“Asians Arts Museum” Parodies SF Asian Arts Museum Samurai Exhibit

By Moye | Wednesday, August 26, 2009 | 15 Comments

Thanks for visiting 8Asians, a blog about Asian American issues. If you find this interesting, subscribe to the RSS feed, visit our Facebook Page or add us on Twitter!

asiansartmuseum Asians Arts Museum Parodies SF Asian Arts Museum Samurai Exhibit

Being Asian American is hard, but can you imagine how much more complicated it is to be an Asian American BLOGGER? And life only gets harder each moment with the sheer amount of Asian American news that you have to read, digest and write about. Asian Americans in the health care crisis! Another politician running for mayor! Hollywood portrays Asian Americans in a negative way yet again! *Cue world’s tiniest violin*

So at times, we get confused. It’s understandable. We here at 8Asians naturally view everything Asian-related with a serious and critical outlook, even when it’s not really meant to be. Joz’s 6’4″ cousin is signed to Ford Models: what does this say about the cultural stereotype of emasculated Asian American males in US pop culture? Wait, he’s just a hot guy? No, there has to be more meaning behind this!

This train of thought can lead to fun times on our internal email list, especially when Ernie suggested that someone covers the “Lord, It’s The Samurai” exhibit — which includes a section on Samurai man/boy love — at the “Asians Art Museum.” To which, this exchange occurs:

Efren: Honestly, isn’t this a parody/response from the real Asian Art Museum exhibit about the Samurai? I don’t think this is from the museum.
Ernie: From what I can gather, it doesn’t look to be a parody.
Efren: Actually it is. This is the real page Asian Art Museum’s samurai website: http://www.asianart.org/Samurai.htm The parody is asiansart.org, not asianart.org.
Ernie: Damn. To quote Moye, “samurai pnwed.”

Oh snap! I’ve seen people get tricked by sneaky ninjas, but samurais bring this to a whole new level.

On a more serious note, the Asians Art Museum (where “Asian still means Oriental”) showcases a creative method of protest against what many assume to be a well intentioned exhibit, The Lords of the Samurai, at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Who knew that the history of samurais could evoke the disdain of today’s critics? We all may not find the parody site to be humorous, but it’s refreshing to see a unique approach to how our community can objectify our own culture for the public.

With that said, I’m off to iron my Gothic Lolita outfit.

[EDITORS NOTE: A follow-up interview has been posted here.]

Categories:

San Francisco Bay AreaThe Arts

NOTE: 8Asians.com is a community, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we welcome and appreciate differences in opinion, if you're rude or you're promoting spam, we have a right to edit or delete your comment. Read our comment policy for more information.

If you see a comment that violates the 8Asians.com comment policy, you may flag the comment by mousing over the comment and clicking "FLAG."

Facebook Comments (Beta)

atlasien

I’m Japanese-American and I think the parody site makes some pretty good points. Samurai are romantic but morally indefensible. They were basically just a bunch of violent social parasites with bad haircuts.

Why not have an exhibit called “Way of the Rice Peasant?” It’s not as romantic. But realistically speaking, the vast majority of my ancestors in Japan were probably rice peasants (who got kicked around by samurai).
http://hellomoye.com/ moye

I feel the same way, except I think my ancestors were all fishermen.
janie1181

I thought the parody site was hilarious and scary at the same time. I came yesterday for their matcha event. I got a flyer and checked out the website. I thought it was a hilarious and clever way to make us think more deeply about the history that the museum just kinda glossed over.
Pingback: That’s Not My Name: Lord, It’s The Samurai! intervention « beyondasiaphilia
Pingback: Samurai pwned! « asians art museum's samurai blog
Pingback: 8Asians.com » 8 Questions for Asians Arts Museum
bakabushi

Historians have begun to weigh in on it, so far very approvingly:

http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2009/08/samurai-exhibit-pwned/

Moye should receive royalties for the title!
Pingback: 8Asians.com » John Hopkins Student Kills Intruder with a Samurai Sword
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=735311848 facebook-735311848

who r the “Asian Arts Museum”
http://www.santaferanch.com/category/santafe.western_decor.western_artwork/ Western Artwork

is that pic with the dolphin chewing the boy’s head real? looks it’s been photoshopped…
bakabushi

Looks like the Museum may have had the last laugh: the parodists recently had an exhibit of their work censored by the de Young Museum, and sounds like the Asian Art Museum had a role in it.

http://asiansart.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/censored-by-de-young-museum/
Pingback: Exbaby's Blog
Pingback: beyondasiaphilia
Pingback: beyondasiaphilia
bakabushi

Nine months later, the Los Angeles Times reports on how mere mention of this spoof still sends the Asian Art Museum’s director “simmering.”

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-xu-20100523,0,573660.story

Unfortunately, as reported in the article, the museum’s cultural practices show little improvement, despite the wealth of public embarrassment Director Xu continues to simmer over nearly a year later.

What will it take for Jay Xu and his colleagues to wake up? Is this their way of asking for more?

The samurai spoofers respond on their blog:
http://www.asiansart.wordpress.com

8 Asians