Intened Message Vs. Interpretation

In Response to “Creating Identity, Defining Culture, and Making History from an Art Exhibit:'Unfinished Story: A Tribute to my Mothers’" by Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde

In this article Valverde discusses the role of cultural productions in shaping the sociopolitical identities of Vietnamese American immigrant.  She contextualizes the artwork of Chau Huynh, a Vietnamese immigrant from a communist background who married an anti-communist Vietnamese American refuge.  One of Chau Huynh’s pieces, “Connections”, ignited protests and she was labeled as a communist sympathizer.  “Connections” is an installation of three pedicure basins painted with the former Republic of Vietnam flag, connected to a red plug.  Huynh explains that the installation is a tribute to her mother-in-law who worked in a nail salon for 20 years and sent money back to Vietnam to help out her family there.  The larger message of Huynh’s work was bridging the gap between Vietnamese in America and those in Vietnam.  She is trying to break the communist vs anti-communist binary, however; it is one of the most solidified binaries in American society and culture.  For this reason, when a photograph was published in a Vietnamese-Language newspaper there was a significant amount of backlash from the Vietnamese American community. 

Although the message of “Connections” is very clear to Huynh, I can see why people took different interpretations of it.  Critics said that her piece defiles the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) flag, and I can see this argument.  When refuges came to America, they had to take up low paying jobs, like nail salon workers, even if they were successful in Vietnam.  The placement of the South Vietnam Flag in a pedicure basin can be interpreted as a reminder or reinforcement of the loss of a home country to low paying jobs.  Furthermore, it also could be interpreted as a mockery of Vietnamese refuges because there is a stereotype that all Vietnamese people work in nail salons and her piece reinforces that stereotype.  Another critique of her piece is that it is communist propaganda; I can also see this argument.  Although she explains that the pedicure basins represent salon workers and the cord and plug represent how they send money back to Vietnam, this messages seems counterintuitive.  The pedicure basins get electrical energy from the plug, not the reverse.

Personally, I believe in Hyunh’s intended message, however; I also believe that her interpretation means little to a critical audience.  Do you think that an artist’s intended message is significant?  How significant?  Which is more important, the audience’s interpretation or the artist’s? 

Breana Inoshita 

Section A02

Response #8