Summary

In "Portrait of an Artist," Hong tells the story of poet Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's life and death. In 1982, Cha was raped and murdered by a security guard in the Puck Building in SoHo. Hong imagines and writes into Cha's final hours.

Hong studied Cha's work in college, particularly moved by Dictee. Cha's work granted Hong entrance to Asian American art in a new way.

Years later, while reviewing Cha's work, Hong became disturbed by how little she could discover about Cha's death. The more research she did the less she knew. Biographers and research institutes actively precluded her exploration into the truth. While pursuing Cha's story, Hong began considering Asian American women's historical experiences of sexual violence.

Describing Cha's video piece Permutations, Hong comments on the ethereal quality of Cha's voice and the repeated images of her...