Mina Cheon

{{Infobox person

| image = Mina Cheon NYC.jpg

| alt = Mina Cheon

| name = Mina Cheon

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|7|31}}

| birth_place = Seoul, South Korea

| alma_mater = Ewha Womans University,
Maryland Institute College of Art,
University of Maryland
European Graduate School

| known_for =

| module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto|child=yes

|hangul = %천민정

|hanja =

}}

Mina Cheon (born 1973) is a Korean American new media artist, scholar, and educator. Since 1997, she has been living between Baltimore, New York, and Seoul.

Personal life and education

Cheon was born in Seoul, South Korea.{{citation|url=http://www.retrieverweekly.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=5792&format=html|last=Roper|first=Derek|date=September 20, 2010|accessdate=17 September 2011|title=Mina Cheon speaks of her multicultural artistic pursuits|periodical=The Retriever Weekly}} Being the daughter of a South Korean diplomat and cultural attache, she grew up in the cities of Seoul, New York, Copenhagen, and Ottawa.{{citation|url=http://iamkoreanamerican.com/2010/03/08/mina-cheon/|last=Cheon|first=Mina|date=March 25, 2011|accessdate=17 April 2012|title=iamkoreanamerican}}

She received a BFA in painting from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, an MFA in painting from Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), an MFA in imaging digital arts from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). and a PhD in philosophy of media and communications from the European Graduate School, European University for Interdisciplinary Studies, Switzerland in 2008.

She is currently on the faculty of Maryland Institute College of Art.{{citation|chapter-url=http://www.mica.edu/About_MICA/People/Faculty/Faculty_List_by_Last_Name/Mina_Cheon.html|publisher=Maryland Institute College of Art|title=Faculty: Art History, Theory, Criticism, Foundation, Interactive Media & Liberal Arts Programs & Minors|chapter=Mina Cheon|accessdate=17 September 2011}} She is married to architect Gabriel Kroiz. After marrying, Cheon converted to Judaism.{{cite news |date=2012-06-10 |work=The Baltimore Sun |author=Tim Smith |title=Art, media, politics collide in polipop |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/263448244/?match=1&terms=%22Mina%20Cheon%22 |page=5 |location=Baltimore, USA }} They have two children.{{cite news |date=2007-04-08 |work=The Baltimore Sun |author=Stephanie Shapiro |title=In designs, architect recycles, reuses, rethinks |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/248521333/?match=1&terms=%22Mina%20Cheon%22 |page=7 |location=Baltimore, USA }}

Teaching

One of Cheon's educational contributions has been the international art program and exchange that she has led with architect, Gabriel Kroiz, and between American and Korean art, architecture, and design students. She has directed international art education since 2004, working with universities in Seoul such as Hongik University, Korea National University of Arts, and with Ewha Womans University in 2010, taking students from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA){{cite news |date=2007-04-08 |work=The Baltimore Sun |author=Stephanie Shapiro |title=In designs, architect recycles, reuses, rethinks |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/248521333/?match=1&terms=%22Mina%20Cheon%22 |page=7 |location=Baltimore, USA }} and Morgan State University to South Korea.{{citation|url=http://www.minacheon.com/micakorea.html|title=International and Intercultural Education for Artists and Designers|publisher=MinaCheon|accessdate=17 September 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514035704/http://www.minacheon.com/micakorea.html|archivedate=May 14, 2012}} Cheon expanded her teaching horizons from just art to teaching in the departments of Foundation; Art History; Language, Literature, and Culture; and Interactive Media. She was also the founder and director of the summer study abroad program MICA Korea that was held each summer in Seoul, Korea between 2004 and 2007.{{cite web|last1=Institute|first1=Maryland Art|title=Mina Cheon|url=https://www.mica.edu/About_MICA/People/Faculty/Faculty_List_by_Last_Name/Mina_Cheon.html|website=mica.edu|publisher=Maryland Institute College of Art|accessdate=24 February 2017}}

Exhibitions

Cheon's solo exhibitions include:

