Ice cream with mom at King’s Park

Chantala Kommanivanh 

Ice cream with mom at King’s Park, 2012  

Acrylic, oil, spray paint with attached fibers 

2013.1.5  

Today’s piece was most recently displayed in the gallery for Kommanivanh’s alumni show in fall of 2018. It can now be found in the 3rd floor stairwell of the Student Union. 

I got in touch with the artist to learn a bit more about this piece. Here is what he told me: 

“Ice cream with mom at King’s Park” is an early childhood memory of my mother and two older brothers (Von in the center and Chip to the right). I painted this 7 feet high by 9 feet wide as a monumental event in my family’s history marking our settlement in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood as refugees from Laos. In the early 80’s it was a difficult struggle for many refugee families assimilating into American culture in such short time. My family for sure was not prepared for such climate or culture shock. The painting itself alludes to the idea of adaption, displacement, and the diaspora of Laotians. Ice cream in the park is an ideal time of leisure for many American families; I guess we were attempting to be a part of that. However, the painting isn’t all “sweet” as I chose to paint the figures to appear older than they are (especially the children) and King’s Park historically is a haven for gang violence and home to the Latin Kings. I would say so myself, escaping war from one country and settling in an environment that had its own warfare ages a child’s life. I painted “Ice cream with mom at King’s Park” with oil as a traditional media and spray paint as my personal connection with graffiti (hip hop) in the aspect of medium and art history. The way the oil and the spray paint drips remind me of how memory can mend and separate but all deriving from a matter. I find it interesting that everything comes full circle in the end as I combine process with memory, memory with process and my experiences in Chicago. 

Kommanivanh graduated from UWM in 2013 with his Master’s of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing. He has since gone on to become an arts professor at his alma mater, NEIU. In addition to painting, he also writes, produces, and performs in the hip-hop duo Maintenance Crew. You can learn more about him and his work at his website https://www.chantalism.com/  

Visual Description: There are three large figures in the foreground (1 adult and 2 children) consuming ice cream cones in a park. In the background are trees, grass, and other blurred figures.