such a rich culture and a blessing to be able to balance both of them so closely together. I respected that along with having that feeling towards the two cultures, that he encouraged us to dig deeper of our culture. That we all have ancestors from different places, the only difference is the generations. Yet yet culture is unique has a lot to offer, so why don't we find the beauty in it?
One thing that I will for sure take out of this experience is the thought that art, no matter what it is, is trying to make the invisible visible. So why not show everything, all the invisible inside of me, to people? If I try and hide too much of who I am or anything like that, then I will never share all the amazing experiences I have had, or the knowledge I have to bring to them. This would be a shame if I let people go on without knowing what I have to offer. And so I want to try and express myself more, like Seexang Lee has, to share with the world what I have to offer with my culture and background!
One connection that I felt during this talk was his embracing both cultures, and him finding that it was not a burden, but yet a blessing in disguise. It reminded me of Xang Lee's feelings towards holding on to some of his cultural background of Hmong, and yet embracing the new attitude of America. I find that they really do have such a rich culture and a blessing to be able to balance both of them so closely together. I respected that along with having that feeling towards the two cultures, that he encouraged us to dig deeper of our culture. That we all have ancestors from different places, the only difference is the generations. Yet yet culture is unique has a lot to offer, so why don't we find the beauty in it?
One thing that I will for sure take out of this experience is the thought that art, no matter what it is, is trying to make the invisible visible. So why not show everything, all the invisible inside of me, to people? If I try and hide too much of who I am or anything like that, then I will never share all the amazing experiences I have had, or the knowledge I have to bring to them. This would be a shame if I let people go on without knowing what I have to offer. And so I want to try and express myself more, like Seexang Lee has, to share with the world what I have to offer with my culture and background!
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