1. Art in the Legislature UM Ann Arbor Nominee: Bryan Wilson

    Mark Rivett posted May 10, 2022

    On May 17th, 2022 Bryan Wilson was selected as an Art in the Legislator winner.

    Secrets

    Secrets

    Secrets

    The Art in the Legislature Program displays and celebrates the work of excellent student artists from Michigan’s 15 public universities each year, and their respective works are displayed in the Anderson House Office Building, or the Binsfeld Senate Building, for one year.

    Artist Statement:

    The piece is titled “Secrets” it is an exploration of gossip. Gossip is something that is often looked down upon yet we find ourselves doing so often and so intrigued to be a part of, almost like a guilty pleasure. The skeleton in this image is the “gossiper” spreading information to the subject. The subject is also receiving information from another end, being the phone. Similar to the skeleton, anyone could be on the other side of the phone giving any information. This painting explores the moral code of gossip. What makes it wrong and why do we do it?


  2. Art in the Legislature UM Ann Arbor Nominee: Mellisa Lee

    Mark Rivett posted
    Reinterpreting the Paj Ntaub (story cloth): A Retrospectrum From a Hmong-American

    Reinterpreting the Paj Ntaub (story cloth): A Retrospectrum From a Hmong-American

    Reinterpreting the Paj Ntaub (story cloth): A Retrospectrum From a Hmong-American

    The Art in the Legislature Program displays and celebrates the work of excellent student artists from Michigan’s 15 public universities each year, and their respective works are displayed in the Anderson House Office Building, or the Binsfeld Senate Building, for one year.

    Artist Statement:

    Mellisa Lee

    Mellisa Lee

    The Hmong are an ethnic minority group indigenous to various hill tribes in Southeast Asia. Since the American CIA’s Secret War in Laos—which took place within the Vietnam War, the Hmong have been among one of the most recent Asian ethnic groups to immigrate to America. This project aims to highlight the untold histories of the Hmong and their journey to establish a life in America, particularly under policies that have disproportionately put the Hmong in economic insecurity. My painting is largely based on traditional Hmong story cloths called—Paj Ntaub (pahn-dau), which are embroidered records of the Hmong people’s history of war, persecution, genocide, and immigration. Using oil paint, I reinterpret what the story cloth would look like for future Hmong-Americans like myself, as a way to create visibility for the Hmong within the larger Asian American diaspora. Especially during a time where Asian American representation is extremely vital, as a result of anti-Asian hate crimes and xenophobia.


  3. Art in the Legislature UM Ann Arbor Nominee: Shannon Zheng

    Mark Rivett posted

    On May 17th, 2022 Shannon Zheng was selected as an Art in the Legislator winner.

    American Peony

    American Peony

    American Peony

    The Art in the Legislature Program displays and celebrates the work of excellent student artists from Michigan’s 15 public universities each year, and their respective works are displayed in the Anderson House Office Building, or the Binsfeld Senate Building, for one year.

    Artist Statement:

    Shannon Zheng

    When the “Asian culture” simulacrum is prioritized over the reality of racialized violence against Asian-presenting femme bodies, we become the absent referent. To those who read this as a representation of what it means to be Asian-American, this painting suffers, existing in a perpetual hyperreality of scrambling to represent a false racial monolith.