JULIA KUO

Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese-American illustrator. She currently works out of Chicago for most of the year and Taiwan in the winter. Julia illustrates children's books as well as editorial pieces for newspapers and magazines. Her clients include Science Friday, the New York Times, Hachette Books, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan Publishing. When she's not drawing, you might find her running around in a national park and looking at moss.

-Does your identity or how you identify yourself inform your work in any way?

Yes! It’s only natural to draw things that reflect who I am, or what I’m obsessing over at the moment. Sometimes it’s very deliberate. I'm a second generation Taiwanese-American female, and I remember deciding right out of school that I would draw medium-skinned, dark-haired females into my projects whenever possible.

Other times, the manifestation has been more tenuous. Recently I’ve gotten a few comments about my work resembling Japanese woodcuts. I’ve never intentionally modeled my work after Japanese art, but I grew up surrounded by different types of classic Asian art and still admire Hokusai and Hiroshige’s landscapes. I guess I can’t deny that connection, but it makes me wonder.

-When making your work, do you have certain expectations or do you aim for a specific reaction in your audience and the viewer? (Do you care about how the message of your work is received?)

As an illustrator, I care that my images are received in a way that’s appropriate to the content. Lately, I’ve been into creating images that share my love for the outdoors - so I’ve been working with clients that are also looking for the same mix of discovery and education!

-Does art serve a purpose for you outside of just beauty or aesthetics?

When I first started out, I was drawing cute and pretty greeting cards. I was surrounded by friends who were going through med school, working at non-profits, and just about any other job that would make the world a better place. It made me really think about how I could do something more meaningful with illustration. In the 8 years since, I’ve come to a place where I can say that my work has purpose and meaning. But thankfully it doesn't mean that the prettiness has to go away! I've also realized that greeting cards help people, too =)

-How do current events affect your practice?

I recently wrote and illustrated a story on an event involving bison in Canada. My agenda has been to make art that shares my love for the environment, whether it’s about a current event or my own personal experience. By encouraging people to find personal connections to natural places, my hope is that they’ll act to protect them via ways that best suit their careers and abilities. This bison story is part of a larger group of stories about my artist residency in Banff National Park at meetusinthewoods.com.

Julia Kuo's sketchbook. (Image courtesy of artist)

-Do you feel you are more reactive or more reflective when you create?

Maybe reflective, but most likely neither? If anything I’m pretty slow and deliberate; I have probably already reacted and reflected long before I’m ready to publish something for everyone to see.

Artist Interview // TREVOR SHIN

Trevor Shin is a Dallas-based illustrator. He is one of the participating artists for the Fierce Tidings art exhibition (March 31 - May 12) at the Gene Siskel Film Center in conjunction with the FAAIM 22nd Annual Asian American Showcase which runs March 31st through April 12th, 2017. We asked him a few questions about his work and artistic practice!

-Does your identity or how you identify yourself inform your work in any way?

My identity informs almost everything about my life. Growing up bi-racially was interesting, I was aware of race at a very young age. I saw the world from two simultaneous perspectives while never fully being accepted into either group. As a perpetual outsider, I was constantly observing the world around me from the outside looking in. I believe this way of thinking and observing heavily influence my thinking and way of seeing the world.

-When making your work, do you have certain expectations or do you aim for a specific reaction in your audience and the viewer? (Do you care about how the message of your work is received?)

Mostly I try and forget anyone is going to be looking at the work at all. It stresses me out and I feel it makes the work seem disingenuous. I don't mind if someone misinterprets my work as they are bringing their own life experience to the table.

-Does art serve a purpose for you outside of just beauty or aesthetics?

There is something so satisfying about making marks and letting lines flow right out of your hand. Art is therapeutic for me and a great tool for continual growth as a human being. Art has made me more empathetic.

-How do current events affect your practice?

Current events make me hyper aware of race and inclusivity. I try and avoid pointing out the differences between people and focus on universal aspects of humanity.

-Do you feel you are more reactive or more reflective when you create?

My work is reflective. I'm constantly filtering the world around me and trying to make the best sense of it that I can.

See more of Trevor Shin's work on // Instagram @trevorshin // Join us at the Fierce Tidings art exhibition opening Friday, March 31, 2017.

on Insta

Artist Interview // KATIE SO

Katie So is an illustrator and tattooer from Vancouver, BC. After graduating from graphic design school, Katie found her place in small press comics, through which she has had the opportunity to exhibit her work around the world. From there, she honed her illustration style to the recognizable brush and ink work she is known for. For the past two years, Katie has applied her illustrative style to tattooing and is currently a resident artist at Black Medicine Tattoo in Vancouver. Whatever medium she is expressing herself in, Katie's work retains a sense of dark introspection and humour.

So is one of the artists in the Fierce Tidings art exhibition at the Gene Siskel Film Center in conjunction with the FAAIM 22nd Annual Asian American Showcase which runs March 31st through April 12th, 2017. We asked her a few questions about her work and artistic practice!

from "Dirty Knees" group show, by Katie So. Image courtesy of artist.

-Does your identity or how you identify yourself inform your work in any way?

I’ve been told that my work involves asian subjects or themes with a European storybook application. That’s not something I consciously considered when approaching my work, but my mixed background has clearly seeped into my work whether I’m aware of it or not. I also identify as female, and definitely celebrate the feminine and female form in my work, whether portraying it in a sensual or sinister way. I think the female psyche embodies both those things, and I try and celebrate that.

Comic from "Dirty Knees" exhibit. Image courtesy of artist.

-When making your work, do you have certain expectations or do you aim for a specific reaction in your audience and the viewer? (Do you care about how the message of your work is received?)

