Artist Jiha Moon Wilson of Annandale, VA, continues my recent project by writing about "influence." Jiha is the wife of Andy Moon Wilson who participated in the project last week. As usual, I extend an invitation to all local artists who would like to participate in this effort. Just email me!
Jiha Moon Wilson: Influence
Everyday life is full of stuff to look at. As I walk by a little passage to get to the bus stop on my way to work, I see these little plants. They are systematically producing red fruits. They were not doing that yesterday. I notice the side of a passing bus. A funkily designed poster with flat and awkward colors has been slapped on the side, advertising some festival in Virginia. While waiting for the bus I look at all these vines climbing up the wall of the building across from the bus station and I imagine some kind of alien creatures taking over the earth, choking us with their greenness. I am excited by nature. I discover fun animal forms when looking at plants. I envision myself in their plant world and I wish I could live in it with them.
In the bus I see many Asians and Hispanics. I notice them speaking other languages besides English, but I like to think or talk to myself in English. Listening to Four Tet’s “Round” after Kim Guunmo after Cake’s “Pressure Chief”, I sometimes forget whether I live in Korea or the United states. Blurring boundaries, these songs help me daydream.
I see lots of bright signs through the windows. They are in all different colors and languages. It is really nice to see them under a heavenly sky like today. The colors of foliage, the forms of clouds, the geometry of buildings or a sharp contrail in the sky all make sense to me, and all of a sudden and I realize the reason why I am here. I look at nature more and more as I live in the United States. I believe even culture, as a human invention, belongs as part of nature. I pay more attention to the history of my culture and observe beauty in it. I notice everyday that I am part of it. Thousands of miles of separation allows me to appreciate where I come from.
I have looked at how my people used to depict heavenly skies or imaginary good luck dragons in their paintings. I look at how my art hero Bosch did the same things in a decidedly different way and, how Van Eyck did the same in his Annunciation painting with rainbow color, and watermelon wings. I try to remind myself how much I loved looking at Fra Angelico and Thomas Cole’s paintings for hours at the National Gallery in DC, when I had so much unhappy free time before my work permit arrived from the INS. I also loved looking at Henry Darger’s images of crazy battles and heavens. Reading his life story, I realized how fortunate I was (and continue to be) by comparison.
I am mixing this all up in my head, layering with colors that I saw on the bus, through the windows, from the plants on the sidewalk. I am painting, blending and making strong kudzu, funny little bugs with big wings and dynamic dragons with pointy scales in the utopia in my head. They will all exist and be strong under any kind of weather. They will be happy and steady in the way they are opposed or incomplete. I will come home and work in my studio.
Previous Posts:
Charles Neenan: Tradition
Kelly Towles: Color
Ryan Mulligan: Originality
Matt Hollis: Confinement
Dean Fueroghne: Originality
James W. Bailey: Obligation
J. Coleman: Depiction
Andy Moon Wilson: Decision
Molly Springfield: Language
Bryan Whitson: Scene
Elyse Harrison: Motivation
Thank you for posting Jiha's influences. In moving from a city to the woods last year, I have had trouble focusing the influences in my art. Perhaps her ideas will help.
Susan
Posted by: Susan | Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 10:28 AM