Julie Lee
Julie Lee is a Korean-American artist from Alabama working primarily in photography and collage. They hold a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and are reside in Pittsburgh, PA. Their lens-based works (primarily collage and photography) explore themes of ancestry and view the photograph as existential affirmation. These works have circulated nationally and internationally, encouraging new ways of seeing and representing ideas in contemporary image culture, of being seen, and of speculating historical, psychological reconstructions. Their work has been exhibited in Columbia University's Post Crypt Gallery, the Curated Fridge, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Filter Space, the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh International Airport, SOMArts Cultural Center, AS220 Aborn Gallery, Ma’s House, and Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. Their work has also been featured in publications such as the Journal of Art Criticism, Yale University's Asterisk* Journal of Art and Art History, Hyperallergic, Fraction Magazine, the Michigan Quarterly Review, WSHU Public Radio, and KQED.
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In Her Glory
In Her Glory is a collection of silk scarves containing memories of my mother, specifically in her youth before she went to America. This portrait series depicts a woman's youthful beauty throughout time while she navigates her life journey.
In the patterns in the fabric design mimic the clothes that this woman is wearing in the implanted image. For example, the checkered pattern on the woman's jacket is repeated throughout the fabric and she blends in with the pattern, creating a fleeting memory that has been frozen in time.
As a prized fabric, silk has been seen as a symbol of luxury and good fortune, as well as a symbol of vanity that reflects a person's strife for respect and appreciation. Here, the fabric is used to reflect the woman's longing to be perceived as remarkable and her efforts to enjoy a comfortable life.
Her desires to be appreciated, cherished, and to live a better life are reflected throughout the collective experiences of AAPI+ women who have had to persevere through tribulations hosted by harmful systems under the guise of the American Dream. In this transparent and fragile fabric, the woman is simultaneously looking backward and forward, her gaze is constant, even as her journey leads to the destination of America.
Little does she know that she is remarkable for simply existing. Whether or not the American Dream validates her (and countless others), it will never erase the fact that she is already remarkable and that she deserves better.
Here she lies, basking in her glory.
In Her Glory Educational Curriculum
By: Sraavya Chintalapati and Julie Lee
➢ Students will be able to:
■ Explain the influence of American exceptionalism and the “American Dream” on Asian/Asian American immigration to the United States
■ Identitfy and describe the harmful effects of American exceptionalism that various communities of color experience
■ Understand and elaborate on the ways in which Asian Americans have been complicit in, and perpetuate, oppressive systems and dynamics that affect other racial minority groups in the United States
■ Use digital resources and maps to interrogate their relationship with settler colonialism
❖ Asian American Immigration Course Standards in Texas Asian American Studies Pilot Course Curriculum:
➢ Standard on geographic factors influencing major events and patterns related to Asian Americans over time
■ The student understands the impact of geographic factors on major events related to Asian Americans over time. The student is expected to:
● Identify the rationale behind the formation of contemporary ethnic enclaves and ethnoburbs in Texas and challenges including gentrification and displacement of other minority groups including African Americans
❖ Historical Context
The American Dream, the idea that everyone has the freedom and equal opportunities to succeed in the United States, has influenced many Asian/Asian American immigrants to immigrate to the country. Since the19th century, the harsh economic and political conditions resulting from colonialism and imperialism in Asia by various powers, including the United States, prompted many Asian immigrants to seek better lives, opportunities, and fortunes by immigrating to it. This search by Asian immigrants continues today, as they move to the country in pursuit of success and prosperity in the United States. As a result, colonialism and imperialism in Asian countries has left a legacy that has convinced many Asian immigrants that the United States is the place where dreams can come true but not Asia.
The American Dream additionally relates to American exceptionalism, which portrays the United States as a free and just country without faults. While these beliefs may seem innocent, the two ideas have had harmful effects on various individuals and groups, especially communities of color. The American Dream has led to fracturing, competition, strained and alienating relationships, and torn-apart communities, and has valued people for their productivity in a white-dominated and capitalist country, rather than their inherent humanity. Furthermore, because American exceptionalism falsely glorifies the United States as a free and just nation, the belief has served as the underlying basis to discredit social justice issues and movements across the country. The same idea also has contributed to the marginalization and oppression that other people of color have experienced, which Asian American immigrants perpetuate inadvertently through immigration and settlement practices.
❖ Questions for Viewing
➢ Why do you think the artist focused their exhibit specifically on their mother and their matrilineal heritage? (draws attention to gendered aspect of Julie’s exhibit)
➢ What message is the artist trying to convey by showcasing memories of their mother prior to immigrating to the United States? (question meant to interrogate core message of exhibit)
➢ In their exhibit, the artist mentions that their mother persevered through the harmful systems of the “American Dream” to be remarkable and lead a comfortable life in the United States, but “is already remarkable for existing.” What other ways has the “American Dream” and American exceptionalism, more broadly, influenced Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their versions of reality? (can open up conversation to various ways American Dream distorts certain realities and contributes to ongoing systems of oppression and oppressive dynamics and harms)
- Activity: Interrogating Family Histories and Settler Colonialism
NOTE: The term Indigenous and Native used in the activity instructions and the corresponding reflection questions refers to Indigenous groups native to North America.
- Activity Setting: Asian American Resource Center (AARC), Classroom
- Materials: Blank United States Map Worksheet, Blank Piece of Paper, Pens/Pencils, Technological Device (Phone, Laptop, or Tablet)
- Subject Areas: Geography, History, Ethnic Studies (Asian American Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies)
- Duration: 15 - 30 minutes
On the back of the blank United States Map worksheet, take a few minutes to write everything you know about your family history in the United States.
Turn the map worksheet over to the front of the worksheet where the map is, and label the cities/areas you know your family has lived in the United States as far back as you know or remember on the map.
Go to the Indigenous Land Map website created by Native Land Digital. Now type in the names of these locations into the search bar and see which Indigenous tribes/nations/peoples live or lived in these areas.
Take 5 - 10 minutes to research more about the histories and cultures of the Indigenous tribes/nations/peoples from these areas online. Write down what you found on the back of the United States map.
❖ Questions for Reflection (can be done at end or throughout activity facilitation)
The questions are not specific to the Asian American diaspora but help participants of various backgrounds interrogate their relationship with settler colonialism based on the activity.
➢ Look at the information you gathered about the Indigenous tribes/nations/peoples during this activity. Were you aware of the history/cultures of Indigenous peoples living in these areas? Why or why not? What new information did you learn?
➢ If you do not identify as Indigenous, how do/did you and your family use the resources and land that you and/or your family live/lived on? How is it the same or different from the Indigenous communities that live/lived in these areas? How might your and/or your family’s use of the land and resources in these areas affect/affected the presence and ways of life of local Indigenous communities?
➢ If you are Indigenous, how has your family been affected by settler colonialism?
➢ If you identify as Indigenous or Native, what do the terms - migration, immigration, and nation-state - mean to you? If not, how can you navigate finding a sense of belonging as an immigrant, refugee, and/or citizen while also honoring and supporting Indigenous people, histories, and traditions in the areas you and your family live/lived?