Boy Kong
First Flower Tiger Pelt, 2016
Acrylic, Oil, Horse Hair on Wood
60 x 36 in. (91.4 x 152.4 cm)
Sold [private collection, Fort Lauderdale, FL]
[info below images]
More than any other artworks, First Flower Tiger Pelt + A Prayer best display Boy Kong's skills as a craftsman and as a painter, and best represent him both as an artist and as an American. I have been working with Boy since 2012, and see these pieces as a turning point, his first fully mature artworks.
Boy spent a month hand carving each piece, and each sculpture is carved from one piece of wood, but for the teeth, the nails, and the whiskers. The tiger pelt’s form is based on traditional Tibetan Tiger rugs, and both artworks blend various Asian art styles: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, et al. I find this particularly meaningful, because of Boy’s own blended heritage, ie Vietnamese, with some ethnic Chinese heritage, and a youth spent in suburban Orlando. Finally, the cutouts are wonderful pieces of folk art, and their strength and virility feel especially powerful since they were begun during a period - October/November of 2016 - when many 'outsiders' were made to feel less American. They also reference the rise of Asia - specifically China - as a new global superpower, and the cusp of the Asian Century.
-Avi Gitler
[more text below]
Symbolism
In the center you see a Camelia flower:
The symmetrical beauty and long-lasting quality of the flower have long been appreciated by young lovers as the token for expressing devotion to each other.
For more, see here: http://livingartsoriginals.com/flower-camellia.htm
On the left is a Peach:
The peach (tao 桃) symbolizes longevity and peach charms are very commonly seen in China.
For more, see here: http://primaltrek.com/peach.html
On the right is a Gourd:
The gourd is popular as a charm to ward off evil spirits and disease because its first character (hulu 葫芦) has the same pronunciation as the word to "protect" or "guard" (hu 护) and also the word for "blessing" (hu 祜).
For more, see here: http://primaltrek.com/gourd.html
Along the center, you have the Moon in its different phases, full moon on the head, crescent moon on the tail bone:
Both the Vietnamese and Chinese people celebrate the lunar festival: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival
![Boy+Kong,+A+Prayer,+2018,+44+x+98+in.[111.8+x+248.9+cms],+Acrylic,+Oil,+Horse+Hair+on+Wood+detail.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52459c2fe4b061467a13fa60/1574450800083-0V84QODDQBERUT6YQPG9/Boy%2BKong%2C%2BA%2BPrayer%2C%2B2018%2C%2B44%2Bx%2B98%2Bin.%5B111.8%2Bx%2B248.9%2Bcms%5D%2C%2BAcrylic%2C%2BOil%2C%2BHorse%2BHair%2Bon%2BWood%2Bdetail.jpg)
