Diane Chiyon Hong
Diane Chiyon Hong is an artist and an architect whose work explores the uncanny nature of the ordinary through drawings and paintings. Her recent work focuses on drawings that depict everyday scenes that do not always follow the rules of representational reality.
Her work questions the solidity of the world that we experience and reflects on the themes of uncertainty and unpredictability.
Diane Chiyon Hong was born in Seoul, South Korea (1969) and raised in São Paulo, Brasil and New York City, USA. She studied fine arts at the Fiorello LaGuardia School of the Arts in New York City and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Science in Architectural Design from Columbia University. She currently lives and works in Austin, Texas
My work draws on the mundane, the ubiquitous ordinary scenes and images of quotidian life. I am interested in how generic objects and spaces hold narratives and reveal that which may be beyond the reach of ordinary awareness. I see the familiar as sites where the solidity of reality can sometimes dissolve and transform. In my work, I explore the uncanny nature of the familiar and reflect on the obscure nature of reality. My work consists primarily of drawings and paintings that are rendered in a reduced language inviting the viewer to project their own memories and thoughts. I construct images from memories and collected images, often blurring the line between figuration and abstraction. I explore the bounds of representation, how images are constructed and deconstructed and how meaning is created through images.
Vessels - Handle With Care
Diane Chiyon Hong’s exhibition “Vessels – Handle With Care” consists of drawings that examine East Asian cultural representation and iconography. By engaging with common tropes, she embarks on the process of reclaiming some part of the narrative and aims to open up space for dialogue and new perspectives.
In these drawings, signifiers that are commonly associated with East Asian culture such as noodle bowls, traditional clothing, hairstyles and other paraphernalia are humorously intermingled with human figures.
Playful juxtapositions of objects and figures create images that are at once endearing and unsettling. She utilizes humor as a subversive tool. She grapples with the complexity of Asian cultural identity by light-heartedly poking fun at the enterprise of stereotyping.
As a person of Asian descent who has lived most of her life in the West, Hong selects cultural signifiers that represent ideas of comfort, home, and tradition that are deeply embedded within her childhood memories.
These drawings are rendered with great care, alluding to the precious quality of the subject matter. The title of the exhibit refers to the functional objects that are depicted as well as to the human body, which is itself a vessel that holds experiences and memories.
Vessels - Handle With Care: Educational Curriculum
By: Sraavya Chintalapati
➢ Students will be able to:
■ Recognize examples of Orientalism in the West.
■ Describe how Orientalism influences perceptions and representations of Asians and Asian Americans in the West; and use drawing and other visual elements to express and understand how stereotypes can prevent people from accurately understanding individual identities.
❖ Asian American Immigration Course Standards in Texas Asian American Studies Pilot Course Curriculum:
➢ Standard on Orientalism:
■ The student understands the effects of U.S. and European imperialism in Asia, the Pacific and the Americas on the early arrival of the first Asians to the Americas (1500-1870). The student is expected to:
● Define Orientalism and explain its role in the early encounters between Americans and Asians, including Afong Moy and Chang & Eng Bunker
❖ Historical Context on Orientalism
- Orientalism has justified tangible racism against Asians and Asian Americans and their exclusion from the US and, more broadly, the West. The paradox of Orientalism is that while the West has seen Asian people, cultures, and goods as exotic and otherworldly, it also has viewed them as uncivilized and dangerous. In the US, these ideas have shaped the American imaginary since the 18th century, characterizing the “East” as the direct opposite of the West and defining American nationhood and freedom in contrast to “Eastern” cultures and civilizations. Orientalism has justified Western domination and control over Asia, Asian American exclusion and erasure in the US, and the West’s sole authority in representing Asians/Asian Americans and their cultures through a Western perspective.
- Source: A New History of Asian America by Shelley Sang-Hee Lee
❖ Questions for Viewing
➢ Diane Hong’s Vessels draws attention to common cultural signifiers commonly associated with East Asian cultures - noodle bowls, traditional clothing, and hairstyles. Where else can you find similar objects on display? Why do you think these items are on view in these settings?
(Rationale: Orientalism as a historical and present-day phenomenon)
➢ How do you think the artist feels about this type of representation?
(Rationale: Understanding Asian American perspective on Orientalism)
➢ What message do you think the artist attempts to convey about East Asian/East Asian American (preferred term - ask?) representation by combining East Asian cultural objects with figureheads?
(Rationale: Questions that also brings attention to personhood)
❖ Activity:
- Activity Setting: Asian American Resource Center (AARC), Classroom
- Materials: Paper, Pens, Markers, Pencils, Other Craft Supplies
- Subject Areas: Visual Arts, Ethnic Studies (Asian American Studies)
- Duration: 15 - 30 minutes
Diane Hong’s Vessels takes a comical twist on East Asian/East Asian American stereotypes by combining typical East Asian/East Asian American cultural signifiers with human figures.
Think about how the world sees you and your background. What initial thoughts or assumptions do other people typically have about who you are and your culture? Illustrate your answer on a piece of paper.
Now, think about how you see yourself. Who do you think you are? Who or what has influenced/ influences who you are? Draw your answer on another sheet of paper.
Finally, take a third piece of paper and combine the two drawings into a single illustration.
❖ Questions for Reflection (can be done at end or throughout activity facilitation)
➢ How do you feel about the first and second drawings? Why do you think you feel this way?
➢ What similarities and/or differences do you notice between the two illustrations? (comparison/contrast questions - juxtaposition)
■ Why do you think these similarities/differences exist?