Home > Bibliographies > AAST298J (Spring 2004)

Chinese American Artists: The Full Spectrum by Ryan Jones

Books

• Attanas, John. Yo-Yo Ma: A Life in Music. Evanston: J.G. Burke, 2003.
• Cohen, Warren. East Asian Art and American Culture: A Study in International Relations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
• Hodges, Graham Russell. Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004.
• Hung, Wu, ed. Chinese Art at the Crossroads: Between Past and Future, Between East and West. Hong Kong, China: New Art Media, 2001.
• Kingman, Dong. Paint the Yellow Tiger. New York: Sterling Pub. Co., 1991.

  Paint the Yellow Tiger is interlaced with Dong Kingman's watercolor paintings, sections describing his technique, the layout of his studio, and supplies he uses. Along with chronicling his life, Dong Kingman includes philosophical insights. Readers actually feel like they are growing up with the artist, seeing him develop both artistically and personally. By getting to know Kingman on a more personal level, readers are able to gain insight and appreciation into the watercolor paintings included throughout the book.

• Kingston, Maxine Hong. Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book. New York: Random House, 1989.

  This is a partly biographical, partly fictional story of a fifth generation Chinese American native of California. The book follows his life as he matures and becomes established as an artist. The book is ambiguous in that many sections seem to take on multiple interpretations and meanings. The main character is the typical sensitive person who is alienated by the cruel outside world. Through his life he tries to work towards establishing an identity as an artist and an American without compromising his culture. The story focuses around the main character's wanderings through life and struggle to be accepted as an American. It is all summed up when he says, "I declare my looks-perfect... it's not Mount Rushmore, but it's an American face." While many of the events in the story are fictional, it is supposedly very similar to the authors own life story.

• Kuo, Jason C. and Julia Frances Andrews. Discovering Chinese Painting: Dialogues with American Art Historians. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt, 2000.
• Lee, Anthony W, ed. Yun Gee: Poetry, Writings, Art, Memories. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003.
• Lee, Bruce. The Art of Expressing the Human Body. Ed. John R. Little. Boston: C.E. Tuttle Co., 1998.
• Lin, Maya Ying and Michael Brenson. Maya Lin: American Academy in Rome, 10 Dicembre 1998-21 Febbraio 1999. Rome, Italy: American Academy in Rome, 1998.

  The book begins with an introduction of Maya Lin's work including the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. It traces the path of her work from the start with a singular idea, to the finished product, which seems to take on different meanings for each person who views it. Lin also wrote a section where she describes her creative thought process and how she "imagines" her artwork. Several other sections are written by writers who critique her work and speculate about the intentions of some of her individual pieces, which appear to "resist categories, genres, and borders." The individual sections of the book are interlaced with a series of drawings, black and white/color photos of some of her architecture, along with a few paintings. Overall the book focuses on Lin's extraordinary ability to overcome criticism in order to create "a single form or idea that can metamorphose into a series of very different manifestations."

• Ling, Bettina. Maya Lin. Austin: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1997.
• Lum, Casey Man Kong. In Search of a Voice: Karaoke and the Construction of Identity in Chinese America. Mahwah: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1996.
• McCunn, Ruthanne Lum. Chinese American Portraits: Personal Histories, 1828-1988. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
• Lee, Anthony W. Picturing Chinatown: Art and Orientalism in San Francisco. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

  Anthony Lee takes a closer look at the images and art of San Francisco's Chinatown between 1850 and 1950. The author tries to dissuade most of the common beliefs about Chinatown, which originated with non-Chinese citizens. These ideas include such things as gangs, severe overcrowding, and drug trafficking. The almost 200 photographs in the book tell the story of artists who walked the streets of Chinatown and observed everyday life. Many of the more renowned artists included Dorothea Lange, Yun Gee, Arnold Genthe, and members of the Chinese Revolutionary Artists' Club. Through these works, the reader can trace the political, social, and cultural evolutions that took place over this hundred-year period. In addition to the works of professional artists, there are pictures from ordinary people passing through the neighborhood. These pictures give a gritty, real world feeling to the book.

• Silbergeld, Jerome and Chi-Ch'ien Wang. Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang. Seattle, WA: Henry Art Gallery, 1987.
• Stern, Bill. California Pottery: From Missions to Modernism. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001.
• Wang, Eugene Yuejin, Jianxin Xue and Shawn Xian Ye, eds. Always Bright: Paintings by American Chinese Artists, Vol. II. Dumont: Homa & Sekey Books, 2001.
• Wiseman, Carter. I.M. Pei: A Profile in American Architecture. Rev. ed. New York: H.N Abrams, 2001.

  This book explores the life and work of the renowned architect I.M. Pei, starting with his birth in China in 1917 to his education at MIT. It traces all the major events in his professional career leading up to his present day status. The author provides a detailed look at I.M. Pei and his numerous architectural creations. Some of his more prominent pieces include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Library in Boston, and his controversial addition to the Louvre. Beyond the architecture itself, Pei is analyzed along with the sociological meanings of his work. There are many color pictures, even more black and white ones, and a detailed list of the projects of Pei's firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

• Xue, Jianxin, ed. Always Bright: Paintings by American Chinese Artists 1970-1999. Dumont: Homa & Sekey Books, 2000.

