Show Notes: S3E102 with Sangmi Yoo

What happens when you transplant a Seoul-born painter into the heart of West Texas? You get the brilliant, genre-blurring work of Sangmi Yoo.

In this episode, I sit down with Sangmi—artist, educator, and Professor of Printmaking at Texas Tech—to discuss how she navigates the "in-between." Her work isn't just about ink on paper; it’s about how we build our identities out of architecture, memory, and the ghosts of colonial history.

We get into the thick of:

• The "Cookie-Cutter" Illusion: Sangmi explores the uncanny repetition of American suburban tract homes and contrasts them with the traditional Korean hanok. We discuss how architecture shapes our memories and why "home" is such a moving target.
• Decolonizing the Garden: We dig into her recent work on botanical gardens. These aren't just pretty spaces; they are curated landscapes loaded with colonial narratives. Sangmi reframes these histories, even reimagining the iconic patterns of William Morris through a critical, contemporary lens.
• Breaking the Frame: Why settle for a flat print? Sangmi’s practice explodes into digital media, painting, and massive installations, proving that printmaking is a toolkit for broad artistic expression, not a cage.
• The Classroom as a Lab: As a mentor, Sangmi shares how she encourages her students to use traditional techniques to tell modern, diverse stories that challenge the status quo.

Sangmi’s journey is a masterclass in how to bridge cultural divides by looking closely at the spaces we inhabit.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dream a little dream of me, 2025. Pigment print on fabric, aluminum etching, found frames, screenprints, dry moss. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. One hundred years of solitude, 2025. Pigment print, screenprint on vintage frame, dry moss. 120 x 44 x 3 inches. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. One hundred years of solitude (detail), 2025. Pigment print, screenprint on vintage frame, dry moss. 120 x 44 x 3 inches. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Dazzle Dazzle 01, 2017. Photolithograph, mica powder. 19 x 27 inches. Printed by the artist at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center on Denbo Fellowship.

Sangmi Yoo. Dazzle Dazzle 02, 2017. Photolithograph. 27 x 19 inches. Printed by the artist at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center on Denbo Fellowship.

Sangmi Yoo. Dazzle Dazzle 03, 2021. Photolithograph. 27 x 19 inches. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Puerto Rico (installation view), 2022. Layered hand-cut pigment prints. 72 x 44 X 32 inches each. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Puerto Rico (detail view), 2022. Layered hand-cut pigment prints. 72 x 44 X 32 inches each. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Puerto Rico, 2022. Layered hand-cut pigment prints. 72 x 44 X 32 inches each. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Haiku Dazzle 1 & 2, 2022. Hand-cut pigment prints. 96 x 44 x 12 inches each. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Haiku Dazzle, 2022. Hand-cut pigment print. 96 x 44 x 12 inches. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Tides of Resilience (installation view), 2022. Hand-cut pigment prints. Variable dimensions. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Denver (installation view), 2019. Layered hand-cut pigment prints. 72 x 44 X 32 inches each. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Stereotyped Ordinary-Denver (installation view), 2017. Layered hand-cut pigment prints. 72 x 44 X 32 inches. Printed by the artist.

Sangmi Yoo. Anomalous Traces (installation view), 2017. Laser-cut felt on latex paint, offset and pigment prints. Dimensions variable. Printed by the artist and Vermillion editions.