More Extra credit

Read one of the articles linked to here and post a 200 word response




See also: The Asian Arts Initiative:




5 thoughts on “More Extra credit

  1. The article “Chinese and Asian American Artists Showcase Works in San Jose” describes two new exhibitions. Both of these exhibits, “Rising Dragon, Contemporary Chinese Photography” and “New Stories from the Edge of Asia, This/That”, are showcasing more modern depictions from Asian Americans.
    “Rising Dragon” explores social and economic evolution in China during the years of the Dragon, roughly from 2000 to 2012. Most of the readings we have done have described Asian American history, and the idea of Orientalism. The photographs are used to depict concerns in mainland China such as “changes in social self-identity, the alteration of the natural environment, and the erosion of cultural heritage in an increasingly globalized society” (San Jose Museum of Art). There is a price to pay as the world advances in technology. The price seems to be the natural environment, which is decreased in order to make room for more buildings and man-made structures. Similarly, as the world becomes more globalized, the world also becomes more uniform. There uniqueness of each culture takes a backseat to technology as societies blend and become more alike.
    In contrast to the “Rising Dragon” exhibition, “New Stories form the Edge” explores Asian identity through videos, films, photographs, and performance arts. While “Rising Dragon” focuses on China, “New Stories” focuses on Asians in the U.S. This second exhibit utilizes technology to preserve culture and identity instead of focusing on how technology is detrimental to culture. There are issues of balance between the new and old worlds, but overall, this exhibit tries to find a middle ground in which both worlds can coexist. At the opening of the exhibit, there was an “epic battle” between Team Aztec and Team Bruce Lee. It is a physical representation of cultures clashing as people fight over the U.S. territory. This is a common theme for cultures trying to mark their territory as they are faced against other cultures in similar situations.


  2. The exhibit summary embodies some of the blanket themes that we have seen in African American art and Feminist Art. It’s difficult to view socially and politically controversial art without focusing on the statements that it makes through their meanings, However, at the same time as a person of mixed ancestry, it’s impossible to separate from one’s cultural and ethnic background, especially in a society where ethnicity is determined through a constructed set of physical traits whether they are actually associated with the culture or not. Even as individuals, if we embrace an identity outside of our ethnic background, we are still faced with the expectations that are associated with that identity. All the artists that are indicated in the exhibit summary are American but have travelled or still maintain ties to their ethnic or cultural background. One particular artist, Shizu Saldamando, whose art reflects her Japanese and Mexican background. This incidence points to another contention of generalization that is often overlooked, that it is assumed that mixed American heritage is only one predominant ethnic background. Some of the common themes in Asian American Art includes, migration and stereotypes.

    -Nicolette Trevenen

  3. The exhibit “Portraiture Now” presented by the Smithsonian provides an interesting insight into the complexities of what is considered Asian American art. The exhibit includes seven artists, none of which have had the same life experiences. Two of the artists were born and raised in the United States–one of which who also has a Mexican heritage. Three other artists don’t stay in the country, as they work and travel between the United States and their respective Asian nation. The last two artists, on the other hand, decided to stay and immigrated to America. Why would this information matter however? The Smithsonian exhibit essentially reflects the dilemmas that has been discussed in class in the past week. Who becomes identified with Asian American art? Do these artists consider themselves to be Asian American artists or artists who happen to be Asian? What exactly does it mean to be Asian American? Within the art world however, it doesn’t seem to matter how the artist classifies oneself. Their ethnicity and their art becomes intertwined with each other, even if that cultural background has no direct influence on their own artwork. Ethnicity has many different ramifications, and while these ramifications may be constructed, it becomes very real to these artists.


  4. I chose the link for, I think it was the second one. It talks about a new exhibit called New Stories from the Edge of Asia: This/That, at the San Jose museum that features California based American artists of Asian descent. One of the artists featured is a group called MOB (Mail Order Brides) caught my eye so I goggled them to find out more. The group was founded in 1995 in San Francisco and is the oldest Filipina art collaborative in the bay area. They have produced karaoke videos and performances, installations, public service posters, and workshops that explore gender, race and stereotypes of the Filipina, through the use of humor. From what it sounds like MOB used similar performances as the street performers during the black power movement. I am not sure if the public displays put on during the black power movement made use of humor but in the case of MOB it is an effective way to explore controversial topics without scaring or upsetting audiences. An argument against the effectiveness of humor is that people will not take you seriously. The picture we saw of the green card is a good example of humor that is serious. I guess that is considered dry humor or sarcasm and it seems effective.

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