  This book is set up more as an album of American Chinese artists. Each two-page section profiles a different artist with information about their education, awards, exhibitions, and collections along with the details about the pieces shown in the book. It appears that while none of the eighty-featured artists were born in the United States, many came over to obtain some part of their education or to exhibit their artwork. In some cases you really get a glimpse of the Western influence as most of the paintings depicting an American setting seem to take on a more generic feel and come across more as a reproduction of what the artist sees. In comparison, the works that are considered more "Chinese" seem to be more elaborate in technique and style and in many cases are accompanied by calligraphy, which explains the deeper meaning and background the art piece represents. There are many examples of different forms of media and it is truly interesting to see how raining from the different regions of China and across the world affects artistic style.

• Zhang, Song Nan. A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2000.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles on the Internet

• "1st Chinese Made Hollywood Film to Show Worldwide." People's Daily. March 31, 2001. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://english.people.com.cn/english/200103/31/eng20010331_66477.html>.
• Chesanow, David. "It's Written on the Wall." Asian Week. February 1, 2002. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.asianweek.com/2002_02_01/arts_mural.html>.

  Chesanow tells the story of the 1952 mura, "One Hundred Years: History of Chinese in America" now on display at the Chinese Historical Society of America. The 5 by 17 foot mural tells the story of a Chinese American's journey and the controversy it entailed. The famous watercolor painter, Dong Kingman was originally offered the job, but James Leong, who had already completed a historical mural, was recommended instead. During the creation of his mural there were many people watching him to see if the mural might portray a Communist message. The mural ended up taking eight months to finish and was created primarily from hundreds of photographs from the collection of a Chinese American historian. Due to the historical nature of the mural and lack of political messages people had hoped for, many people in the Chinese American community turned their back on Leong. It was originally displayed in a housing project, but after years of abuse it was eventually moved to the Chinese Historical Society in 1999.

• Pan Yong Ling, Li Jin Ping, Li Hong Mei, and Wang Hong. Interview. In Motion Magazine. September 10, 2000. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/beijing2.html>.
• Zong, Wubing. "Celebrate Chinese Americans' Great Contributions." St. Louis Chinese American News. January 1, 2003. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.scanews.com/spot/2003/january/s645/caf/news.html>.

Websites

• Asian American Artist: Leland Wong. March 23, 2006. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.atowngraphics.com/home.html>.
• "Attractions in San Francisco Chinatown." SanFranciscoChinatown.com. 2006. San Francisco Chinatown. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/attractions/index.html>.
• "Chang Dai-chien in California." SFSU Fine Arts Gallery. May 16, 2000. San Francisco State University. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.sfsu.edu/~allarts/chang/chang.html>.
• Chinese Historical Society of America: Museum and Learning Center. 2005. Chinese Historical Society. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.chsa.org>.
• "Dong Kingman: An American Master." Exhibitions. April 4, 2001. Chinese Culture Center. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.c-c-c.org/ex/2001/kingman.html>.
• "Past Exhibits." Museum Exhibits. 21 Mar. 2006. Chinese American Museum. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://camla.org/exhibits/pastexhibits.htm>.

  This page highlights past exhibits at the Chinese American Museum. The exhibit consists of postcards, paintings, pictures, and various other art forms that were created primarily in Los Angeles. The postcards give individual perspectives on life in the United States for Chinese immigrants who wished to make Los Angeles their new home. The addition of pictures really portrays the early development of early Chinatowns in Los Angeles and gives a sort of timeline of the different periods of the U.S.'s position on Chinese Immigration. There is some individual focus paid to the artist Tyrus Wong who at age 93 was one of the earliest Chinese American artists and was renowned as a muralist, ceramicist, and even a kite maker, with many of his works presented in the exhibit.

• Leibfried, Philip. "Anna May Wong: First Asian American Star!" 2003. Asian American Artistry. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://us_asians.tripod.com/features-am-wong.html>.

  Philip Leibfried summarizes the story of a Chinese American daughter of a laundry owner in Los Angeles. Her father did not approve of her preoccupation with the film industry even as a young child. Her long list of movies started when she was just a teenager with her first publicized role in the 1921 film, Bits of Life. Although she primarily played supporting roles, her talent was recognized and she was never short of work, even in spite of the biases due to her race. She served as a ground breaking actress in the field, and even though the stereotypical roles of Asian Americans in films still remain today, the developments that have occurred are partially due to her. During her career she took part in fifty-four films, and a complete listing of her works and a more in depth biography can be found on the webpage. The fact that she accomplished all this during such a trying time period for Chinese Americans makes her all the more noteworthy.

• McDonough, Sarah. "The Art of Dora Hsung." November 7, 2003. American Repertory Theatre. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.amrep.org/articles/2_2/dora.html>.
• MoCa - Museum of Chinese in the Americas. 2006. Museum of Chinese in the Americas. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.moca-nyc.org/MoCA/content.asp?cid=1>.
• NYJPW Chinese-American Arts & Culture Association. July 25, 2006. NYJPW Chinese-American Arts & Culture Association. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.nyjpw.org/nyjpwtsp.htm>.
• Yo-Yo Ma. April, 4 2006. Sony Music Entertainment. Date Accessed: 27 July 2006. <http://www.yo-yoma.com>.