Today we’d like to introduce you to Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in Vientiane, Laos in 1976 and at the age of two escaped with my family to the refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand after the Vietnam War. My father was a doctor and worked with the American Red Cross, so he was targeted by the communist Pathet Lao for execution. We were sponsored by a Baptist Church in Caney, Kansas 1980, but later moved to Winfield, KS for better job opportunities. I was the youngest of 4 brother and one sister.
Later, I received my BFA (Bachelors of Fine Art) from University of Kansas, Lawrence KS and a MFA (Masters of Fine Art) from Southern University of Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois. I have been a Professor of Art in Painting for fifteen years at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesobro, TN. I am a multi-media artist that has worked in 3D, 2D, sound, installation and video but has also been trained classically in oil painting. I am currently represented by Tinney Contemporary Gallery in Nashville, TN. I am married to sculptor, Jarrod Houghton, and I have two beautiful daughters name Zoe and Ava and two kittens name Jasper and Napoleon.
Please tell us about your art.
My work addresses the issue of the Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War (1964-1973) where the U.S dropped more than two million tons of bombs every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, and for 9 years. There were 580,000 bombing missions and Laos still stands in history to be the most heavily bombed country per capita. The paintings are a blend of abstract, war-torn, crumbling buildings, and fractal landscapes, mingled with loud colors, disoriented shapes, sweeping gestures and hints of smoke and debris from the bombings. The puzzle-like construction alludes to the shattered homeland and the themes that encompasses the livelihood of Lao Diasporas: displacement, identity, isolation, and confusion. The mural-sized paintings are purposeful, and address viewers to The Secret War on Laos as a high alert issue.
I use pictures taken from my trips back to Laos, a trip to a Nong Khai Refugee Camp in Thailand, and Vietnam War images found online and in books. With these photos I create small drawings and collages. Then, I scan and alter them on photoshop to create a larger composed painting. My work evokes the ideal of early immigrant abstractionist in New York City because I work very intuitively and automatically while composing, but also consider formal elements such as composition, color, line and intensity and expanding the image beyond the picture plane. I then draw or project the images onto larger panels and adjust as I paint, because the paintings are mural size. I have chosen acrylic paint for its immediacy and quick drying. The paintings are designed to be nomadic and modular, so that it can easily be dismantled and rebuilt on a new site; which, symbolizes the way of life for a refugee/immigrant through-out the country, who are still slowly putting their lives back together.
I drew inspiration from the founder of Legacies of War, Channapha Khamvongsa. I was truly moved by her speech on clearing 80 million unexploded UXO (unexploded ordnances) cluster bombs that still lie hidden in the landscape waiting to be detonated. Over 20,000 people, mainly children, have been injured from shrapnel, or simply killed since the bombing ceased. The goal is to rid the landscape of its contaminates. My other inspiration is my mom. She was a weaver in Laos and the Laotian textile and design incorporates intense colors, stylized animal, and human motifs.
Recently thought, the Syrian refugees/immigrants are constantly on my mind as I am working, because it is on the news all the time. It makes me reflect on how it was for hundreds of thousands of Laotian immigrants who fled to another country facing the same issues. As an educator it is important for me to contribute to the cause and make others aware of their surroundings, not to exclude history, past and present.
Your recent work features geometric shapes with sharp angles and bold colors. Could you talk about what ideas or feelings you’d like to convey through those elements?
My work is not subtle, and delicate, but instead sharp like a razor. It also explores the challenges of being a Laotian female immigrant and recently, the escalating refugee crisis. Abstraction in the paintings express a disordered system on the merge of chaos. I want the audience to be confused, aware, and in a state of conflict. War is draining. Hope is draining. Represented is the on-going nightmare for Laotians immigrants during the escape of their war-torn niches.
Part two of the question above: do you find you’re able to tell more complex “stories” or convey more complex ideas or emotions with abstract works than would be possible with representational painting?
My work does not constitute a literal narrative, but instead, a non-tangible reality of endured hardships and loss after the Vietnam War. It is not linear, I am painting a feeling of conflict and the internal displaced war-ravaged country. I am not interested in telling one story, but many stories. War is universal and it has no boundaries and continues to affects lives, society, the planet, and will continue to do so for generations to come.
Although much of your work is abstract, place and home are strong influences. With that in mind, do you find that having lived in middle Tennessee for 15 years has shifted your sense of place or home?
It has not shifted my mentality, because I will never be accepted as a Laotian native in Laos and I will always be a refugee/immigrant/minority in America. I find the older I get I struggle less with my Laotian roots and respect and accept the culture. Even though America was founded by immigrants, Americans today are still not opened to the wave of displaced people trying to seek shelter in a safer zone. The Vietnam war was over fifty years ago and the world has shifted its attention elsewhere to more recent events, but the past will always be part of the present.
My hope is that the public will be educated about The Secret War on Laos, and possibly reflect on events that occurred. Even if you know nothing about art, my hope for the audience is to be overwhelmed by the bright colors, anxious, disoriented, confused, and become discombobulated in the fractal landscape. For these are the many feelings refugees and immigrants’ families feel when they enter a new country; where they do not speak the language, know the terrain nor understand the culture. Most step into darkness hoping to find their footing, a path that will lead their kids to safety, hope, or opportunities not provided for them in their own native country.
My love for the arts started at a very early age. I found art to be therapeutic and have continued for over thirty years to produce work that is closest to my heart.
I have grown into my skin as a Laotian American Artist. In my earlier years as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas, I was making art about identity, displacement, religion, family, and Laotian diaspora. Then in graduate school at the University of Carbondale, I created works about being a mother, having a family, and 911. Now, I have gone back full circle to shinning a light on my Laotian identity, history, culture and educational outreach.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Yes, don’t be afraid to just make art for art sake. My friend/colleague started a weekly Friday’s only for two or three hours of just simply making art; which, we now call “Shut Up and Make Art”. We never shut up, but make a lot of art while we drink coffee, eat delicious snacks and talk about our lives and ask for input on our work. It has gotten me through a lot of artist blocks. Find a community of artist and don’t burn bridges, and be willing to take chances. My motto has been for myself and my student, “Just Do It”! (the Nike Swish)
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
https://www.sisavanhphouthavong.com
https://www.tinneycontemporary.com/sisavanh-phouthavong
Nashville Arts in the Airport until August 26th, 2018
Hunter Museum of Contemporary Art: Sept. 20th-Dec. 30th, 2018
Solo Show at Christian Brothers University, Beverly + Sam Ross Gallery, Memphis TN
Contact Info:
- Address: 1902 Somerset Drive, Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
- Website: https://www.sisavanhphouthavong.com
- Phone: 615-203-3310
- Email: sisavanhphouthavong@gmail.com
- Instagram: sisavanhphouthavong
- Facebook: Sisavanh Houghton
Image Credit:
Tinney Contemporary Gallery, Jarrod Houghton and Kathy O’Connell
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