Andrew Nguyen
ASA 002 A03
Week 7
I find Chau Huynh’s “Connections” artwork clever. At
first, I thought the connection of the cords from the pedicure basins to the
wall outlets was a representation of the Vietnamese people who fled on separate
boats that all came from the same country. Though, if people had interpreted
her art the same way I had, then I can see how some Vietnamese people may find
it demeaning. Huynh used pedicure basins to represent the boats and this
unintentionally reinforces the stereotype that Asian women work in salons. Only
after reading her story did I find out that the basins actually meant to
represent the appreciation of those women and their hard work rather than representing
all of the Vietnamese escapees on boat. I then realized how easy it is to
misinterpret a work of art if one does not know its origin story. These
misinterpretations may lead to negative attitudes against the artist. How can
we prevent misinterpretation of art to prevent backlash towards the artist such
as what Huynh experienced? If explanations were provided alongside the art,
would that hinder the audience’s ability to appreciate it?
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