miss translation : from fact to feeling to form

This thesis is a narration of historical events translated through my own subjective filter; it represents my view of myself as a Korean woman and as an immigrant. It is also the summation of my personal experience of womanhood, which I reflect upon and understand through my artwork. The experience of my youth in the aspiring atmosphere of the rapidly developing Korean society of the 1990s is also an important element in my work. This thesis questions how I, as a female Korean artist, can transform the image of nationality, gender, and the immigration, narratives by which I have been defined by questioning such categories from historical, sociological, and psychological perspectives, within the context of my artistic practice. In my artistic practice I make videos, sculptures, photography, performances, films, installations, and create small objects that question our illusions and preconceptions. By playing with my physical, socio-political constraints and constructions, I reveal the realities that exist behind an image. I do so by questioning invisible forces behind the construction of images that present the individual experience and mass phenomena of contemporary life. I want to shatter these images, call attention to them, and cast a light on the complexities of the human experience. Through my practice I give form to my feelings that hide behind the smile that I argue often represents false feelings. My thesis project functions as a map of my journey, from Korea to America, Los Angeles to Cambridge, past to future, fact to feeling, and memory to form; at the same time, my intention is to evoke a sense of emotional absence, danger and the struggle of identity in others.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Kwon, Soyoung, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Renée Green.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/91407

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/91407