Kay Yams
Singularity is what we learn from artists: those who dare to get up and think for themselves and tell the world, at least from this point of view, even if I'm thinking about myself or the world - this is how it appears.
GRISELDA POLLOCK
On a whim during residency, I took a grad course on the use of Light and Shadow in the Art and Architecture of South East Asia - a very new topic that enabled me to think about ideas such as storytelling, representations of religion, experiences of light/darkness, ephemerality, and cultural histories that continue to hang around in the modern world.
I have always been enamored with the works of Miya Ando and knew I wanted to write about her works (of which, I always found capsulated the ineffable part of my love of nature that stems from my Japanese heritage). I hoped to connect the ideas from this course into a paper that summed up the concepts discussed over the semester in a way that was personal and relevant.
I was so happy to be able to take this Performance Art class during residency (my favorite!). Here's one of my first short comparison papers where I got to connect the dots once again!
My very last art history paper of my undergraduate career, and one of my best (and most controversial) works yet.
As I learned more about art, my interest in contemporary feminist artwork really grew. So did my interest in my Japanese heritage. Thus, the stars aligned, and I discovered the intersection of the two, which lead to this research paper.
I will forever be grateful for this class and the network of English graduate students that adopted me, empowered me, and gave me voice and strength.
This is another short response I wrote to analyses of Cindy Sherman's postmodern self-portrait photographs.
I was fascinated with Sherman since reading about her Untitled Film Stills in high school. I have strong memories of reaching this strange, sublime state perusing her retrospective at the MoMA in 2012. My older sister and I were so horrified back then of the photos of genitals. Hahaha.
Now when I see her works, it is a moment of escape for me - imagining what it is like to step into another's shoes. It is fear and sadness and magic all at once.
Linda Nochlin is one of the matriarch majesties of feminist art history. Her magnum opus is "Why Are There No Great Women Artists?" It has been responded and referred to time and again. This is my hurried response (excuse any typos - eek!) Nevertheless, the sentiment is there, and I believe that the work continues to withstand time (especially as we seem to be stepping back as a society against progressive ideas). I hope for one day, the ideas presented in her essay to be rendered moot through changes in ethics, taste, and leadership in the art world.