Citizenship Project

Authors

  • Anh-Thuy Nguyen
  • Craig Baron

Abstract

Citizenship Project, a personal interpretation of the American naturalization process, was conceptualized as Nguyen studied for her own citizenship exam. This interactive installation comprises multiple pieces: Civics Questions (serigraphs), Homework (three-channel HD video with sound), ID Cards (dye-sublimation prints), and office furniture, creating a single participatory work of art. Citizenship Project explores the following questions:

  • Does memorizing answers for 100 questions help one to earn status as a US citizen?
  • Does speaking English qualify one to gain full membership in America?
  • Who will pass the test and who will fail it—US-born citizens or the immigrants?

Author Biographies

Anh-Thuy Nguyen

Nguyen is a multi-media/transdisciplinary artist, whose work spans from photography and video to installation and performance art. Using her personal history as a resource, Nguyen’s work delves deeply into conflicting emotions, feelings, and thoughts, through the portrayal of often strikingly strange yet hauntingly beautiful visual manifestations of gain and loss. She received a BFA in Photography from the University of Arizona and a MFA in Photography/Video from Southern Methodist University. Nguyen has exhibited and taught photography, painting, linoleum, performance art, and concept-driven workshops nationally and internationally. Find her Website here.

Craig Baron

Baron has been a graphic designer and a high school art and graphic design teacher for 18 years, prior to enrolling in the Master of Fine Arts program at Oklahoma State University. Baron’s work in collaboration with Anh-Thuy Nguyen has been exhibited across the US, and most recently at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Baron’s personal interests focus on the history of wood type typography and Mexican folk art.

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Published

2018-08-31

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2018): Languaging as Refuge: Practice Meets Theory

Section

What is the ‘Rule of Law’?

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