Sewall exhibit portrays Korean struggle
This multimedia exhibit, by Korean-American Y. David Chung, consists of a series of charcoal murals and a film meant to depict the experiences of his family, Korean immigrants who run a convenience store.
The unusual title comes from an event in Korean history. In 1592, Admiral Yi Sun-sin successfully defended Korea from Japanese invasion with an innovation in warfare: ironclad ships that looked like a large navy of sea turtles.
Chung uses this image in the first of his three large murals, an analogy between the events of 1592 and present-day Korea. In his second panel, he traces the history of Korea during the 20th century, from the assassination of the country's last queen to the end of the Korean War. The third mural depicts the invasion of western culture into Korea and the resistance it meets there.
In the center of the room, amid these large murals, is a small shelter decorated in charcoal to create a sort of Cubist convenience store. The viewer is invited in to view a film depicting the life of the artist's father.
The artist's primary goal in this interesting five-minute film is to pay tribute to his father. Chung shows us both his father's memories of his war-torn homeland and the affection he has for his family.
However, another message expressed is the subtle anti-Asian prejudice encountered at the store; in several tense moments during the film, the father waits on customers who offer such opinions as "you all got everything now" and "you guys are taking over."
A rotating Plexiglas shield separates the father from the customers and allows him to make transactions. The same shield we see in the film is right next to the screen for us to see. With his father behind the Plexiglas window, according to Chung, "you see what's going on in his mind and in his life."
In the midst of the three murals, all of which depict resistance to agression, this window represents the father's own "boat head," in a form as modern today as an ironclad ship was in the 16th century.
The charcoal murals are a monocolor black on white, and shades of gray are used very sparingly. The starkness of this sim- ple black against white really defines the style in these panels; the viewer's eye is drawn to where this contrast is the strongest. Another element of Chung's style is his human forms, which are large and boxy, calling to mind the recent exhibit of the work of John Biggers, another minority artist, at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Perhaps the best thing about this exhibit is its digestibility for students. Going over each of the panels and watching the film takes no more than 15 minutes, and the images and messages within are such that a reasonably educated viewer can easily grasp what is being expressed.
One might call that simplistic, but even so, "Turtle Boat Head" is an interesting cultural exhibit that is worthwhile to go see.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the November 17, 1995 issue.
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