Haetae (mohawk)

Skip to main content
Ⓒ 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.
Collections

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
Mysterious Echo
Mysterious Echo
Hang Sung Lee
Date: 1961
Medium: Color linoleum cut
Object number: 1984.206
Photograph by John Bentham.
Sketchbook [Mohawk Valley]
William C. Palmer
Date: 1953
Medium: Crayon and graphite on paper
Object number: WCP.XXX.32
Photo by John Bentham.
Three-panel screen
Date: late 19th century
Medium: Ink, crayon and chalk on paper, mounted on silk
Object number: 1993.24
Photograph by David Revette.
Owl effigy jar
Date: c. 1875-1900
Medium: Terracotta with paint
Object number: 1984.530
Hunting Dog with Bird
Hunting Dog with Bird
Flora Winegar Brigham
Date: c. 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Object number: 1997.10.6
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of artist. Photo by Pete Mauney. For educational purposes only…
Untitled
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2017
Medium: Glazed ceramic and repurposed ceramic figurines
Object number: 2018.5
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Pho…
Artifice
Asad Faulwell
Date: 2022
Medium: Acrylic, pins and photo collage on canvas
Object number: 2022.7
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. For educational purposes only.
IF I RULED THE WORLD
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2019
Medium: Digital print, silkscreen, and collage, with gloss varnish, in custom-color frame
Object number: 2020.3.1
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. For educational purposes only.
I WANNA GIVE YOU DEVOTION
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2019
Medium: Digital print, silkscreen, and collage, with gloss varnish, in custom-color frame
Object number: 2020.3.2
Photograph by John Bentham.
Sketchbook [Canada]
William C. Palmer
Date: 1938
Medium: Ink and graphite on paper
Object number: WCP.XXX.38
Photograph by John Bentham.
Sketchbook [Art Students League]
William C. Palmer
Date: 1925-26
Medium: Graphite, crayon, watercolor and ink on paper
Object number: WCP.XXX.23
Photograph by John Bentham.
Sketchbook
William C. Palmer
Date: c. 1940
Medium: Ink, wash, and graphite on paper
Object number: WCP.XXX.15