"Happy North Korean Children" at Trunk Gallery, Seoul{{citation |url=http://www.trunkgallery.com/?p=1565|title=Happy North Korean Children at Trunk Gallery, Seoul|publisher=Trunk Gallery|accessdate=1 August 2014}}
"Choco-Pie Propaganda" at Ethan Cohen New York Gallery{{citation |url=http://www.ecfa.com/#!chocopie-propaganda/c252|title=Choco-Pie Propaganda at Ethan Cohen New York|publisher=Ethan Cohen New York|accessdate=22 November 2013}}
"POLIPOP: Political Pop Art" at Sungkok Art Museum,{{citation|url=http://www.sungkokmuseum.com/?page_id=4#|title=Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea |publisher=Sungkok Art Museum|accessdate=10 January 2012}} Seoul, Korea (2012) includes painting, new media art, interactive media, installation art, and performance art work.
"Polipop and Paintings"{{citation|url=http://www.mdartplace.org/about/news/2012/minacheon.html|title=Polipop and Paintings at Maryland Art Place|publisher=Maryland Art Place|accessdate=15 April 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120804110055/http://www.mdartplace.org/about/news/2012/minacheon.html|archivedate=August 4, 2012}} at the Maryland Art Place{{citation|url=http://www.mdartplace.org/|title=Maryland Art Place|publisher=Maryland Art Place|accessdate=15 April 2012}} Baltimore, Maryland
"Groundless" at Lance Fung Gallery, New York, (2002){{citation|url=http://www.undo.net/it/mostra/9900|title=Groundless at Lance Fung Gallery|publisher=Jessica Higgins|accessdate=12 October 2002}}
"Dizz/placement" at Insa Art Space, Art Council, Seoul, Korea
"Addressing Dolls" at C.Grimalids Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland (named as "Best Solo Exhibition" by City Paper){{citation|date=September 17, 2008|accessdate=17 September 2011|url=http://www2.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=16698|title=Best Solo Show: Mina Cheon Addressing Dolls At C. Grimaldis Gallery|periodical=Baltimore City Paper}}{{citation|url=http://www2.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=15492|title=Mina Cheon: Addressing Dolls: At C. Grimaldis Gallery Through March 29|first=Kate|last=Noonan|date=March 26, 2008|accessdate=17 September 2011|periodical=Baltimore City Paper}}{{citation|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2008/03/15/dolls-reflects-drama-in-korea/|periodical=The Baltimore Sun|title='Dolls' reflects drama in Korea|last=McNatt|first=Glenn|date=March 15, 2008|access-date=17 September 2011}}{{citation|url=https://www.voakorea.com/a/a-35-2008-03-24-voa25-91340564/1317438.html|publisher=Voice of America|title=전시회 '인형을 통해 말하다'; 인형으로 남북한의 현실 표현 – 천민정 교수|date=March 24, 2008|access-date=17 September 2011}}

Diamonds Light Baltimore is a collaborative project built by Mina Cheon and Gabriel Kroiz composed of fifteen unique diamond shaped sculptures of different shapes and sizes.{{cite news |date=2016-01-01 |work=The Baltimore Sun |author=Wesley Case |title=Light It Up |url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/263767975/?match=1&terms=%22Mina%20Cheon%22 |page=12 |location=Baltimore, USA }} These sculptures are large enough for the audience to walk inside and through it. The diamond sculptures are made of LED lights to highlight the unique shape of the object.{{cite web|last1=Richardson|first1=Kevin|title=Light City Baltimore|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/light-city-baltimore/bal-light-city-baltimore-diamonds-light-baltimore-story-20160322-story.html|work=The Baltimore Sun|accessdate=1 March 2017}}

On February 23, 2012, "Magic and Media," a New Media Caucus-sponsored panel, was held at the College Art Association 100th Annual Conference in Los Angeles. Cheon chaired the panel with Lisa Paul Streitfeld. The panel focused on the age of new media culture like reality TV shows, horror flicks, the re-creations of religious cults, online spiritual healing, and pop-star worship.

On June 30, 2021, Cheon held an artist talk with The Korean Society in New York City, where she had an exhibition of her art intended to demonstrate the unification and peace that both Koreas are seeking. As a global activism artist, Cheon’s projects to unite both Koreas include making a pair of sneakers where the flag of North Korea is drawn on one shoe, and on the other, the flag of South Korea is drawn. Her statement for this is that you need two feet to move forward; therefore, Koreans can’t move forward without leaving the other country behind.

Writing

=Books=

Shamanism + Cyberspace (2009) Atropos Press, New York and Dresden{{ISBN|0-9825309-5-1}})
Combat: Sports and Military (2010) Co-authored with G Kroiz, Culture Bank Publishing, Seoul, South Korea {{ISBN|978-89-964858-0-3}}

=Articles=

"The Konglish Critique" in Beyond Critique (2013), co-authored with G Kroiz, edited by Susan Waters-Eller and Joseph J. Basile. Maisonneuve Press, College Park, MD {{ISBN|9780944624500}})
"Magic and Media" in Media-N: Journal of the New Media Caucus (2012) Media-N, NMC, USA; {{issn|2159-6891}}) - Cheon's chaired panel

Her current artistic research involves delving into racism in published visual arts encompassing Asian nations that are found in images and popular culture.{{cite web|url=https://www.mica.edu/About_MICA/People/Faculty/Faculty_List_by_Last_Name/Mina_Cheon.html|title=People: Mina Cheon|work=Maryland Institute College of Art|access-date=March 18, 2018}}{{Better source needed|date=January 2019}}