Author Description

The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982) presents a full range of work by this influential yet under-represented Korean American artist who worked in media ranging from performance, film and video, to mail art and artist books. Cha's work is an ongoing exploration off themes drawn from her personal experiences as a geographic exile, and of cultural and linguistic displacement. Her work is complex, incorporating diverse cultural references in several languages including Korean, French, and English. A native of Korea, Cha moved with her family to San Francisco in 1963 and received four degrees from Berkeley: BA (1973) in comparative literature; BA (1975), MA (1977), and MFA (1978) in Art Practice. During the last two years of her short life, she lived in New York where she created her final work, the now widely acclaimed book Dictée. A thoroughly original conception that represents a remarkable accomplishment for a young artist, Dictée combines family history, autobiography, stories of female martyrdom, poetry, and images. It touches on each of the major themes that occur in Cha's work: language, memory, displacement, and alienation. Originally published by Tanam Press and translated into Korean and Japanese, it has been newly reissued by University of California Press. Now over twenty years old, Dictée is still studied in university courses including Comparative Literature, Women's Studies, and Ethnic Studies. The Dream of the Audience will include photographs, documentation, and tape recordings of several of the artist's haunting performance works such as A Ble Wail (1975); Reveillé dans la Brume (1977); Other Things Seen, Other Things Heard (1978); and Aveugle Voix (1975). The critic Robert Atkins, who saw her perform Other Things Seen, Other Things Heard attested to the hypnotic power of Cha's performances: "I left feeling suspended between consciousness and unconsciousness, as if I had been dreaming someone else's dream." In describing this