Maggie Lee: Hi, I'm Maggie Lee. I made this film called Mommy, and it's based off of my family.
Narrator: Lee began the film after her mother, a Taiwanese immigrant, died unexpectedly. Parts of the film, which is divided into chapters, are playing in the two sculptural installations nearby. One monitor screens the chapters of the film that center on the artist. The other focuses on her mother. Lee says that each installation offers a kind of window into a character’s life.
Maggie Lee: I try not to have it look directly like the video, because the video is there for someone to watch, and I'm just creating a scene that is another layer of the chapter that relates, but is not present in the film.
My mother's viewing installation is basically a display case, mixing ideas of the old world, coming from Taiwan, and the new world, coming to the U.S. The display case is also a Buddhist altar where you can find small objects. Things that my mother would like, but also personalized collages of family photos.
My mom worked so hard her whole life, and always wanted the best, and gave me the best, and was also really worried that I wanted to be an artist. So this is a way where museum visitors can come to see my mom's altar, but also see my life as an artist now.
Narrator: To hear about the installation that Lee made to represent herself, please tap the button on your screen.
