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Born and raised in Busan, Korea, Kate Bae is an immigrant artist and independent curator based in New York City. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, both in painting. Bae is a founder of Women’s Cactus for the Arts, a collective of women artists working in decorative manner that debuted in the SPRING/BREAK Art show 2020, and a member of Fictional Arts Collective (FAC). She has exhibited nationally and internationally including solo shows at the Sunroom Project Space in Wave Hill, Bronx, NY and the Deiglan Gallery in Akureyri, Iceland. Bae is a recipient of Ora Lerman Trust Grant, 2018 Creative Capital Professional Development Program and the 2017 NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. She has been an artist in residence at the Golden Foundation, SÍM Seljavegur, the Studios at Mass MoCA, Trestle Gallery, the Wassaic Project, Chashama and the Serlachius-museot, among others. She is a current fellow at the 2020/2021 Lower East Side Printshop Keyholder Residency.
Published on April 1st 2021. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
I spent January and February of 2020 in Mänttä, Finland, attending Serlachius Museum Residency. I decided for the first time I let my expectation completely drop and not to pressure myself to produce anything. I soaked into the beauty of Finnish nature, and I had a few moments of absolute stillness and awareness; it was an amazing experience. I had many ideas flow into my brain but the one I got most excited for was screen-printing. I wanted to screen print patterns and icons in my peeled acrylic paint sheet. I would start in T-shirt form; allowing my work to expand its vocabulary and boundary without restriction on the content. And I got an opportunity to curate in Spring/Break Art Show, so I decided to showcase the prototypes in New York. I felt really pressured all of sudden but with clear direction and excitement it was not a problem even though I didn’t have any printmaking experience. I haven’t felt like that for years, and it affected everything about my art practice.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
So, the pandemic happened as soon as the Spring/Break Art Show was over, in mid-March of 2020. I was insanely busy until then, and I was so exhausted. Everyone started to fear the coronavirus, and stayed home. I needed the break so I welcomed the timing and rested until the end of the month. I live in tiny place with two dogs so making art at home seemed impossible and I didn’t have desire either. My new residency would start in April so I wasn’t worried not producing any work. But of course, everything got cancelled and for the month of April, I was slowly sinking into a couch potato and binging on Netflix. Suddenly everything came to a complete stop. Being lazy was really great in the beginning but I slipped into depression, and over-eating and gaining weight; it was so uninspiring. I’d see everyone producing so much artwork and amazing, but I just simply could not bring myself to make any work. The future seemed so bleak – I guess not knowing what will happen next was the biggest fear factor then.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Because I got so lazy, I decided to get a full-time job to pull me out of the couch. I was lucky to get one as a 2020 census CSR. I went to the office in Time Square from Monday to Friday. The transition to a full-time corporate job was super challenging; I wanted to quit on the day 1. Because of coronavirus and me being an Asian woman, I would get harassed practically every day going into work. It really was not easy hearing how I am the virus and how I should go back to China. I even got punched in my face by a random black man (https://nextshark.com/bryant-park-korean-american-artist-punched-nyc/). Pandemic had everyone on edge; I would watch Black Lives Matter protest as I walk home from work. Manhattan was all boarded up, looters were breaking the store windows. Everything felt so unprecedented and historic. I relied on zoom meetings and phone conversations to keep my head straight; the people I met in this new job was so supportive.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Ignore fear, and start anything. If that’s difficult, just talk about ideas with friends. Decide on an idea/project and hold each other accountable. That actually helped me a lot. I have to say the pandemic deeply affected me psychologically – I was forced to recognize that I am a woman of color, and I will always be seen as an Asian. I never really thought of myself that way, but I still get harassed often and they tell me to go back to China because I am spreading the virus. I am somewhat torn in responding to these people nicely because they have been all black men and women in their 20’s, 30’s or 40’s; no exception. So far, no other racial groups have harassed me. This tells me how US has a long way to go in terms of prejudice and education. I think about my role and responsibility as an artist, and keeping my spirit resilient. In grander scheme it is all learning experience. Can I make the best out of the worst situation? There is always a lesson that can be learn.
What have your learned about yourself as an artist this year?
