FEMININITY IN coNTEMPORARY ASIAN ART IF TH E SHOE FITS AND VERNAL VISIONS exhibited at LehmanCollege Art Gallery City Collegeof New York Fisher Art Building, Bard College,Annandale New York 2002-2003 curated by PatriciaEichenbaum Karetzky Seventeen Asian women have contributed to this exhibition of contemporary art. The group is quite varied, comprising Chinese, Japanese,Korean and Indian ancestry, some live in the United States; others are abroad. Some of the artists are middle aged; others are quite young. The artists' work utilizes a number of media and mate- rials: painting, drawing. sculpture, photography, ceramics, textile, video and installation art. Central to the exhibition are the issues of both Western feminine identity and Asian notions of femininity. Several of these women chose to illustrate the "sexy ideal" of native movie stars of Shanghai, Hong Kong or Mumbai (Bollywood); others portray women as young contemporaries in modern day (MTV) attire. Some use multi-ethnic representations of women to illustrate their belief in the universality of their situation. Many artists use the foot or shoe as a primary focus of personal iden- tity in their art. It is curious that the sexual fixation with alluring footwear that temporarily empowers women and results in the defor- mation of the foot is present in both the East (the bound foot) and the West (the torturous high heel). Enhancedsexual allure leads to being crippled. Ironically drinking champagne/ wine from a high-heeled shoe (Marilyn Monroe) or a tiny brocade slipper for a "lotus foot" (as in the novel Ching Pei Ming) is deemed highly erotic. The price of not adhering to such standard modes of dress may be a loss of self- esteem and of desirability. The Cinderella story, of Chinese origin, highlights the importance of such myths in traditional society and their exploration by these modern Asian artists reveals that they are still potent. In the myth, the desirability of a woman is judged by the size of her foot. Should it be too big, the consequence is complete rejection, as sung in the Fats Waller song, "I love you but your feets too big". The relevance of such values is evident in contemporary Asia. To the Western viewer in Asia, American born or Asian-Americanswho came early to the West, are readily distinguished from the local population in the way they walk. With upright posture and heads high, such women stride freely, their arms pumping rhythmically at their side. Local women in contrast tend to take small steps, their arms held close to their body, with a mincing gait. Despite their Western apparel and cosmetics, such women are easily identifiable. In com- munication as well, women in Asia are set apart from those in Western society in their general reticence to interact in mixed company. When amused, most Asian women discreetly cover their mouths and titter, rather than laugh wholeheartedly.Their conversa- tion is measured, their voices childlike in pitch and simple in verbal expression. These cultural restraints on female social behavior are the result of traditional Asian values. The women in this exhibition have experiencedWestern style freedom of expressionand as a result are aware of the varied cultural paradigms of feminine behavior and ideas of femininity. They question the appearance and attitude of modernity. which is often set against traditional moral and behavioral vatues. Though the ancient Asian cultures of India, China, Korea and lapan are quite diverse, their interrelationship extends back to ancient history. The Silk Route, active since the first century of the common era to the ninth century, connected the various cultures from India to Japan. Merchants, mjssionaries and Buddhist monks traveled the routes that linked the oasis cities spanning northern Asia. Art, reli- gion, literature, women's fashion and music flowed back and forth. Also ancient is the well-known role China had on the formulation of traditional culture in Korea and Jaoan. Directlv relevant is the evolu- tion of Confucian societal ideals that fostered a patriarchal society in which women, with few exceptions, were not included in social inter- course outside the home. The Datriarchalideal left inheritance in the hands of male lineage, and valued women for their childbearing capacity, The source of a woman's power was based in her reproduc- tive function and sexual desirability. Not surprisingly such fundamen- tal values are still apparent in contemporary life. Desirability of a female child is still surprisingly low. Modern techniques for determin- in9 the sex of the fetus and aborting those of undesirablesex has led to a radical decrease in the birth rate of girls, replacing the old solu- tion of infanticide. There is already a severe shortage of marriageable women in the countryside. In addition, suicide in rural China is at an all time high, it is the single most frequent cause of premature death of