User:Sb871423/Kyungah Ham/Poppyprint Peer Review

Hi Sophia! I think you have done a really great job, especially considering that you are working entirely from scratch!! I have made some suggestions below, which range from minor copyedits to suggestions on the content. Please make sure that all info are cited properly. And I'd be more than happy to go over these in person with you before the final deadline!

'''Make sure you have 5 reliable sources and that you include proper citation and links. Have you seen this one? You will need to access full text (request ILL if you can't access the eBook through Bard).'''

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Asian_Women_Artists/SmiYEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ham+kyung+ah&pg=PA171&printsec=frontcover

Google Scholar search results:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=0&q=kyungah+ham&hl=en&as_sdt=0,33

Intro (I think you mean Lead?) - length and content are great

Kyungah Ham (do we have a birth year? yes we do. b. 1966) is a contemporary multi-media artist working in Seoul. Her works utilize materialism (not sure what you mean here by "materialism" - please clarify. Multiple materials?) and text to discuss the social and political complexities between South and North Korea.

Early life/education Early Life and Education *Make sure you provide links to existing Wikipedia pages!

Kyungah Ham was born in 1966 in Seoul. Growing up, unofficial political propaganda from North Korea (you need to specify) sent by helium balloons (changed to plural) often appeared around Ham’s parent's house in Seoul. As a child, Ham could turn in these pamphlets to her school for a reward. A pamphlet discovered by Ham in 2008 of former North Korean president Kim Jong-il (is he a "president"? Also, link his Wiki page) rekindled Ham’s interest in the function of art and material as a form of unsanctioned communication.

Kyungah Ham (You can just refer to her as "Ham" since you have already provided the full name) received an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1995 (what about BFA or BA? You need this information especially since you mention her undergraduate work). Her undergraduate (do not abbreviate; use formal) work highlights the ways power is abused through videos, sculptures, photographs, and an assortment of installations. (What about MFA...? It's okay if you don't have this info. But I would put these in chronological order - mention where she received her undergraduate degree, discuss her undergraduate work, then talk about her SVA degree)

NOTABLE WORKS

Kyungah Ham’s large body of multimedia work considers power, communication, and anonymity. Her works typically sell at prices ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 at the Carlier Gebauer Gallery in Berlin and the Kukje Gallery in Seoul. (You definitely need a citation / link here. The sentence also sounds like her works are only sold at these two galleries, which I am assuming is not true. Perhaps you could say she is represented by xxx xxxx...., where her works typically sell at prices ranging from...) (However? transition) Disinterested in selling, Ham prefers to lend her work to exhibitions or sell them to museums, and she has admitted that she keeps much of her work for herself.

*Love this section - make sure they are in chronological order. '''I know that you have done so much already from scratch, but each series would greatly benefit from more information, so that even those who are not familiar with Ham's work can understand the process and meaning of her work. Happy to work with you on this!'''

Museum Display

An installation at the British Museum (link) in 2010 considered how artists can contribute to the decolonization of the museum wall (change wall to display? or display cases? Since her objects are in a display case). (Do you remember I showed this briefly in the colonial South Asia class?! It would be great to have just a little bit more information. What does Ham's actions or stolen objects critique here?) Ham’s collection of stolen objects from museums around the world, includes forks, saucers, knives, vases, and salt and pepper shakers (not a proper sentence - where is the verb?). Each object was displayed in a glass case under lights with extensive labels and a sign on the wall noted “Sign, ‘These doors are alarmed.’

SMS Series in Camouflage (Date?)

Embroideries contain short text as a message to her artisans and viewers. The series includes works like “Big Smile,” created during the Mass Games, and “Are you lonely, too?” as a response to pressure from galleries to outsource her labor to China for convenience.

Chandeliers for five cities (The Embroidery Project)

An ongoing project started in (2015? *I think her work with North Korean embroiderers started earlier, but this particular series seems to be from 2015) of five chandeliers assembled in South Korea (OK, you really need to clarify the media here, because it sounds like you're talking about an actual chandelier, not embroidery! Provide more info) with materials (again...unclear what you mean by material. Weren't they embroidering the chandelier? You can also provide more info on the materials used - silk threads, cotton, etc) from anonymous artists in North Korea based upon the five cities of the participating countries of the 1945 Potsdam Declaration (I think this sentence includes a lot of important info, so I would divide it up while adding the info I suggested above. For example, it's really not clear what is "based upon" the five cities. You can simply create a new sentence saying that the five chandeliers refer to the five cities..). These chandeliers symbolize the division of foreign powers that divided Korea in 1945, all of which have fallen as represented by the embroidered chandeliers positioned on the floor of the gallery space.

Ham’s process begins with a digitized censored pattern that she sends to female artisans (for consistency - would you use artists or artisans or embroiderers? You use artists above) in North Korea with the help of Chinese and Russian mediators. The images and content she highlights often would be removed from the public by North Korean officials but circulate freely in South Korea. A group of anonymous artisans is paid to convert her patterns into embroideries, using bright silk thread and exquisitely fine stitching. Receiving textiles from North Korea can take up to a year and a half as they are smuggled back to her using her intermediaries and bribed officials in both North and South Korea. Ham acquires the embroideries folded up in a black plastic bag, reeking of cigarette smoke. She noted that the colors of the silk thread used are often very unexpectedly bright, which she considers may help the artisans as they work in dimly lit facilities. After she receives the pieces, she unfolds and spreads the fabrics out in her studio before she begins to affix them to Southern-made chandelier frames. Her work is shown and sold internationally. Each hand-embroidered image contains a label that lists the materials used, the number of hours the work took, and other factors of the creative process like ‘censorship’ and ‘ideology’. Ham’s embroideries are also notably influenced by recorded footage of Pyongyang’s specialty-realist Mass Games. (This section definitely needs a lot of citation!)

Controversies/Reception

Hams's use of illegal outsourced labor puts her at high risk as the artist and negotiator of these transactions. Both Ham and her team of anonymous female artisans could face extreme consequences for these transactions. Ham could be criminally persecuted for her facilitation, and those working for her in North Korea could face unjust imprisonment or execution for their contributions.

Some of Kyungah Ham’s works have been confiscated by North Korean Authorities, and Ham cites several patterns sent to North Korea that were edited and censored by those working for her.

Personal life

Ham’s spoken publicly about the effects of this project on her mental health, in addition to the experiences and feelings she has listed under project labels. The Embroidery Project, which involves illegal cash transactions, bribes, and intermediaries has made stress a permanent fixture in her life.

Out of necessity, Ham has become protective over her image and the details of her process. Available sources that cite Ham specifically are reviewed by Ham before publication, and she declines most press coverage.

Bibliography

Morrill, Rebecca, et al., Vitamin T: threads & textiles in contemporary art (Phaidon Press, April 3, 2019)

Segal, David. "An Artist Unites North and South Korea, Stitch by Stitch ." NY Times. July 26, 2018.

Images:

Needling Whisper, Needling Country - Are You Lonely, Too? North Korean Hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middleman, anxiety, censorship, and wooden frame, approximately 1,000 hours by 1 person

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