Chalk on the ground

published march 3, 11

As an art student, I make it a point to visit the CA Art Exhibit whenever there are new pieces being shown. This semesters BA exhibit displayed some wonderful and stimulating work created by MSUM students that showcase a wide range of talents, mediums, and ideas.
The day I attended, one piece in particular caught my eye though, or should I say, nearly caught my foot. Maia Kim Monke-Lundberg; Maia Kim for short, had made use of 3D media to render a crime scene body chalking on a black background. This piece titled “Bullied Teen,” was filled with about 200 ceramic dots that were painted to emulate the vivid colors of the rainbow, standing out brilliantly against the dark background. Around this ceramic dot body, clearly representing the presence of death, ran a long line of white ‘chalk’ text, relaying the names of teenage homosexual males and the fate that befell them.
I wanted to talk to Maia almost instantly after seeing this work, so I tracked down her email address and asked for an interview. Maia however, proved to be a very busy person indeed. An Art education major at MSUM with an emphasis in photography and ceramics and currently student teaching at Kennedy Elementary and Carl Ben Middle school, Maia was willing to meet me in person, but I didn’t want to detract from her free time so we relied on the wonders of technology and decided on an email interview.
I personally admire those who choose an education degree because kids, in all honesty, are not my forte, so already, even without the impact of her work being the reason for the interview, I already hold a good deal of respect for Maia. While I’m sure that student teaching introduces a whole slew of new time-consuming challenges, Maia says that; “As far as my artwork (is concerned), I will continue to do my own work in my spare time…. I am looking forward to being an art teacher and an artist as well!” Maia has big plans for the future and hopes to start teaching after she graduates in May. After having spent seven weeks in Korea, she hopes to live and teach there, and aims to someday teach at a college level.
Maia recognized that her work in the BA exhibit was LGBTQAI oriented she explained that it was her reaction to the severe bullying that has been going on among so many teens throughout the country. She specifically wanted to focus on what young teens were going through that ultimately led to their suicides. Oddly enough though, “Bullies Teen” was Maia’s first big piece of artwork that was focused on the LGBT community. She stated; “I have not made artwork based on sexuality issues because I think it is a very sensitive subject that needs to be taken with caution, clarity, and seriousness. If you create a piece of artwork based on topics such as suicide and that involve the LGBT community, it should make a statement. I wanted this piece to make people stop and think. I wanted them to become aware.”
Creating public awareness about the issues is indeed what Maia’s piece did, especially given the overtone of Fargo South High’s showing of the “Laramie Project” on February 20th, which Maia attended. Like this play, Maia wanted to create public awareness. She didn’t want to persuade someone’s view on the topic; she simply wanted to inform. “I wanted to create awareness of how harmful bullying is and the consequences of such hurtful words and actions towards others.”
After attending the “Laramie Project,” Maia hopes that pieces of artwork and plays continue to enable viewers to examine their beliefs about homosexuality and to become aware and confront these issues. She ended our interview with a inspiring quote from the play; "I hope what you take from this is that as world citizens, we are charged with the responsibility of compassion towards our fellow humans, compassionate thoughts, sentiments, words and actions."