#Chinese Americans

[retropopcult]

New York City's Chinatown, 1960s

[thephenotype]

[longlistshort]

(Hung Liu “Portrait of China Mary”, 2006, Oil on canvas)

Currently at The James Museum in St. Pete, is From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier, an informative show that includes many beautiful paintings. There’s so much history in America that often doesn’t get taught in school. This is a great opportunity to learn about this immigration story through artwork as well as text.

From the museum about the exhibition-

While European American settlers gradually pushed the United States frontier westward throughout the 1800s, the West coast of the country was developing independently as well. Accelerated by the discovery of gold mid-century, the population boom included Chinese immigrants who crossed the Pacific Ocean to California.

Most 19th century Chinese immigrants came to their new country from the coastal Canton region (province of Guangdong today) in southeastern China. Starting over on a different continent away from familiar surroundings and culture would be challenging, but for many decades anti-Chinese hostility and exclusion laws made settling in the United States even more difficult. The achievements of Chinese immigrants paved a path for future generations and are a testament to strength and perseverance.

The foundation for the exhibition highlights narratives of Chinese America from the 1850s to the 1930s. The paintings-all created by Chinese Americans in the 21st century-reflect inspiration from this history. The painters are also fueled by their own, more recent immigration stories to the United States after China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and their rigorous art training in the government-sponsored movement of Socialist Realism. After China opened to the rest of the world in the late 1970s, many Chinese artists-like Mian Situ, Jie Wei Zhou, Benjamin Wu, Hung Liu, and Z.S. Liang, all featured here were inspired to immigrate to the United States in search of greater opportunity.

Here, these artists’ historical interpretations speak to culture, identity, community, and resilience. Related objects and ephemera from the period support these stories. From the Gold Rush to Angel Island, this exhibition reveals often overlooked but significant contributions and perspectives of Chinese immigrants that deepen our understanding of U.S. history.

Hung Liu “Dandelion with Small Bird”, 2017 Mixed media

About the above painting from the museum-

Dandelions and their fluffy seed pods can be found anywhere in the world and thrive wherever they land. Their migratory nature allows them to survive a journey across vast lands even across oceans and take root anywhere in the world. For Liu, the dandelion represents her own tenacity and ability to thrive in the face of adversity.

The dandelions, fragile in nature and tattered by the lightest breeze, mimic how images, and personal narratives, too, can be scattered by time and the winds of history —as well as by the rhythms of feast and famine … –Hung Liu

Mian Situ “Blasting a Route Through the Sierra Nevada, 1865, Central Pacific Railroad”, 2018, Oil on canvas

Mian Situ “The Gold Seekers , Chinese Camp, 1850”, 2015, Oil on canvas

Jie Wei Zhou “Dragon Parade”, 2012, Oil on Linen

This exhibition is on view until 1/28/24.

[meruhenshoujo]

The beautifully soft, painterly backdrops and impressions were Tyrus Wong's special touch.

"It was his lush pastels that served as inspiration for Bambi (1942), where he was the lead artist of the project. His background paintings for Bambi were inspired by Song dynasty classical Chinese paintings. Although credited as one of several background illustrators, his full contribution to the film was largely unknown for several decades."

And, because it seems timely to mention this...

"Because most Chinese immigration was prohibited under the Chinese Exclusion Act, Wong and his father had to immigrate illegally under assumed identities as "paper sons" of Chinese American sponsors. Wong's paper son name was Look Tai Yow. He did not gain American citizenship until 1946, after the repeal of the Exclusion Act"

I’m seeking that glow Only found when you’re young and it’s May Only found on that wonderful day When all longing is through

BAMBI (1942) Directed by David D. Hand et. al. Art direction by Thomas H. Codrick et. al.

[leapingmonkeys]

The Long Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act

[ericpoptone]

Pan-Asian Metropolis -- Pasadena's Lost Chinatown

INTRODUCTION Most of my essays about Los Angeles begin similarly. A question is asked, an answer is hard to find or is deemed inadequate, and then I head straight down a rabbit hole. This one began when a friend asked a question that involved Altadena and a street there with a Japanese name. She then mentioned that neighboring Pasadena had had a couple of Latino colonias — Chihuahuita and…

[jareckiworld]

Tan Mu — Gaze: Observable Infinity (oil on linen, 2024)

[ohhfarts]

Most depictions of Chinese transcontinental railroad workers have a bunch of humble looking guys in conical straw hats all wearing the same baggy shirt carrying buckets or dynamite or whatever.

I love that this one has this dude who is HELLA JACKED swinging a sledgehammer the force of which sends his queue flying into the air. Dude next to him in Mr T's vest armed with guns for days while smoking a pipe. 10/10.

[wild-saber1337]

REDNOTE WAKES UP TO AMERICANS XD

I'm finding the situation with tiktok funny as hell, time for us to meet our Chinese spys personally XD

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"CUTE CHINESE GİRL JOURNEYMAN WELDER," Toronto Star. March 26, 1943. Page 2. ----- Los Angeles - One of the champion welders at the Douglas Aircraft Co., its officials affirm, is a left-handed Chinese girl who talks with a Brooklyn accent - and is pretty. She is Miss Jennie Lee and is an avid fan of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. She passed a rigid examination before she got her journeyman welder's "A" rating. She is also a champion-southpaw bowler and as a hobby collects jive recordings.

[toyastales]

Chow Mein

[weepingwidar]

Gigi Chen (Chinese-American, 1982) - Burn So Bright (2024)

[jareckiworld]

Tan Mu — The Glitch (oil and acrylic on linen, 2023)

[montesmithart]

Banger show from my childhood 🐉

Thank you so much @starcanary49 for reminding me about this show and unlocking my childhood memories ;D ❤️ You’re a sponsor of this drawing!

[atoubaa]

Untitled, 1983-1989 by Baldwin Lee

[americaisdead]

palm springs, calif. february 2025

© tag christof