Haetae (mohawk)

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Ⓒ Jiha Moon. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Cli…
Haetae (mohawk)
Ⓒ Jiha Moon. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY.
Artist/Maker (American, born South Korea, 1973)
Date2022
MediumStoneware with underglaze and glaze
DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 × 9 × 8 1/2 in. (39.4 × 22.9 × 21.6 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, William G. Roehrick '34 Art Acquisition and Preservation Fund
Object number2022.18
On view
DescriptionBorn in Korea and now based in Atlanta, Georgia, Jiha Moon mines her own experience, North American ideas of “foreignness,” and “high” and “low” culture in the creation of her artwork. Both a vessel and a creature, Haetae (mohawk) is playful and vaguely threatening, with its broad, sharp-toothed smile, looped yellow tie, and mandu (Korean dumpling) arms and mohawk. The work is decorated with popular imagery drawn from mass culture, such as peach emojis, combined with traditional Korean iconography, like fungi and haetae–a fantastical beast that is prevalent in the mythology of East Asia, and particularly Korea. Like the Chinese ‘foo dog’, the haetae is a protective and powerful beast, known for its ability to judge right from wrong. Usually described as a combination of a dog, lion, and tiger, Moon’s ceramic creature is decorated with three depictions of haetae, as well as a painted red bird and a life-size clay banana skin. Haetae (mohawk) is whimsical with a cartoonish flair, while also raising questions about cross-cultural influence, (mis)understanding, and appropriation.
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Additional Details

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance 2022: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by purchase from the Derek Eller Gallery
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