In her paintings, mixed media works, and ceramic sculptures, State of the Art 2020 artist Jiha Moon brings together a variety of cultural references and images to explore the global movement of people and their cultures. Moon references a wide range of both Eastern and Western art histories and popular culture references within her work.

About Jiha Moon’s Mujigae yolo

Jiha Moon, Mujigae yolo, 2018, 30 x 30 in., Ink and acrylic on Hanji paper mounted on canvas, Courtesy of the artist and Mindy Solomon Gallery.

Moon mixes traditional materials, like handmade Hanji paper (used in both her artworks Mujigae yolo and Yellowave) with non-traditional artmaking materials like nail decals and hair extensions to create works that are a reflection of our current moment. Moon says, “I feel like my life is like a collage, and I’m a piece of it. I cut and pasted myself from Korea to America. I use tradition as a point of departure, but I don’t want my work to be about an idea. I want it to become something completely new.”

• Take a moment to examine this artwork. What do you see? What do you notice?
• This artwork is a type of collage. What do you think a collage is? 
• Think about your heritage. Where are you from? What types of traditions do you celebrate? How would you show your culture in an artwork? 
• Jiha Moon loves the idea of mixing something old with something new. This artwork is made with Hanji paper, which is a very old Korean papermaking technique using the inner bark of a mulberry tree, along with new paints such as acrylic inks. What is something old and new you would combine together? Why do you say that?  

Activity: Heritage Collages

Materials for this project: 

• Cardboard/Canvas base
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Pens
• Ink Pens 
• Printed images, magazines, comics, newspaper, etc
• Scissors
• Glue 
• Textured paper
• Anything else you want to add (I’ve added material, bubble wrap, anything I can find that I think would be interesting).

Directions:

1. Before starting this project, think about your heritage and who you are. Where do you come from? What influences you? How would you represent yourself in a collage? 
2. Use markers, paint, scissors, glue, magazines (basically any awesome material you have on hand) to create a collage that represents who you are.

Here are some examples of finished projects:

Have fun! Share your finished collage with us on social media – tag @crystalbridgesmuseum on Instagram.

Written by Dani Jamgochian Smith, art instructor, Crystal Bridges.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

State of the Art 2020 is supported in part by: Bank of America (Lead Sponsor), Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Christie’s, The Coca-Cola Company, Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Trott Family Foundation, Alturas Foundation, Bracken Darrell, Fred and Shelby Gans. National tour sponsored by Bank of America.

Youth and Family programming is supported in part by AMP Sign & Banner, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Juan, Marcy and Joaquin Camacho, The Coca-Cola Company, iHeart Media, JTH Productions, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Pinnacle Car Services, Procter & Gamble, Gordon and Carole Segal, The Simmons Family Fund, and ViacomCBS Consumer Products.

Education and Learning is supported in part by Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, The Northern Trust Company, Pamela and Wayne Garrison, Doug and Shelley McMillon, Jack and Melba Shewmaker Family, Neff and Scarlett Basore, Galen and Debi Havner, Lance and Sharon Beshore, Cardinal Four Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Harry Cornell, Cox Communications, Dorothy Hurt, J.M. Smucker Company, Kimberly-Clark, Nice-Pak Products, Inc., The Russell Berrie Foundation, Stephen and Claudia Strange, Felix and Margaret Wright.