How else do we recover and uncover our holy spaces...?

Since I started working on this project in 2007, I've been thinking about several different kinds of holy grounds that we traversed during our Jan. 2007 trip to S.E. Asia. And those spaces have triggered thoughts about other kinds of sacred space. Tonight, I want to highlight a few of the physical/geographical spaces that have haunted my memories for the past few months. (I think of this tonight b/c of a particular conversation that I carried with a few friends earlier this evening.)

(1) When we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels in Viet Nam, I marveled at the incredibly creative and dangerous tunnels and pathways that were carved into the ground. These tunnels were places that led to certain death for some soldiers. For other soldiers, these tunnels were sanctuaries, refuges, and security. For those of us who traveled through these tunnels in 2007, and for me especially, these tunnels were places filled with mystery and ambiguity. I scurried through them in fear (of the dark and other things) and in sadness, thinking of the tragic war that led to the building of these underground tunnels.

(2) The concrete ground of the dinosaur church in Stockton was a very different "holy ground". That was the space where we exhibited our memories for the first time -- memories and interpretations and reflections of the journeys that transformed our lives. In fact, we literally scattered some of the words of our memories onto the ground right in the middle of this space. We transformed it by bringing back the memories through our very presence.

(3) The 100+ steps of the temple in Malaysia which we visited. We walked up and down those steps, with me clinging to the side bars. I was deathly afraid of the height and feared I would fall every time I took a step up or down. That trail, that pathway took more of my energy and my time than anything. I thought about, worried over, feared, and admired those steps more than the huge golden statue of the god at the foot of the mountain (and standing guard at the top of the stairs). The people who went up and down those treacherous steps inspired more awe and respect and admiration from me b/c they went up and down those steps -- not because they bowed at the statue or because they lit some incense inside the cave temple. It was the act of traveling those stairs -- that treacherous ground -- that caught my attention.

(4) The sandy beach in Nha Trang was where we met our embodied "Jesus". As our group stood in barefeet in a circle, singing and breaking bread together, a homeless man entered our circle and talked with us and welcomed us and hugged us. We encountered a stranger who defied our stereotypes and who challenged our understandings of "sacred" and "community". The area where that encounter occurred was our sacred space -- a space where our mis/pre-conceptions were overturned, transformed, re-invented.

Drawing our selves in image and word

Today, Abby and I went back to Central UMC in Stockton to lead workshops on art and poetry writing. After attending the 11:00 a.m. service with the congregation, we had a quick lunch prepared by one of the church ladies and then started talking about art and poetry.

Abby started us off by asking us to describe our holy spaces. We then used various color tools to draw, sketch, etch, and basically color-convey our responses to her reading of the Matthew 16 passage about taking up our cross and following Jesus. For the first reading, we were asked to first use only colors (no shapes) as an expression of our response. Then, after the 2nd reading, we were asked to use lines and shapes to respond. After the third reading, we were to respond with specific images. After each section, we shared with one another what we had created, paying attention to acknowledging the beauty and meaning behind each of our creations.

In the poetry writing portion, we listened to the images in several poems and used our five senses to visualize our sacred spaces. We then used words we had written down to craft haiku. Without a lot of time remaining, we shared our haiku and thought about how effectively we used words -- language -- to express what we feel/sense/know/think about our holy spaces (which we talked about at the beginning of the art portion). I was amazed at the variety of haiku that we wrote, each with its own uniqueness.

Even though we had a few changes to our original plans, the overall experience was moving, transformative, and creative. I learned a great deal from these individuals about their lives, their passions, and their faiths. I hope they were able to bring away at least something meaningful from this experience.

Missed the opening? See the pictures!

unFound Opening: Reception & Reading
Central UMC, Stockton, CA
Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

It's official!

Congratulations to unFound on officially opening in Stockton at Central UMC on Friday, 9/5!!

Abby and I arrived in CUMC at about 11:30 a.m. and we worked for hours setting up the space. One of the most amazing and challenging portions of the set-up was when I worked with the poem The Undoing. Abby had the brilliant idea of writing the text of the poem on the floor of the exhibit space, but b/c we couldn't actually write on the concrete, the text was written on contact paper, and Abby had to very tediously cut out portions of the poem. Putting the poem back together took forever -- complicated by the fact that I do not memorize (gasp!) my poems.

