Maria Yoon's Nine-Year Performance Art Project 'Maria the Korean Bride' Explores Marriage Across 50 States

Maria Yoon, a performance artist, undertook a nine-year endeavor known as 'Maria the Korean Bride,' which she both directed and starred in, culminating in a 75-minute film. This ambitious project saw Yoon traverse all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she engaged in symbolic marriages with an array of partners and objects. Her journey commenced in 2002 with a wedding to a Diana Ross impersonator in Las Vegas and wrapped up in May 2011 with a ceremony in Times Square led by Jimmy McMillian, the head of The Rent is Too Damn High political party. A first-generation Korean-American from Seoul, raised in New York, Yoon was influenced by her mother's cultural expectations, receiving a traditional wedding Hanbok for her 30th birthday. During her travels, she interviewed a variety of individuals, including polygamists and LGBTQ+ couples, exploring the complexities of marriage. The film premiered on February 13, 2015, at Wix Lounge in New York, with support from Baang + Burne Contemporary. While Yoon's project did not yield clear conclusions about marriage, it inspired deep contemplation, and her mother expressed pride in its thought-provoking content. Yoon felt a sense of relief upon completing the project, having developed a broader understanding of love and partnership beyond conventional norms.