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THE ART SCENE States. To suggest this restive state of mind, which is shaped as much by the sights and sounds of American street as by stories of his homeland, he interweaves mythological, historical and contemporary elements in his art. In 'Mega Morning Calm', a mixed media installation, he presents paired sculptures in the form of huge onggi pots (earthenware vessels used to store sauces and pickled vegetables). Directly linking the 20th century circumstances that induced many of his compatriots to leave their homeland to Korea's long history of conflict with its neighbors, Chung has filled one of the vessels with casts of severed Korean noses, a reference to thousands of trophies taken during an ancient invasion. Within the other vessel, Korean immigrants are depicted entering a fanciful American cityscape dominated by icons of Western consumer culture. *Korean artist Sung Ho Choi's early work was focused on abstraction. As he continued to dwell on his difficult first years in this country, however, he found it necessary to use his art to confront his unease over the daunting realities - economic hardship, embattles race relations, cultural differences, and gnawing uncertainty about the future - that he, like many of his compatriots, encounter in America. In his work, 'American Dream', (acrylic, newspapers, kimchi bottles, wood panel and suitcase), the artist marked his first difficult years in the United States by filling the suitcase he brought from his homeland with kimchi (fermented vegetables that are a mainstay of the traditional Korean diet) bottles. Each bottle, like a miniature time-capsule, preserves wadded-up articles about his compatriots' struggles against adversity in American that the artist had torn out [image] Y. DAVID CHUNG, MEGA MORNING CALM of English-language and ethnic Korean newspapers since arriving in this country. To signify that this nation is the primary objective of Korean immigration, Choi places the suitcase under a targetlike collage incorporating the colors of the American Flag. *Artist Ken Chu, who was born in Hong Kong, observes: "No matter where you move to, or however you change yourself, you still wind up having to deal with being an Asian in this country." Uncomfortable with traditional male identities he had encountered in Asia yet frustrated by limited American role models, he began to invest his art with charged events from his life, as well as themes asserting the presence of Asian men in American history and popular culture. In 'I need some more hair products' (acrylic on foamcore) recalling his teenage years in California, the artist indicates that while younger Asian immigrants often find America's materialistic lifestyle appealing, those seeking full acceptance by adapting dominant behaviors and standards of beauty inevitably must face the fact that they can never be Caucasian. * Marlon E. Fuentes, originally from Philippines, says, "I see two different versions of myself: the Eastern, my past, and the present, which is American and Western. LITTLE INDIA MARCH 1994 29
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