Yoon Chung Han: Ambassador of Art, Technology and Design

SJSU Associate Professor of Graphic Design Yoon Chung Han (right) will be exhibiting work created by San José residents who participated in her 3D printing workshops earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Yoon Chung Han.

Though Han’s career spans interaction design, multimedia art, data visualization, sonification and mobile user experience design, the connective tissue that unites her projects is a desire to use digital art to bring communities together.

“The big umbrella is community-based art from San José,” said Han, who was recently named a 2023 Creative Ambassador by the City of San José. “It’s art, technology and design. I hope many local residents can access the city’s existing technologies and open their eyes to many more emerging technologies, like 3D printing. So I thought this would be a great way to help underserved communities learn about the technology while creating art based on their cultural heritage.”

The exhibit will display work created by community members at workshops she hosted throughout the year.

“The ICA San José is so thrilled to be working with Professor Yoon Chung Han as part of this NEA-funded initiative,” said ICA Director James G. Leventhal. “It has been eye-opening to have a glimpse into Yoon’s global reach, especially in South Korea, complimented by their local impact. It feels emblematic of San José State at its best. And we are dedicated to being a platform for SJSU professors and students, helping to add one more outlet to be shared here with the people of San José as well. It’s such a rich partnership, along with other local arts organizations.”

“Yoon Chung Han’s NEA project dovetails so well with the other exhibitions on display this fall, also by women artists,”said Zoë Latzer, ICA curator. “The themes of traditions and technology run throughout, and to have this community-focused project on display as well, is such a perfect match. The works themselves really echo the concurrent installations by local emerging artists Adia Millett and Heesoo Kwon, along with the façade project by SJSU alum Maskao Miki.

“We are also hoping that it will bring in students, as we are really dedicated to serving in partnership with San José State as best we can. There’s such an important history of great artists coming out of SJSU, and we want to help.”

Han worked with community workshop participants to apply 3D printed designs to various artifacts. Photo courtesy of Yoon Chung Han.

The upcoming exhibit is the latest in a string of community-minded events Han has led this year. The first NEA-supported workshop, offered in March at Chopsticks Alley Art, a San José nonprofit focused primarily on Southeast Asian arts and culture, offered people the chance to select images representative of their cultures to be printed as 3D objects.

Participants ranged in age from age six to 70, with many intergenerational families collaborating to choose images. Han invited celebrated designer Behnaz Farahi to assist in the workshop, which was offered in English and Vietnamese.

“It was great to be able to work with SJSU to introduce 3D printing technology,” said Trami Cron, executive artistic director of Chopsticks Alley Art.

In April, Han invited United Kingdom-based artist, maker and designer Michael Eden to co-host another 3D printing workshop at SJMA. SJSU Associate Professor of Materials Engineering Özgür Keleş and his students worked on the original “standard tessellation language” (STL) files, which were printed in a variety of colors. All the 3D files created at the two workshops were well-polished and 3D printed by SJSU design students, and chemicals and materials engineering students.

“At SJMA, we were very pleased to have the opportunity to work with SJSU off campus,” said Robin Treen, manager of special projects and community partnerships at the San José Museum of Art. “Yoon’s workshop aligned well with the Museum’s position in that it did what all good art (and museums) should do — it opened the door to discovery, creativity, new ideas and experiences. Although 3D printing is a complex process that no one learns in an afternoon, the workshop filled quickly with a broad section of community members who were curious about 3D printing and its potential.” 

Professor Han (foreground), collected audio stories with her student assistants in front of the San José Museum of Art in August. Photo courtesy of Yoon Chung Han.

Han’s NEA grant narrative explains that the workshops reinforced how “artistic practices with 3D printing technology [can be] seen as creative artistic solutions for cultural exchange.

Each piece will highlight unique San José stories and contribute to an interactive archive of audio cityscape that could encompass the past, present and even future of the city from the residents’ perspectives. The physical sculptures will be incorporated into a future exhibition. Additional support for this program was provided by the College of Humanities and the Arts’ Artistic Excellence Programming Grant. 

“San José is a pretty unique city because there are a lot of newcomers here,” said Han. “I hope to understand what’s really rooted here in this city — the cultural practices that are really important to us — through an artist’s angle.”

Learn more about Han’s design work and upcoming exhibitions.