Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Cha c. 1980, in Seoul
Cha c. 1980, in Seoul
Native name
차학경
Born(1951-03-04)March 4, 1951
Busan, South Korea
DiedNovember 5, 1982(1982-11-05) (aged 31)
New York City, United States
Resting placeAshes placed at an unknown location
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • producer
  • director
  • artist
LanguageEnglish
Alma materUniversity of San Francisco
University of California, Berkeley (BA, MA, MFA)
Years active1974 to 1982
Notable worksDictee (1982)
SpouseRichard Barnes (m.1982-1982; her death)
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Hangul
차학경
Hanja
車學慶
Revised RomanizationCha Hak-gyeong
McCune–ReischauerCh'a Hak-kyŏng

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (Korean: 차학경; March 4, 1951 – November 5, 1982) was an American novelist, producer, director, and artist of South Korean origin, best known for her 1982 novel, Dictée. Considered an avant-garde artist, Cha was fluent in Korean, English, and French. The main body of Cha's work is "looking for the roots of language before it is born on the tip of the tongue."[1] Cha's practice experiments with language through repetition, manipulation, reduction, and isolation, exploring the ways in which language marks one's identity, in unstable and multiple expressions.[2] Cha's interdisciplinary background was clearly evident in Dictée, which experiments with juxtaposition and hypertext of both print and visual media. Cha's Dictée is frequently taught in contemporary literature classes including women's literature.

  1. ^ Cha, Theresa Hak Kyung (1978). "Artist's Statement / Summary of Work". University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. ^ Jeon, Min Sun. Audience Distant Relative: On the Critical Reception of the Works of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (MA thesis, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, 2022) 8.