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Life & Arts

Exhibit shows new Asian identity

by GEORGE LUPERCIO 
The Daily Cougar

The Blaffer Gallery unveiled Saturday the work of 17 rising Asian American artists in One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now for the spring season.

"This is one of my favorite exhibits that the Blaffer Gallery has opened because it is a reflection of my heritage and because some artwork represents the current status of the world," public relations junior Vanessa Hall said.

According to the Blaffer Gallery, One Way or Another concentrates on artists whose home, permanent or temporary, is here in the United States.

The idea of the exhibit is to get a sense of what it means to be an Asian American in the 21st century. Each artist has a different set of eyes that capture and illustrate a new generational sense of identity.

Artist Michael Arcega created a large, hand-built ship that is docked in the exhibit. "Eternal Salvation" is not a replica of Noah's Ark, but a reminder of the political aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Crates hold the ship's foundation and its interior is lined with dried meats that are within arms reach of the viewer. This is a representation of denying survival or salivation instead of salvation. 

In Jean Shin's "Unraveling," a web of colorful yarn shoots left to right and up and down, revealing the various Asian Americans in the arts community throughout the United States. Each artist is represented through used knit sweaters they provided. 

Familiar faces in the U.S. government stand out in Saira Wasim's "Battle for Hearts and Minds and The New World Order." The piece illustrates the clash between imperialism in the West and fundamentalism in the East, and questions the underlying motivation and uneasy alliance that keeps the conflict going.

It is easy to spot two famous friends from different governments in "The New World Order." President Bush sits on the world with the sun behind him while British Prime Minister Tony Blair peeks from behind. This artwork portrays the staged friendship between the United States, Britain and their allies in the Muslim world as a show that is produced, written and directed by Western media.

For more information, call (713) 743-9530 or visit www.blaffergallery.org.
 

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