females. The theme of If the shoe fits. .asks the ouestion What does it take to be accepted as a woman in modern society, and how does the art of modern Asian women respond to this issue? The focus of the shoe in contemporary women's art arose as an observation made while viewing many of the artists' work. But the importance of the shoe as a symbol of personal identity in contemporary culture is not limited to the Cinderella syndrome, as is evident in several common idiomatic expressions in English. The phrase If the shoe fits. is also a metaphor for one's inner character,often revealing aspects of the per- sonality that is otherwise denied. If the shoe fifs, if the description of one's character is apt, wear lt, that is acknowledge it. The shoe is the mold of the character. Similarly it is said, Those are big shoes to fill, meaning the metaphorical stature of a man is suggested by his foot size. Though deception is possible with the wearing of other articles of clothing, footwear exposes the true self. In the phrase, feet of clay, human fallibility and the revelation of short-comings is expressed. Such sentiments are also conveyed in the sayings, you don't know a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes-wearing another's shoes provides insight into their personality and I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. By contrast, the expression, the clothes make the man suggests that behavior can be altered by outer adorn- ment. Moreover, when standing toe to toe one takes a confrontation- al stance, in contrast to being set back on one's heels. that is put on the defensive. Last but not least, playing footsies, relates the erogenous quality of feet. Several of the artists in the show concentrate on the ouestion of sex- uality and the promotion of the self. whether in personal relationships or professionally. Cui Xiu wen for example, has recorded the behav- ior of young women administering to their make-up and outfits by placing a hidden camera in a dance club in Beijing. Others have created a Dersonaldiarv of their own artistic adventures and familv Nina Kuo, Mini Chi Pao, Shoeless Lady, Hong Kong, 2000, white linen dress, photo transfer emulsion,22" x 28" history. Nina Kuo, whose work contrasts images of femininity in Asian American culture, has taken a photograph of her grandmother in Nantung, China, showing her with her three-inch lotus slippers for her bound feet. In other works Kuo recreates the sexy chlpao dress made famous ln the movies and on which she silk screens still photographs from old Chinese films. One called Shoeless, shows the barefoot heroine reclining wistfully in bed, her servant holding her high heels aloft, and colorful modern products llke Cherrios and Sllm Fast are interjected onto the black and white scene. Betty YaQinChou made over five hundreds wax models of her feet and places them in a mandala-like configuration, with a time line that mixes personal and historical events. Chou seeks the roots of her family and their journey from China to the Caribbean Islands. Questions of sexuality and genetic transmission are raised in uncov- ering the evolution of her family tree. Betty YaQinZhou, Migration, 2000 wax mold of feet, installationfloor space508sq feet, with time line Xing Fei combinespersonal photographs, images of events, objects from her past and calligraphyin a seriesof works entitledJourney. Overlappingimages excavated from her life in Chinaare resurrected in the searchfor the evolutionof her artistlcand personalidentity and the cultural flux in which she developed.Pictures of Mao, printed texts and illustrationsfrom Ming novels, photographsfrom news eventscombine under the large Chinesecharacters for growingup' The multi-layeredsurface of overlappinqimages is like an onion whosetranslucent skins can be peeledaway to get to the core. xing Fei, Journey: The Cultural Revolution, 2002,oil on canvas,45" x 27" Using shoes as a metaphor for people, Il Son Hong creates pristine installations made from traditional paper. Old-fashioned Korean flat shoes are shown in contrast to high heels to describe social situa- tions. Solitary has a meticulous line-up of rows of black shoes with one red one placed in variance to the general pattern of the design. Hong admits to loving the shape and appearance of the shoes and often uses them to suggest a narrative. Colors are symbolic-black and white, green and red arrangements of traditional shoes stand respectively for monk's colors and the marriage ceremony. Not only is the happy expectation of marriage set against the solemnity of the monastic existence, the difficulty of both pursuits represented by the pristine objects so far unused, is anticipated. Il Sun HongCommuting 1999,Korean paper, 38" x 43" x 3.5" The works displayed by Cai lin arso use snoes as a metaphor.Tall silk high heels and ornate evening shoes are sp la tte red with paint to cre- ate a red banana leaf desion.