“Most Everyone’s Mad Here”

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

“Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone’s Mad Here” was recently on view at the Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, FL and I can’t say enough good things about this exhibition.  Featuring over 50 works of art including painting, collage, fabric arts and ceramics, it was a festival of color and fantastic imagery.  Beyond whimsy and nonsense, it offered a pointed commentary on the idea of heritage and folk art in the internet-obsessed 21st century.

Here is an excerpt from her artist statement…

‘Honoring traditional Asian arts through her use of Hanji paper, Korean silk, and calligraphic brushstrokes, Moon plays with iconography and symbols that have been classified as “foreign” such as blue willow china patterns, fortune cookies (which originated in California, but are identified as Chinese), Korean fans and floating dragons.  She intermingles them with references to Pop and southern folk art throughout the exhibition.  Her use of the peach, identified in Chinese mythology as a symbol of immortality, is also a nod to her home state of Georgia and its mascot, the “Georgia Peach.”‘

For more information on the artist, Jiha Moon, please visit…

http://jihamoon.com/

For more information on the Mennello Museum of American Art, please visit…

https://www.mennellomuseum.org/

 

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.