Minji Kang-Watrous, Tight Walking Tradition with Modernity
Written by Isis Kazadi
The ability to tight walk tradition with modernity is a point of mastery for thirty-nine year oldKorean born artist, Minji Kang-Watrous.
This dichotomy informs all Kang-Watrous' two-dimensional pieces but, it is the pivot to bear bricks in her newest collection where this melding of past and present is most prevalent.
“There are so many great expressive painters out there...I needed to be able to find my own voice and set myself apart,” Kang-Watrous said.
The bear bricks, a popular medium, were sourced from toy shows in the Dallas area by a friend of the artist who urged her to join him in trying something new.
“The bears aren’t a flat surface like what I am used to,” Kang-Watrous said. “I almost gave up in the middle of the process.”
However, staying on the course has paved the way for Kang-Watrous to make history. She iscertainly among the first to incorporate paper molding into bear bricks, but it is her use of Hanjithat makes her singular.
In this collection, each bear is bound with “Hanji” a traditional Korean paper derived from mulberry trees. Kang-Watrous sources her Hanji from a family-owned shop in Insadong, South Korea that has been operational for over 100 years. The family has housed three generations of artisanal paper makers. This craft has become as much a part of their identity as their last name.
“The paper that I work with is over 1000 years old” Kang-Watrous said. “I am bringing a piece of my history with me.”
Each of these bears has an original story, tied to a narrative in Kang-Watrous' life. “The Lady Bird” for instance, derives from Lady Bird Johnsons’ highway beautification project, a policy designed to keep preserve wildflowers in high traffic public spaces. The “Meme” on the otherhand, is inspired by her partner’s mother, and the homely quilts that she stitches.
Regardless of the piece, there seems to be a generational tether between the women in Kang-Watrous' family that illuminates her artwork, from her mother to her daughter.
Kang-Watrous' mother was also an artist, and the first to introduce her to the use of Hanji.Although this built accessibility to creative pursuits, it did not foster a positive environment for artistic growth.
“[My mom] would tell me I was not going to be successful...the relationship with her was one of my main struggles as an artist,” Kang-Watrous stated.
The move to Dallas from Seoul at twenty years old brewed a homesickness that could not be paralleled. It was then that Kang-Watrous began to hunt for a way to anchor herself to familiarity, and her partner suggested getting back into creating.
“Being Asian in Korea, you want your parents’ validation more than anything” Kang-Watrous confessed.
This amalgamation of emotional duress, homesickness, and longing permeates into the care and precision with which she treats her art.
“I would never have become an artist if I stayed in Korea,” Kang-Watrous declared.
Much like the age old saying suggests, no pressure, no diamonds.
Kang-Watrous' three-year-old daughter on the other hand, can be found in several Instagram videos painting on miniature easels, fully supported by her parents to move in whichever direction she chooses.
“I don’t push her into art,” Kang-Watrous said. “But, whenever she wants to participate I let her do it.”
Although she is often not tethered to her work, the bear bricks nurture a soft spot for Kang-Watrous.
“I usually don't get too attached to my art pieces because I spend too much time with it by the end but, if these [the bears] don’t go away I could live with that.” Kang Watrous said.
The sensitivity of the bear bricks is in part due to the narratives of women that affect her journey as an artist. Whether it is the Hanji her mother showed her how to utilize, or her daughters' floral sketches, the Kang-Watrous women are indubitably the carriers of tradition.
This shared matrilineal creative link is what originally drew Kang-Watrous to a collaboration with mother-daughter fashion brand, Alara the Label, her biggest material project to date.
Alara the Label’s storefront visually compliments the same artistic trends of Kang-Watrous, the idea of blending modernity with tradition. The juxtaposition of bags lined with traditional Turkish silk and the pop style elements of décor, the collaboration just makes sense.
Stylistically The Label and Kang-Watrous coincide but they are also both finding ways to incorporate their traditional culture into their art forms.
“When I started working with silk textiles my manufacturers didn’t get it either… they’re just used to the ‘Old-World’ way,” Alara claims.
The Nostalgia and Noise facilitated collaboration is an opportunity Kang-Watrous has been unconsciously seeking for years.
“I’ve always been interested in fashion, when I was younger, I would change outfits three times a day” Kang-Watrous joked.
The ability to bridge one art form into another is not for the weak but, Kang-Watrous views fashion as an opportunity to make art that is timeless.
“I love trends but...fashion repeats every ten years, it can always be similar” Kang Watrous stated.