I quit the census job at the end of July because I wanted to start working on my art again. Luckily, I got the Keyholder Fellowship at the Lower East Side Printshop residency in New York and Artist-in-Vacancy residency in Newburgh, NY so I have a studio to go to. For six months I have not made any artwork and I think it is about time to start again. It has not been easy to jump start yet, but I know I will soon. For the Artist-in-Vacancy I will be collaborating with a girl I met during the census job. It will be my first collaboration with a musician and I am really excited. I can finally continue what I imagined to do in the beginning of the year now. I am learning a lot about myself as a person and an artist too, mostly about fear, depression, motivation, racism and so on. I think this really is a turning point for me to think bigger. I am going to squash my doubts (if I can do any) and just do it.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
I spent January and February of 2020 in Mänttä, Finland, attending Serlachius Museum Residency. I decided for the first time I let my expectation completely drop and not to pressure myself to produce anything. I soaked into the beauty of Finnish nature, and I had a few moments of absolute stillness and awareness; it was an amazing experience. I had many ideas flow into my brain but the one I got most excited for was screen-printing. I wanted to screen print patterns and icons in my peeled acrylic paint sheet. I would start in T-shirt form; allowing my work to expand its vocabulary and boundary without restriction on the content. And I got an opportunity to curate in Spring/Break Art Show, so I decided to showcase the prototypes in New York. I felt really pressured all of sudden but with clear direction and excitement it was not a problem even though I didn’t have any printmaking experience. I haven’t felt like that for years, and it affected everything about my art practice.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
So, the pandemic happened as soon as the Spring/Break Art Show was over, in mid-March of 2020. I was insanely busy until then, and I was so exhausted. Everyone started to fear the coronavirus, and stayed home. I needed the break so I welcomed the timing and rested until the end of the month. I live in tiny place with two dogs so making art at home seemed impossible and I didn’t have desire either. My new residency would start in April so I wasn’t worried not producing any work. But of course, everything got cancelled and for the month of April, I was slowly sinking into a couch potato and binging on Netflix. Suddenly everything came to a complete stop. Being lazy was really great in the beginning but I slipped into depression, and over-eating and gaining weight; it was so uninspiring. I’d see everyone producing so much artwork and amazing, but I just simply could not bring myself to make any work. The future seemed so bleak – I guess not knowing what will happen next was the biggest fear factor then.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Because I got so lazy, I decided to get a full-time job to pull me out of the couch. I was lucky to get one as a 2020 census CSR. I went to the office in Time Square from Monday to Friday. The transition to a full-time corporate job was super challenging; I wanted to quit on the day 1. Because of coronavirus and me being an Asian woman, I would get harassed practically every day going into work. It really was not easy hearing how I am the virus and how I should go back to China. I even got punched in my face by a random black man (https://nextshark.com/bryant-park-korean-american-artist-punched-nyc/). Pandemic had everyone on edge; I would watch Black Lives Matter protest as I walk home from work. Manhattan was all boarded up, looters were breaking the store windows. Everything felt so unprecedented and historic. I relied on zoom meetings and phone conversations to keep my head straight; the people I met in this new job was so supportive.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Ignore fear, and start anything. If that’s difficult, just talk about ideas with friends. Decide on an idea/project and hold each other accountable. That actually helped me a lot. I have to say the pandemic deeply affected me psychologically – I was forced to recognize that I am a woman of color, and I will always be seen as an Asian. I never really thought of myself that way, but I still get harassed often and they tell me to go back to China because I am spreading the virus. I am somewhat torn in responding to these people nicely because they have been all black men and women in their 20’s, 30’s or 40’s; no exception. So far, no other racial groups have harassed me. This tells me how US has a long way to go in terms of prejudice and education. I think about my role and responsibility as an artist, and keeping my spirit resilient. In grander scheme it is all learning experience. Can I make the best out of the worst situation? There is always a lesson that can be learn.
What have your learned about yourself as an artist this year?
I quit the census job at the end of July because I wanted to start working on my art again. Luckily, I got the Keyholder Fellowship at the Lower East Side Printshop residency in New York and Artist-in-Vacancy residency in Newburgh, NY so I have a studio to go to. For six months I have not made any artwork and I think it is about time to start again. It has not been easy to jump start yet, but I know I will soon. For the Artist-in-Vacancy I will be collaborating with a girl I met during the census job. It will be my first collaboration with a musician and I am really excited. I can finally continue what I imagined to do in the beginning of the year now. I am learning a lot about myself as a person and an artist too, mostly about fear, depression, motivation, racism and so on. I think this really is a turning point for me to think bigger. I am going to squash my doubts (if I can do any) and just do it.
Find Kate Bae on Instagram
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