I’ve been following James Jean for a few years now. The first time I discovered his work was when I saw the cover for Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy. Something about the style was so distinct, dark, and alluring – I fell in love with it almost immediately. I was disappointed, of course, when I realized that he was only the cover artist and didn’t draw the comics himself.
This segued into me trying to find more of his work. I found out he was also the cover artist for Fables. If I’m being completely honest, I almost started collecting the series just to have his artwork. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t.)
In 2014, James Jean started releasing limited edition prints. From what I understand, he had taken a break and hadn’t released anything for a few years. During this time, I had finally graduated and landed my first “big girl” job. This started my journey of collecting artwork.
Five years later, my collection is pretty much just a James Jean shrine. I’ve got so many pieces that I’ve purchased from him (some are here in Boston, the remaining in the Bay Area), but almost nowhere to really display them! Most of my friends know me as a James Jean fanatic. I would go to his group exhibits in California, book signings, etc. I think it’s easy to say that I’m a bit obsessed.
When he announced this year that he was doing a solo exhibition, I immediately wanted to go. He was debuting a lot of new pieces no one had ever seen before and I wasn’t sure if he would be doing any of them in the future. But the idea of going to South Korea seemed outlandish and over top. After all, I had just uprooted my life and moved across the country.
Over a span of a few months (when he first announced it, to the opening day, etc.), I would send articles and images of his show to my best friend, Julie. We constantly joked about making the dive and doing a girl’s trip to Korea. And then, one day, we just said, “… let’s do it?”
People might think I’m fucking crazy for making a trip around the world to see an artist (and to an extent, they’re probably right), but I knew I had to take this chance. He rarely did solo shows, especially with so many new pieces, and I didn’t know when I would have the opportunity to do this ever again.
So we pulled the trigger.
We arrived on a Tuesday, towards the end of the show’s run. I accidentally led me and Julie to the wrong museum (lol), but the actual museum was across the street so things turned out ok in the end.
We weren’t allowed to take photos with anything aside from our phones, so excuse the quality of my photos!
It was kind of surreal, being able to see so much of his work (old and new) up close.
And then we finally came across the piece I had been waiting for. A few months ago, Jean had posted about his piece The Descendent.
The Descendent is forever falling through the sky. As long as he is dreaming, he is safe, his journey through the atmosphere softened and buoyed by the petals of giant flowers. There is no ground, just an endless sky projecting from his imagination. But if he wakes up, he will plunge into the earth and faceplant into reality. He is drifting in an everlasting dreamfall. He is not Asian enough for Asia, and not American enough for America. So, he is just floating in between, a cultural castaway.
Cultural identity is always something I have struggled with. I attended a predominantly white school from elementary school to high school. Kids made fun of me for being “different.” They mocked any and all of the dishes my parents prepared for me for lunch for being “weird” or “gross.” They made fun of my last name. They made fun of my parents for not speaking perfect, non-accented English.
When they found out I spoke Vietnamese, they’d always ask me to say something – anything – like it was some kind of party trick. I was an outsider. Even with extended family I felt like I was always the odd one out. My parents never sent me (or my sister) to Vietnamese school, so we never learned to read or write in Vietnamese. Ironically, my dad told me they never sent us because they wanted to make sure that we would assimilate with our peers.
When spoken to, I can understand the mother tongue, but my vocabulary is very limited and elementary. People used to (and still do) make fun of my shitty inability to speak/read/write Vietnamese and constantly tell my parents (my mom especially) that it’s sad I can’t speak/read/write Vietnamese and how sad it is that I’ve lost touch with my roots. They have no problem saying this with me standing within earshot (sometimes to my face), where I have to act the part of the ignorant first-generation immigrant kid, as if I don’t understand them, and where I have to smile politely in response.
It didn’t really help that I was painfully shy growing up either. I was just a girl who spent too much time drawing, reading, and finding solace in my room, on my computer, alone.
Thankfully I was able to find a great group of friends by the time I reached high school, but those formative years were incredibly painful and are still hard for me to think about, even now. Things changed for the better once I got to college, where I was surrounded by people just like me – people who had endured the same experiences and circumstances, who were made fun of and bullied as kids, or treated differently. For once in my life, I wasn’t embarrassed to be Asian, Vietnamese, a first-generation immigrant. For once in my life, I wasn’t embarrassed to actually be me.
Something about seeing The Descendent in person, being dwarfed by its size, and knowing the story behind it, moved me in such a way that I found myself tearing up. Feelings I thought I had resolved and made peace with years ago found their way back to me, forming a hard lump in my throat.
It was hard to turn away.
One of my favorite things to do at a museum is to study paintings closely. I get as close as I’m possibly allowed to and study every line texture, every clump of oil or acrylic paint, every brush stroke. I love being able to see every movement that the artist makes. You can tell which parts have been painted quickly and which parts they might have painted more delicately.
The Bathers is probably one of my favorite new pieces. I hope he makes an official, limited edition print of it soon.
Adrift has always been one of my favorites. I snatched this print as soon as he released it a few years ago. Finally being able to see it in person (at its actual size!) was breathtaking.
I love his usage of color.
Once we finished going through the gallery, we were able to go to the museum shop, which was displaying a lot of James Jean merchandise. There were art prints, limited edition scarves, pins, and more. I was really tempted to buy everything in my path, but I had to calm myself down and think about what I would REALISTICALLY need.
I ended up purchasing an art book and two scarves featuring The Descendent.
Unfortunately the scarf with The Bathers print was sold out, so I couldn’t purchase that. I’ve been browsing listings online to see if I can get it, but they seem to be going for ~$140.00 USD. Not sure if I want to drop the money on that or if I want or need the scarf THAT badly.
(The answer is probably no.)
Overall seeing Eternal Journey was a once in a lifetime experience. I’m really glad that Julie and I were able to go, especially before it ended on September 1st. Art has always been a huge fixture in my life and being able to experience one of my favorite artist’s exhibitions was nothing short of amazing.
