Thanks For the Cosmic Knowledge

My paintings are based on an imaginary world that combines my personal story with the cultural influences of Korean and America with my love of pop culture. This is painting titled "Thanks For the Cosmic Knowledge" we see my main character C.S. Watson, studying with her teacher named Pleasure-Vision, she is training to become the Royal Historian and Artist of the imaginary world my paintings are based within. I am very much influenced by the paintings of Kim Ki-Chang (운보 김기창), the painting below is one I often look at as a reference for my little girls. ​ The style of this child is very much connected to the Japanese occupation. Just as Korean identity was challenged during the occupation, I feel that my own identity was challenged often as a person of Korean descent who only knew that of the American culture as a child. Furthermore my paintings reflected the search for a true self that is beyond the simple terms of merely American or Korean, but rather, an authentic self that is an indvidual mixture of experiences. I saw that this struggle for authenticity was echoed in Kim Ki-Chang's painting. Here, in his piece, he tries to harmonize the Japanese style of painting with the Korean hanbok and soft round faces that make Koreans so beautiful and unique. In my painting, I have adopted his style of figure to make my little girl, but dressed her in an american dress reminiscent of Dorothy Gail's dress from the Wizard of Oz. C.S. Watson is embraced by a spirit named Pleasure Vision who represents Visual Media. Pleasure Vision is influenced by Saek-Dong 색동 and American Cable Vision bulletin board I would stare at as a child on the community TV channel. ​ ​ Together the Korean Saek-dong and the Cable Vision merge together, American and Korea, embrace the little girl who resembles Kim Ki-Chang's little girl, wearing an american icon's dress. They harmonize together, to make something unique and special, the painting celebrates and states what I feel in my heart: that through painting one can bring together all the different fractured moments of the self into an authentic wholeness, and what else can I say but: Thanks For the Cosmic Knowledge. ​