Hmong Veteran, from the series Attention

Pao Houa Her, Hmong Veteran, from the series Attention, 2013, archival pigment print mounted on aluminum composite, framed, 52 ³⁄₈ × 42 ¹⁄₄ × 1 ³⁄₈ in. (133.0 × 107.3 × 3.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 2023.34.1.2, Courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery. © Pao Houa Her

Artwork Details

Title: Hmong Veteran, from the series Attention
Artist: Pao Houa Her
Date: 2013
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 52 ³⁄₈ × 42 ¹⁄₄ × 1 ³⁄₈ in. (133.0 × 107.3 × 3.5 cm)
Copyright: Courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery. © Pao Houa Her
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
Mediums Description: archival pigment print mounted on aluminum composite, framed
Classifications: Photography
Subjects: Portrait male
Occupation — military
Dress — uniform — military uniform
Object Number: 2023.34.1.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.34.1.2

Artwork Description

Pao Houa Her created the Attention series after attending a distant uncle's funeral, where to her surprise she witnessed a military-style ceremony performed by Hmong men in uniform. The men told Her they were not affiliated with any branch of the US military. They had learned the burial rites from YouTube videos, and had purchased all their uniforms, pins, and medals.

The men belonged to the Special Guerrilla Units that had been trained and led into combat by the CIA in Laos during the Vietnam War, in which an estimated thirty-five thousand Hmong soldiers died. After the war, these veterans and their families fled to the United States, establishing today's Hmong American diaspora. Echoing traditions of official portraiture in Western art, Her's photographs express the men's continuing desire to re-insert themselves into US military history through self-fashioning, drawing attention to their omission from official narratives.