Minh Anh Vo ‘25
Visual Arts: This semester I wanted to expand on how I see human bodies. To me, human bodies flow into one another, blurring the lines between flesh and form. My encaustic and oil paint combination expresses the idea that these figures lack clear boundaries, as if these bodies are amorphous, constantly evolving and transforming with no fixed identity. The oil paint disperses as the wax melts, creating distorted and warped features that speak to the perception of one's body as fluid and fragmented. The complex tensions between the desire to inhabit a singular body and the overwhelming sensation of ever-changing is seen in the composition of this piece. Bodies are not only biological entities but emotional and psychological—capable of being amorphous in the mind's eye.
The mini oil paintings are a fusion of organic bodies with botanical forms to examine the boundaries between human and nature. Flesh and Fruit is about mutation, hybridity, and the blurred line between sweetness and unease. I wanted to play with realism and surrealism in a playful but grotesque way.
Architecture: Growing up in Saigon and attending Blair as an international student, I experience the stark contrasts between a rapidly developing city and the serene suburbs of New Jersey. Flying back and forth from both places makes Vietnam's development more apparent to me. I remember leaving for my freshman year—our national landmark was the Bitexco Tower. But by the time I was a sophomore, it was Landmark 81. Currently, Vietnam's landmark is the Bason Bridge. The city was growing alongside me, each building marking an important milestone, an important achievement.
However, as Vietnam continues to rapidly develop in an attempt to compete with the Western world, our cultural identity is corroded, and buildings now mirror Western design. Buildings are now cubicle, sterile, and not Vietnamese. I believe that the buildings we create should mirror those who live in them; they should meet the needs of locals. The design ethos of a building should be compatible with its citizens and coexist with its surroundings. This poses the questions: What makes design Vietnamese design? How does something possess or reflect cultural identity? These questions are the guiding pillars of my work. My craft is an attempt to not only answer these questions but to discover Vietnam's identity through design in new, innovative ways.
