OPTIC: "Wings II" ● Painting
Wings II ● Painting
O: Wings II highlights a chaotic and blissful scene of a girl ascending in the form of a dove in a sea of redness and turbulence.
P: Large circles dot throughout the piece with bleeding elements. The dove in the middle also has bleeding wings as it takes flight. Primarily warm and darker colors flood the painting with a few yellows and oranges to accent. Within the background, scratched marks create an ocean-like appearance that sits on top of a deep red color. On the side panels, porcelain vases, typically depicted in traditional Asian paintings, hold plants, with the left one drooping and holding less leaves than the right.
T: Hung Liu, a Chinese American artist painted Wings II during a time of violence toward Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2011. Being an immigrant herself, Hung Liu empathized with those struggling with their foreign identity in a Western world. As the Chinese Cultural Revolution began rewriting her history back when she lived in China, it prompted her lifelong journey to create art to preserve the most important stories of lives around her from being forgotten.
I: Various elements such as the delicate vases contrast with the hostile, disorderly nature of the scratched lines and rough paint drips. In addition, the warm, cohesive colors balance the painting and are not only saturated in one area but are thorough in all quadrants.
C: Hung Liu's Wings II is a painting that arouses solemnity while depicting injustice. The young girl sitting within the dove's torso stands for a loss or departure from the world about to take flight with bleeding wings; the eyes of the girl look away as if she is no longer confronting the issues that are at hand. While at peace, she appears to let go of the racism and discriminatory behavior she has felt. Another contrasting element is the lucky red color commonly associated with good fortune. In a scene of sorrow, red no longer symbolizes happiness but is a warning to society about the consequences of violence. Lastly, the dripping circles suggest the hindrances toward unity through the continuation of opposition and hatred. Liu's painting puts into perspective of the racism and hate the Asian American community experiences. Through the usage of passive elements such as the girl and the dove, there is a sense of relatability of the character, attempting to connect those who view the art to the humanity of the affected communities. As a result, Wings II is a statement piece that aims to unify both Asian Americans and the society around them.
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After hearing about the Atlanta deaths of the nail salon workers, the Jordan Schnitzer Musuem of Art began highlighting various exhibits that create awareness toward Asian hate and racism. This painting was one of the pieces that the website displayed during this time. What is important to me about this painting is the focus of the girl and the dove, which both highlighted the deeper meaning of pain that I found most fascinating among the various other artworks I saw.
This painting is unique in this collection in that it highlights a wrenching truth about the consequences of racism: death, although infrequent, is an unfortunate consequence for Asian minorities within the United States. This artwork supplies an interesting perspective toward the concern that discrimination comes in more violent forms that create more permanent consequences. While indifference and ignorance may fuel malicious actions, it is necessary for the acknowledgement that all humans are equal and have lives. Through this painting, Hung Liu paints a disorderly, peaceful, and mournful scene that changes the narrative of racism in hopes to establish justice and unity for Asian Americans.
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