{"id":23428,"date":"2023-08-22T18:27:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T22:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=23428"},"modified":"2023-08-22T18:27:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T22:27:37","slug":"jooyoung-choi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2023\/08\/22\/jooyoung-choi\/","title":{"rendered":"JooYoung Choi\u2019s Rainbow Bright Magical Realm Welcomes All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the heart of JooYoung Choi\u2019s exhibition \u201cLove and Wondervision\u201d<\/a> is a monumental installation titled \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like a rainbow bright cosmic psychedelic kids show come to life\u2014populated by her alter-ego C.S. Watson, \u201croyal artist and historian of the Cosmic Womb,\u201d a smiling cactus, a pink panda, happy rocks, a water drop character, a scowling creature that seems to have a head of broccoli, blue cartoon trees, a space travel portal, and a happy red bed by the name of Pom Pom Thunder, carrying characters on an adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if there was a super highway of dreams and this magical bed with these magical shoes could fly on the superhighway and find people and reconnect them,\u201d Choi told Art And Culture Texas<\/a> in June 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition at Rice University\u2019s Moody Center for the Arts in Houston, Texas, from May 25 to Aug. 26, 2023, also features video, puppets and paintings by the Houston-based artist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi addresses attendees at the opening reception for \u201cLove and Wondervision,\u201d May 25, 2023 at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Allyson Huntsman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe creativity inside of us can bring us all on an incredible voyage, led by love. The love of others who care for us and help us grow, and the love we give to others on this journey I call Wondervision\u201d the arts center quotes Choi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love and reconnection are themes that run deep in Choi\u2019s art. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1982 and was adopted by a family who raised her as Stacy Schwindt in Concord, New Hampshire, where she sometimes ran into racism in the predominantly white community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of my original art was very focused on understanding what it meant to be adopted. And during my undergrad [at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston], I was able to reunite with my birth family,\u201d Choi told New Hampshire Public Radio<\/a> in January 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas Monthly<\/a> reported in 2022: \u201cBecause she was born out of wedlock, her birth wasn\u2019t officially recorded. \u2026 A relative sent her away when her parents weren\u2019t present, setting off a family drama that lasted for years and led to her mother and father splitting up. Her father searched the country\u2019s orphanages for a decade trying to find her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement,\u201d detail, installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d May 25 \u2013 August 26, 2023, Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Gustavo Raskosky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Choi began meeting her birth family during a 2007 trip to South Korea. Which prompted her to begin using her birth name, and later change it legally. \u201cAnd so by the time I got to grad school [at Lesley University in Cambridge], I had found my birth mother, my birth father. I found out I had two brothers and a little sister and all these aunts and uncles and cousins,\u201d Choi told New Hampshire Public Radio in January 2023. \u201cSo there was this abundance of love that was filling this void that was part of my life growing up. And so when I got into graduate school, I really didn’t know what to paint about anymore. And I realized that I used my imagination over all those years to kind of create this magical realm for myself that I think kind of protected me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove and Wondervision\u201d is a glimpse into the world Choi has been building for more than a decade: \u201cThe Cosmic Womb.\u201d It\u2019s a place she\u2019s populated with hundreds of characters: Rainbow Rabbit, Lady K, Queen Kiok, a pink octopus named Putt-Putt, Panda-Corn, Hippo Man, Lydia Nine, Big Six, Albeit the Miracle Bear, alter-egos, characters inspired by friends, bullies, a queen, a goddesses, that traveling bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she\u2019s imagined it, it\u2019s a place for healing from the separation from her birth parents, a place \u201cwe can go where we can grow and be ourselves. And I think that I began creating that from the moment I found out that I was adopted,\u201d she told New Hampshire Public Radio. It\u2019s a home, a safe haven for all. \u201cThe Cosmic Womb,\u201d Choi wrote on her website in 2018<\/a>, \u201cis a magical realm that has become home to every snow person we thought melted away, every imaginary friend we grew out of, here they all are welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2023 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement,\u201d installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d May 25 \u2013 August 26, 2023, Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Gustavo Raskosky. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement,\u201d detail, installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d May 25 \u2013 August 26, 2023, Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Gustavo Raskosky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cSpectra Force Vive: Infinite Pie Delivery Service,\u201d installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Allyson Huntsman. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement,\u201d detail, installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d May 25 \u2013 August 26, 2023, Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Gustavo Raskosky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cTable of Love.\u201d Photo by Thomas DuBrock, courtesy of Inman Gallery. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cSpectra Force Vive: Infinite Pie Delivery Service,\u201d installation view, \u201cJooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision,\u201d Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Allyson Huntsman. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, \u201cSongs of Resilience for the Tapestry of Faith.\u201d Photo by Thomas DuBrock, courtesy of Inman Gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi,\u201cParacosmic Viewing Station & Pleasure Vision Transmission Receiver [Gen. 1] Red” at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Allyson Huntsman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"JooYoung
JooYoung Choi, installation view of \u201cRoro Puppet;\u201d \u201cVolcana Puppet;\u201d \u201cParacosmic Viewing Station & Pleasure Vision Transmission Receiver [Gen. 1] Red;\u201d \u201cRem and Vorax;\u201d \u201cBunnie and Sweet Slice;\u201d and \u201cMondo and Dee,\u201d at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University. Photo by Allyson Huntsman. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the heart of JooYoung Choi\u2019s exhibition \u201cLove and Wondervision\u201d is a monumental installation titled \u201cLike a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through\u2014Infinite Feels Arrangement.\u201d It\u2019s like a rainbow bright cosmic psychedelic kids show come to life\u2014populated by her alter-ego C.S. Watson, \u201croyal artist and historian of the Cosmic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[1058,327,325],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23428"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23573,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23428\/revisions\/23573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}