All-Community Book Reading Experience: Thi Bui Presents “The Best We Could Do…”
In case you missed them, read Professor Jeanette Eberhardy’s introductory words for Thi Bui and her book The Best We Could Do.
My name is Jeanette Eberhardy. I serve as MassArt Program Coordinator for the 1st year writing where we explore the relationship between thinking, making, and writing that is needed for artists’ growth. I am also the curator for our annual show Why I Write. Why I Create. that offers intimate portrayals on learning to deliver truths through art.
Tonight is a night to celebrate our shared respect for the craft of storytelling—in all the wondrous ways that we explore stories through art, writing, and design.
Last year when I was feeling overwhelmed by the news around us, I found an elegant graphic essay by Thi Bui titled “Precious Time” published after the U.S. presidential elections by PEN, the International Writers Forum. I recognized myself in that essay—feeling small in the large universe, but still remembering that my actions matter. The essay “Precious Time” was my first introduction to tonight’s guest speaker Thi Bui. The moment I encountered that essay, I understood that Thi Bui has important things to teach me about empathy—the gateway into our genuine connection with each other.
Artists have always invited us to deepen our understanding of empathy through their stories. Many of us think the concept of empathy was first developed by psychologists. Certainly psychologists use this concept in their work today, but empathy began with artists. Author Rachel Corbett traces the development of empathy between the sculptor Rodin and the poet Rilke. Rodin taught Rilke about the process of “seeing into” animals, flowers, then humans. Artists have always been our teachers in penetrating the inner most reality of an experience.
Today we need to be infused with fresh perspectives on empathy from our artists—artist like Thi Bui. Marc Holland, Chairperson for Studio Foundation, will introduce Thi Bui for her presentation. Then we are going to try something a little different after Thi Bui’s presentation. Instead of a traditional Question and Answer session, we invited members of our MassArt community to reflect on their connection to Thi Bui’s story. From Studio Foundation, Jarrett Min Davis and Juan Omaza will join the panel discussion. From Liberal Arts, Marika Preziuso and Lisong Liu will join us. And from Public Safety we have Khue Nguyen and Enrique Rosa with us. We ask you to save questions and answers for after the program. We will be available to speak with you individually.
Soon-Mi Yoo, Professor and Chairperson for Film and Video, will moderate our panel. Soon-Mi’s documentary, ssitkim: talking to the dead, is based on a significant but little known aspect of the Vietnam War: the role of 320,000 Korean soldiers who fought for the U.S. The film investigates the layers of personal and historical memory by reexamining the audio-visual evidence of history. Hidden connections not evident in the official historical narrative slowly emerge. Thank you Soon-Mi for sharing your documentary with our writing classes. In our classes next week, we will compare the impact of approaches to storytelling: graphic memoir and film/documentary—and the power of interweaving personal & extended family histories with geo-political history.
Now, please allow me a moment to say thank you to those who helped us to realize this evening’s program. Thank you to Admissions for saying yes and financially supporting our efforts. Thank you to our partners in Liberal Arts, Studio Foundation, the Library, CACP (The Center for Art and Community Partners), and Academic Affairs.
Thank you to Candis Hilton our Event Coordinator. Candis is the person who welcomed you at the door tonight.
And a special thank you to Lin Haire-Sargeant, Chairperson for Liberal Arts, who continues to whisper in my ear: keep dreaming and pursuing possibilities for our learning together as a community.
To begin this evening, we invited MassArt President David Nelson to give the Welcome Address. In the short time that I have known our president, I have learned that like Thi Bui, he has some things to teach me about empathy. We look to our leaders to learn how to move from passive observation to compassionate response so that we as artists may continue to learn how to “see” on our pathways to mastery of our intended work.
Now, please welcome President David Nelson.