FLORA CHOI

20110923

"Upbraiding Tradition"- Written in The Korean Times today

Upbraiding Tradition was written up by The Korean Times today. The article talks about how my performance piece is a contemporary view to Korea's cultural construct and a symbolism for breaking the traditional role of Korean women in Korea.

Upbraiding Tradition will be performed October 1st and October 8th, 1pm-3pm along 14th street. Opening reception: September 30, 6pm. At the Theatherlab.

20110916

Featured on Art In Odd Places blog!

Recently, I've been featured on Art In Odd Places blog!
Check it out!
Art In Odd Places Blog

20110813

Upbraiding Tradition

My current work, Upbraiding Tradition was shortly performed this past Wednesday, starting from Parsons New School to Union Square, 14th street. I received many different reactions to the performance that day. Someone thought that we were "geishas", and we had some men come up to us and ask if our hair was real and that it was beautiful. That's exactly the reaction I hoped for. I guess, whether we're in the twenty-first century, or the Pre-Silla Dynasty, long hair will always be considered a sexual or a "beautiful" thing. I had many people at Union Square take photos of the performance, and someone actually stood behind me without me knowing, and posed for a photo. Some people thought the performance had to do with some kind of religion, which in some way it is.

In October, during the Art In Odd Places Ritual festival, Upbraiding Tradition will consist of 10 young women, and the performance will start from Avenue C. The dates and times for the performance will be October 1st and the 8th, 1pm-2pm.

20110626

Upbraiding Tradition

Performance outfit for Upbraiding Tradition

Korean silk socks, and a 12" fabric scissor that will be used for Upbraiding Tradition

Braided 5 foot wig in a Tanggi-muhlee style. All 10 performers will wear this.

This October, I will be a part of Art In Odd Places arts festival. Each year Art In Odd Places propose a theme, and hundreds of artists apply. Guest curators and the arts organization team then narrow it down to a selective group. The group consists of performance artists, sculptors, and installations. The festival happens every year from the Hudson River to Avenue C, along 14th street. This year's theme was "Ritual".

For the festival, my piece will be a ceremony which will consist of a group of ten young Korean women who have grown up within a male dominated cultural family. These women will be dressed in traditional Korean white gowns called Sang-boks and each woman's hair will be tied into a Tanggi-Muhlee braid that drags upon the ground behind her.

The performance will take place along 14^th street, beginning from Avenue C to the Hudson River, where the women will walk slowly in a single line. As they walk, each woman's Tanggi-Muhlee braid will leave behind trail of charcoal dust. Viewers of the performance may follow or trace this black stream-like path to the Hudson riverbank.

Once the ten performers reach the Hudson River, they will join the artist in the next part of the ritual. I will present each of the women with a very large pair of scissors. Using the scissors, each woman will chop off her Tanggi-Muhlee braid and place it in a large glass jar to preserve it. Then, the ten women will embark on a journey back to Avenue C, carrying their braids as trophies or relics of the past.

(Here is the website to Art In Odd Places: http://www.artinoddplaces.org/ )