It was easy to identify the stanzas and to string together the primary words in each line, but w tripped me up were the articles, conjunctions, punctuations. It also took quite a long time to remove the contact paper backing and apply the words to the ground.

This particular step was helpful for me. It was literally a cut-and-paste revision. In my head, I was able to identify the unnecessary filler words that could be cut to pare the poem down to its essence. Something about the fiscality of cutting and pasting words on the ground really helped. It was amazing to see the poem cut apart into jumbled puzzle-pieces, then pieced together into meaningful lines that spiraled on the ground. We really immersed ourselves in "the undoing" of the poem!

Even though the Stockton heat was unbearable -- even with four fans blowing full blast in the hall -- we still had a great turn out. People walked in and out of the installation, looking carefully and looking hard for the tiny details found in the embroidered poems, in the hand-drawn outlines, and the ironed pages of books.

During the reading and presentation, I was amazed to see their open, attentive faces nodding in response to poems that were being read out loud. It was worth it just to see their reaction. And, I hope, their understanding of the poems will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the installation.

I can't possibly end this post without mentioning our host for the evening. The entire event at CUMC would not have happened without Alan's organization, management, hosting, and inspiration. We had great set-up and great food. The details were perfect, right down to the beautifully arrayed napkins and batik table centerpieces. We owe it all to Principal Alan Cook extraordinaire.

unFound: a poetry and visual art exhibition
Artwork designed by Abby King Kaiser
Poetry written by Hoang-Anh Tran
Hosted by Alan Cook!

opening at Central UMC, Stockton

Last night we opened unFound with a crowd of about thirty people. A reading sparked many interesting conversations, and it was fascinating to watch people walk through our installation as they might walk a labyrinth.

Over the many months that we constructed this piece, and more than the year that we have been discussing it, there were many many times that I felt that this would never be real. But, as we sweated through hundred degree Central Valley heat, laying out shoes, ordering words and hanging fabric, the magnitude of seeing a creative vision through hit me. We had something to say, we experienced something that we thought spoke to the human condition, and we expressed it.

Sunday we will return to Stockton to give workshops, and the exhibition will continue to hang at Central UMC through next weekend.

coming of age as an artist

this week, we open the first "show" that i have ever taken a large part of--outside of my formal education. this endeavor is an independent collaboration of a couple of artists with a vision, outside of institutional support. upon diving into this process, i had no idea the level of courage, perseverance, organizing, patience and even errand-running that would be required. so much of the work i have done for this project seems unrelated to the art itself, and yet without that work, the art would not happen.

i find significant difficulty in trying to interpret this work to friends and family, who are naturally curious about how i am spending my time these days. when asked why i am doing this, i can't come up with a good answer. it seems the answer simply is that i have to. it has been developing for so long, it just must be poured out.

i am learning what it takes to be an artist. i am drawing on reserves i didn't know i had, discovering new parts of myself in the process, for good and bad.

unFound: a poetry & visual art exhibition

unFound exhibition calendar:
5-12 sept. 2008
central united methodist church
3700 pacific avenue, stockton, ca
friday, 5 sept., 7:30 p.m.
opening reception & reading
saturday, 6 sept., 1-3 p.m.
art & poetry workshops

3-4 oct. 2008
Interplayce
2273 telegraph ave.
Oakland, CA

15 oct.— 15 dec. 2008
bade museum
pacific school of religion
1798 scenic avenue, berkeley, ca

In the spaces of travel, discoveries of the “Other” have inevitably changed the traveler in ways both unimaginable and indescribable. Going on a journey demands a redefinition of what is found and what is lost within the multi-cultural, inter-religious, socio-historical contexts of Southeast Asia.

Throughout time, Art and Poetry have served as vehicles through which these journeys are re-envisioned and these experiences recreated; Art and Poetry help to reveal the complexities surrounding these encounters. Through art, the undoing of pre-conceived intelligences moves from abstract to concrete contexts. Poetry articulates the re-construction of found knowledge that occurs in variegated forms and in the marginalized spaces.

unFound is an exhibition (un)founded on poetry and visual art to explore the multi-dimensions of holy encounters ever-present in journeys of unraveling. unFound presents to travelers and non-travelers alike an opportunity to engage in self-critical reflection within the contexts of an increasingly globalized world.