Soundscape #1 - A Conversation with Richard Aoki
by Harim Jung (21, they/them pronouns, CT, Korean American)
Richard Aoki (1938-2009), a key figure in Asian America, played a crucial role in the organization of the Black Panther Party, as well as the Third World Liberation Front Strikes of the San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley communities in the late 1960s. Although Aoki contributed greatly as an activist, an educator, and a leader to the POC struggle and cause, his life came to an abrupt end when he took his own life after it was revealed that he may have been an FBI informant. As we commemorate the life and legacies of the activists and heroes of the Asian American and larger POC communities, I composed this auditory piece in attempt to engage in a personal and honest conversation with Aoki. The objective of this conversation is to bridge a generational gap between Asian American activists of different eras, but fighting for the same cause and against the same systems of power. My hopes is that this project will demystify the controversy around the life of Richard Aoki, deconstruct the militant and radical stigma around the Black Panther Party and organized spaces of POC, and connect the struggles of activists in these two eras. As the Asian American community stands divided on critical issues of affirmative action, the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and, more recently, the indictment of Peter Liang, it is crucial that we learn and build from the intersectional work of our predecessors, so that we do not become complicit in perpetuating violence on marginalized communities. Please listen with headphones in order to get a complete auditory experience and be immersed in this soundscape.
Selected Works
by Mia Silvan-Grau
Pink and Night Sky Dresses
Pink dresses flap
like flamingo wings.
I hold your large hands,
wings span large.
I let the water take me.
Salt water up the nose
It's good for the sinuses
You bring me above the surf
When the waves are too strong
I let the water take me
Night skies are good
to wear to funerals
Black curls fall
Beard scruff scratches
I let the water take me
Obituaries sound
like you expect them to
Newspaper dry
Ink on the fingertips
Gold-encrusted flowers
I let the water take me
Feathers bob, Oozing
Red tint on the surface
Staining
The white moving gown
Salt water in your veins now
I let the water take me
Collection from Fang's Mark
by Shirley Fang
A voice that is afraid of itself
Everything we create becomes an extension of ourselves. When we were kids, we would build the world through lego blocks or create a world made of chalk on the sidewalk. There was no questioning what we were doing. We made for the sake of making.
The process is what keeps us on the path of understanding what it is that we love. Now that we are older the things we create are no longer as tangible. We can put ourselves into words, but we can also put ourselves in others’ minds.
Our voice extends outside our vocal cords.
Where Are You Really From? (Oil)
a better perspective
Because my birthday
Demonstrated something
And now, i have placed one ugly into this box. What a great day to start pumping all the ugly into this box. Yes, yes.
#art #because #artispolitical #biculturalidentity
#gaslighting #eradicate #allthethoughts
that was the pain strokes around those letters...
Survival (Acrylic and charcoal)
Having time at Wes to unpack all this trauma has been healing but also destructive to my own mental health. How can you ask me to be the good old productive student like before when I have to expel so much energy piecing myself together? How do you expect me to be enthusiastic about the education I’m getting when I just became woke to all the disparities first in the world and then at Wes? Every artwork I make takes so much energy and time that I can’t.. I just can’t care…about school. I can’t care about academia. I can’t care about learning the tools I need to feel strong and defend myself. I’m so tired. I know I’m not weak, but I feel weak.
Mei Ling Fang Sewing on the Bed (Acrylic)
It took me so long to appreciate my mom for who she is and what she has been through. She was never given the attention she deserves growing up. I hope to show her how beautiful and important she is and her narrative is to me and to the world. It breaks my heart knowing that there's only so much I can do to help her heal, but trying is better than not doing anything.
Insular Creation (Acrylic and charcoal, 5' x 6')
The slower I move and think, the more human and me I feel like I am returning to. The model minority myth, capitalism and all these oppressive systems have long enough taken a toll on my body and mind...preventing me from seeing my art, my own beauty, and seeing my thoughts as full-fleshed bodies that can take up space. Deconstructing and unlearning are painful processes. I took this journey because I know it's necessary for me to love myself. I don't even know exactly what I'm putting so much energy in, but I know I'm getting to the core because I can feel my body tensing up and resisting this force that's containing all my energy––so I can deflate..into nothingness.
First deflation.
Then nothingness.
Then inflation.