Spotlight

Tony Nguyen

Ahoy hoy, my name is Tony Nguyen and I am an artist but I try to be a Jack of All Trades in my life because I like wearing many hats. I think this stems from my upbringing in a family where my parents are first generation immigrants. My parents had to do so many jobs to raise my three brothers and I. They first started as seamstresses, then my mother became a manicurist full time and not to mention she continued her motherly responsibilities for us. For my father, it was decided he would be a stay-at-home dad. He continued as a seamstress for some time since it allowed him to stayed at home with us. He then became the house’s plumber, the electrician, the chef, and my first teacher. Anything that needed to be done, he did. Witnessing him be capable of doing anything he put his mind to made me realized that I wanted to learn how to solve any problem placed before me. I didn’t conform to labels or titles from that point on.

I am of Vietnamese descent, both of my parents fell in love and got married in Vietnam during the aftermath of the war. They had my three older brothers over there and decided that their sons wouldn’t have a future in their own country if they had stayed. They ended up immigrating to Southern California in the 1990s and had me as their fourth son. Supposedly, four sons in one family is considered a good omen to the Vietnamese. Maybe the Vietnamese were onto something. My brothers and I all have a close relationship and my parents stated that family harmony was the only gift they have ever wanted from us brothers. We weren’t monetarily rich but rich in affection for each other.

Growing up in my family I felt extremely blessed and lucky but it did come with some hardships both internally and externally. I would clash with my mother and father the older I got. Education, career, life choices were all points of contention for us. The best way I could sum it up is that they have “eastern brains” and I had a “western brain”. We just don’t think the same. I still love them for how they raised me and realized with maturity that some clashes were unnecessary and to pick my battles wisely. Another hardship from my childhood that we as a society still deals with is the racism both from loved ones and strangers. Race became a factor in where I could hang out, who were “good” people, what aptitudes my friends and I did and did not have. I hated it, the assumptions, the expectations, the ignorance. It made me ignorant at times too. For a long time, I pushed my culture away to not be different from the rest, to be a model minority, to not stand out. I didn’t want to learn about it, nor would I embrace it. It was only when I started my art career that I was comfortable enough to draw from my roots.

I remember this one specific time my mother was going back to Vietnam and I half-jokingly asked her to bring back an Ao Dai for me. Ao Dai when translated means long dress, or long shirt. It is a traditional Vietnamese dress that both men and women wear in public and on special occasions. She asked me what color I wanted and went on her trip. Weeks later she came home, cheerfully saying she had a gift for me. I opened the package and it was a blue Ao Dai with a golden dragon flying across its chest. I tried it on even as I laughed at how “Asian” the whole thing looked. However, the sensation I had thereafter and the looks I got from my parents told me all I needed to know. I wasn’t their hard-headed American son that fought them at every chance. I am just their son. I am all their hopes and dreams manifested. I am what my father fought for during the war. I am my mother’s baby boy. I am Vietnamese-American. It was a moment of acceptance of what is.

Here I am now, being an artist, but I never believed I was supposed to be just an artist. This is why I chose to go back to school. Shortly after obtaining my undergraduate degree, I did the occasional odd jobs, worked for other people, and realized that I didn’t want to work for others but to work with others to achieve their goals. The MFA will allow me to become a professor, which to me, is the ultimate form of working with others toward their academic goals. I will be the first in my family to obtain an MFA and I hope I will not be the last.

The MFA program at CSUF have been giving me so many first opportunities that I can hardly count. I’ll state the three that I am extremely grateful. First, the faculty and department has let me experiment with my art leading to fun discoveries of mixing art forms and media. I became skilled at glass casting and more fluent with 3D printing. These forms of art have supplemented my traditional metalsmithing and jewelry knowledge. It has allowed me to make complex jewelry and sculptural toys I would have never dream of. Second, CSUF made me feel like I matter. Every concern and request I made for myself or fellow students were listened to and accounted for. CSUF was the first school to give me a scholarship and it made me feel like my efforts were seen and appreciated. Third, the department gave me a chance to teach while I studied for my degree. This opportunity gave me peace of mind that I chose the right field for myself because after teaching my first class, I was hooked for life. I cannot describe the gratitude I have for the school as a whole for seeing my potential as an artist and future educator and giving me every tool that can to help my journey along. Thank you for your time and giving my story a read.