I generally have something to saywith the work I put out there, but I don’t like to display my intent directly along side it because what has personal meaning to me, might (probably does) mean something else to another person. I’ve always been fascinated and motivated by the viewers’ own interpretations. What someone takes away from my art is never incorrect, and often those revelations end up being different than what I would have thought which is so interesting. Sometimes, it takes someone else’s viewpoint to really solidify what I was trying to say with a piece, which is why art is so important to me.

-Does art serve a purpose for you outside of just beauty or aesthetics?

I’ve used art as a therapeutic process, which begins when I’m creating the piece and continues through to sharing and discussing it with my peers and my audience. I’ve learned a lot through the dialogue my art has started about racial identity and mental health issues. It’s easy to think that you’re the only one processing the complexity of these issues, but I’ve found that the artwork I’ve created has helped me and people who enjoy my art feel a little less secluded.

"Inner Tempest" Image courtesy of artist.

-How do current events affect your practice?

Current events are very overwhelming. I’m overwhelmed most of the time! If anything, I’ve felt more comfortable discussing the issues that inform my work because race inequality and the stigma of mental health aren't issues to be quiet about anymore. Hopefully, we can talk about and discuss these issues more openly.

from "Attempts at Positivity" Image courtesy of artist.

-Do you feel you are more reactive or more reflective when you create?

Definitely reflective. I struggle with depression and personal identity and art can help to articulate the way I’m feeling, whether thats to myself or to my audience.

See more of Katie So's work on katie.so // Instagram @ghostmeadow // Tumblr http://katieso.tumblr.com/ // Katie's Tattoo tumblr https://katiethebaby.tumblr.com/ // Join us at the Fierce Tidings art exhibition opening Friday, March 31, 2017.

Artist Interview // KYU HWANG

"Kyu Hwang is a visual artist based out of Seoul, Korea. Born in Seoul in 1980, he spent most of his life abroad traveling between England, Germany, Hungary, Canada, and Korea. Having moved around a lot, Kyu has mastered the art of spending quality alone time, watching clouds roll by, and getting lost in his thoughts. This experience / habit feeds his work in the form of drawings, paintings and sculptures."

Hwang is one of the artists in the Fierce Tidings art exhibition at the Gene Siskel Film Center in conjunction with the FAAIM 22nd Annual Asian American Showcase which runs March 31st through April 12th, 2017. We asked him a few questions about his work and artistic practice!

-Does your identity or how you identify yourself inform your work in any way?

Yes, I spent a lot of time abroad growing up, so "identity" has always been a big subject in my work.

-When making your work, do you have certain expectations or do you aim for a specific reaction in your audience and the viewer? (Do you care about how the message of your work is received?)

I guess I would be lying if I said I didn't care about how my work (or the message of my work) is received by the viewer, but in the actual process of making my work I try not to think too much about it. I seem to work better when I think less about someone else's perception of what I'm doing.

-Does art serve a purpose for you outside of just beauty or aesthetics?

Definitely. For me, art is a way of processing my relationship with the world, and although aesthetics is a major part of that process, it's most certainly not the only part (or the most important part for that matter).

-How do current events affect your practice?

They seem to affect my practice more and more. We're going through a very strange political situation in Korea right now, and that experience has changed (and will most likely continue to change) my practice dramatically.

-Do you feel you are more reactive or more reflective when you create?

I would have to say reflective. I think it's just the way I'm wired. I tend to be that way with things outside of art as well.

See more of Kyu Hwang's work on kyuhwang.com // Instagram @kyuhwang_ // Join us at the Fierce Tidings art exhibition opening Friday, March 31, 2017.

Artist Interview // JAMES CHIA HAN LEE

"I'm an artist and graphic designer based in Toronto. I'm interested in creating art that's representative of every day life but is sometimes refocused by a lens of surrealism and tarnished by mechanical accidents of the medium and failures of the hand. My goal is to elicit some sort of emotion and surprise that's unique to visual art and to my own voice."

James Chia Han Lee is one of the artists in the Fierce Tidings art exhibition at the Gene Siskel Film Center in conjunction with the FAAIM 22nd Annual Asian American Showcase which runs March 31st through April 12th, 2017. We asked him a few questions about his work and artistic practice!

-Does your identity or how you identify yourself inform your work in any way?

Probably, but not actively or consciously.

"Allan Gardens" by James Chia Han Lee (Image courtesy of artist)

"Marked" by James Chia Han Lee (Image courtesy of artist)

-When making your work, do you have certain expectations or do you aim for a specific reaction in your audience and the viewer? (Do you care about how the message of your work is received?)

I'd like for it to pull some sort of personal emotion/sensation from the viewer, whether it recalls a memory or the aesthetics simply work well enough to flip a switch somewhere in their head. My current intent lies simply in building moods and emotional environments that people would hopefully like to spend some time in. I aim to make beautiful things and I aim for connection.

"Just Don't Think About It" by James Chia Han Lee (Image courtesy of artist)

-Does art serve a purpose for you outside of just beauty or aesthetics?

Internal mediation and meditation. Connecting with others. The big thing is that enjoy all the technical challenges and the questions it brings up as a creator.

-How do current events affect your practice?

I don't know, sorry. Probably not very much.

"Fish" by James Chia Han Lee (Image courtesy of artist)

-Do you feel you are more reactive or more reflective when you create?

Reflective. If my art were a band, it probably plays whatever the opposite of punk music is, in its room by itself.

See more of Jame Chia Han Lee's work on jlee.ca // Instagram @buttmcbutt // Tumblr @jameschleeart // Facebook @jameschleeart // Join us at the Fierce Tidings art exhibition opening Friday, March 31, 2017.