Vermont College of Fine Arts

Yoon Soo Lee’s research and teaching focus on the study of identity, while in her professional work, she designs identity systems for regional, national, and international events, organizations, and publications. The identity design systems she has built include logos, posters, brochures, newsletters, environmental graphics, and websites.

 

In both her teaching and her professional practice, Lee begins by asking multiple questions: How do we create identities? How do we sustain identities? What is the source of identity building-- the individual or society? What is the balance between the declaration of identity and acceptance of identity?  Her research and scholarship leads her into investigations of gender, ethnic, national, and racial identity. She explores the construction and destruction of a person role-playing, breaking stereotypes, and rebuilding the self through an understanding of history, sociology, biology, and psychology. This creative scholarship is currently manifest in her paintings and sculptures. As an educator, designer, and artist, as well as in her own identity as a global person, she balances a critical understanding of the complex world of humanity with a strong sense of history and an appreciation for the newness of the world.

 

Lee has been a Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth for nine years. Previous teaching appointments include Ohio University and Western Michigan University. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from both Western Michigan University and Seoul National University in Korea. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she is an exhibiting artist and visiting critic at the Rhode Island School of Design. Exhibition highlights include receiving the Juror Prize from Brickbottom Gallery’s 2010 Spring Invitational in Somerville, MA and many other place awards.