Mihyang Kim
My work is about nature and the human body. Painting nature and the human body is the easiest way to express my ideas because I grew up in the countryside and I am a nurse. I am inspired by nature and organic shapes and vivid colors that can be found in the outside world and biological bodies. I think nature and human bodies live in co-existence with each other. My work has common themes of balance and co-existence. The balance found in nature and also the fight for balance and co-existence in human life or political struggles.
My subject to paint is my life. Everything related to me can be an interesting source to develop my thoughts. After spending four years to settle down in America, I have not thought a lot about the political and social issues that used to my main subject in Korea. I believed that I could change the world if I believe in, and I tried my best to practice what I preached by participating in cultural and political movements. Now, I live in a new world. I meet people who have different culture and patients who are supposed to spend their last moments in the hospital. I watch patients dying almost every day. I share a house with three people from different countries. There is a small room only for me, which reminds me of my tiny world. I am still struggling to get over language problems. However, I know I am on my journey that cannot be always stable or happy. I also find reasons why I am here. Even though I am lonely to be separated from my family, friends, and something familiar, there must be good things for me still developing to be an artist. I think, painting my life will give me a better understanding about myself and the world, now, more than ever.
Mostly, I make acrylic paintings because acrylic has brilliant color and is convenient to use but I have used mixed media and welded copper in a few sculptures: seeds found from farm lands and mountains, natural dies extracted from plants, and medicine bottles dispensed from hospitals. My sculptures also represented organic forms and nature. I try to minimize the amount of waste from my creativity. Co-existence exists in natural textures, fabrics, and materials as well as my concept of art.
My art means power I can have. It has constructed a bridge to advance into the new world, and I changed from an ordinary nurse taking care of the human body to an artist who can take care of the world, society, and nature and change the minds of people. Through my paintings and artwork, I can express conceptual ideas and convey messages people should think about. Art brings power to me and to the environment around me. My art embodies my homeland, my countryside, and my journey to America. I think art is the way I can live as myself.
Mihyang Kim
Glendora, CA
November 2008