CHANEL MILLER I WAS, I AM, I WILL BE

WILBUR FOUNDATION GALLERY

The inaugural work in the Brayton Wilbur Foundation Gallery introduces artist Chanel Miller, author of “Know My Name: A Memoir,” who represents healing as a process with three distinct yet interchangeable parts: reflecting on the past, being mindful in the present, and envisioning the future. In this tripartite wall mural, playful line-drawn figures illustrate the phrases “I was,” “I am,” and “I will be,” encouraging us to think of life as an endless state of becoming.

Visible from Hyde Street outside the museum — day and night — I was, I am, I will be is one of several public artworks commissioned by the museum to engage the surrounding community. “The idea was to make the artwork visible from the street as a source of warmth or this beacon in the dark,” Senior Associate Curator and Head of Contemporary Art Abby Chen told the New York Times, “but now with COVID, I think the city really needs it — I need it.”

Miller is a Palo Alto–born artist and writer based in San Francisco and New York. I was, I am, I will be is her first commissioned artwork for a museum. Miller first came into the public eye, anonymously, as “Emily Doe,” the victim of a 2015 Stanford University sexual assault whose powerful impact statement went viral. Miller relinquished her anonymity and reclaimed her identity in September 2019, when she published her critically acclaimed memoir.

“I like that my art is out in the open,” Miller recently said in an interview with Marie Claire, “and it’s unapologetic. And those creatures can greet you during any time of day. Hopefully, they are gentle creatures of comfort. I love the idea of them living on that corner and being able to connect with anyone who walks by.”

Curated by Abby Chen Senior Associate Curator and Head of Contemporary Art

Image: Installation view of Chanel Miller: I was, I am, I will be, Asian Art Museum, 2020. Photograph © Asian Art Museum.

Chanel Miller: I was, I am, I will be is a part of the Asian American Experience, which is made possible with the generous support of Glen S. and Sakie T. Fukushima, an anonymous donor in memory of Ambassador and Mrs. Sampson Shen, and Claudine Cheng. Sustained support generously provided by the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Endowment Fund for Exhibitions.