User:Beths05/sandbox

Early Life
Jennifer Chihae Moon (born 1973) is a conceptual artist, adventurer. and a revolutionary based in Los Angeles. She was born in Lafayette, Indiana, is culturally Korean and received their BA at UCLA and later received their MA at the Art Center College of Design.

While studying for their Bachelor’s at UCLA, Moon became addicted to drugs which posed a huge obstacle in their path to getting her degree but it didn’t stop them completely from going to school and being a part of the art scene in Los Angeles. It was in 2002 where drugs became a constant struggle they couldn’t shake off. For Moon, earning money was hard, especially with a drug habit, and them and their partner at the time would steal from people for almost 2 years before they were caught and sentenced to serve 18 months in the Valley State Prison for Women where she only served 9 of those months.

While serving time in prison, Moon was able to gather themselves and love overtook her life, where they experienced vulnerability and had their very first relationship with a woman which changed their life and the perspective they had previously had. What stemmed from their time in prison was a book called “This is Where I learned of Love” which contained Moon’s love letters and pictures of objects that all had to do with their incarceration time and then the book turned into a show in 2012 called “Phoenix Rising, Part 1: This is where I Learned of Love”.

After being released from prison in 2009, Moon created “The Book of Eros” which was a part of the “Made in L.A.” project which contained love letters and other documents that stemmed from their time in prison.

Art Shows
The three main shows in their whole art career are named “Phoenix Rising” each with a part attached to it and contains different pieces of Moon’s life which mean a lot to her as someone who loves deeply, who was reborn from incarceration, and as a contemporary artist. In their quest to finding love and what it was like to experience it, Moon created many art pieces, like murals, to express themselves. From books, to art pieces, to entire showcases, Moon has stayed true to their own expeditions and their revolution.

The Revolution
Moon’s Revolution started from a young age, which she envisioned throughout their years of going through hardships and seeing the ups and downs. The Revolution divides itself into 4 factions, all of which have to deal with starting a new way of living that changes he education system, the redistribution of wealth, science, and a new culture. The revolution, to Moon, will continue to be an ongoing project that contain workshops that talk about self-discovery and other topics that Moon learns from as well as hopes that others learn from because Moon understands that not everyone has the same opportunities and wealth as others. Moon’s art is sacred to them and they work hard to help others get some guidance that their parents, teachers, or peers may not have given them and with the guidance, there could be a new order in the world where people can coexist and live their lives the way they want.

Awards
For Moon, winning the Public Recognition Award was an important part in their life because of the monetary gain but also because it meant that the people loved her. The award signified that her integration back into the art world after her incarceration was a success which would have been hard for other people who were in their shoes. After winning the Hammer Museum Award in 2014, Moon was able to give their Revolution a push so that more resources would be available and more people would get to know what it was about and take advantage of what they had in store for them. Moon’s winnings were not used solely on themselves, especially because their art and whole way of living has been centered on giving back and using their power for good so that more people do not follow down a path that will lead them to bad decisions.

Across Moon’s life, they have received countless awards including (latest to oldest):
 * Creative Capital Award (2022, with the Revolution School)
 * Harpo Foundation Direct Artist Grant (2020)
 * AHL Foundation Award (2019)
 * Korean Arts Foundation of America Award
 * Alpert/UCross Residency Prize (2015)
 * Mohn Public Recognition Award (2014)
 * CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists (2013)