Mi-yeon Kwon
I love involving my community into my art practice. A perfect example of a project of mine which depicts my professional practice is a work in progress that I call, “The Thousand Bowl Project”. I am on a mission to make a thousand bowls as part of my meditative process. Through this project I am able to share the fruits of my creativity in different ways. For example, I can greet new friends with bowls as presents and even donate bowls to organizations. This can help bridge new relationships. A simple bowl has been a very significant artifact in diverse cultures all over the world. One can use a bowl for sustenance that is served during every meal. For Korean, a kind of soup or broth each meal is always prefered to be served to easy on digestion.
I am passionate about work with diverse communities as is evident in all of my art projects. My philosophy as an artist was depicted in my Thousand Bowl Project, as well as in my project, Core 52-55 built at the Museo De SanCarlos in Mexico City in 2011. My sculpture for Latitude 19 was inspired by my hope to connect myself as originally an Asian in Chicago with citizens in Mexico City. My challenge was to create an opportunity for the exchange of cultures by using one of the most basic human needs, i.e., water. This human need does not change regardless on one’s ethnic background. We utilized recycled bottles to build a mammoth container into the shape of a traditional Mexican pot of size of 9’ x 5.5’ x 5.5’. This sculpture featured illumination inside of it along with a sound art installation using speakers representing the sound of water in the abstract. The sculpture was created in collaboration with artist Max Alexander as well as fifteen Mexican volunteers. I built yet another art piece at the Onggi Expo in South Korea in 2010. See more details on this project in my image list.
In summary, I am also convinced that one can practice one’s craft at an art studio perfecting a medium in depth while working with communities. The more an artist focuses on enhancing a technique or techniques, the more therapeutic it may become for that artist even when dealing with multiple artists.
I have learned much from my past art creations which permits me to achieve better outcomes with my future art projects. I choose my art medium after careful scrutiny while highly respecting new technology together with traditional methods. Finally, for each new art project that I embark on, I always contemplate the importance of diligent research that reflects on the final installation.