Hyphen Magazine published an incredible piece by Catherine Traywick called “The Beautiful Generation: Asian Americans and the Cultural Economy of Fashion” (February 25, 2011) that analyzes Asian cultural influences in the global fashion industry by comparing it to the emergence of Asian American designers. Traywick’s piece brought up thoughtful points, contrasting Anglo-Euro conceptions of the “Asian exotic chic” trope with a new one: the emergence of Asian American designers in the industry. This emergence of Asian Americans does not in itself mean progress, however. Without active measures taken by APA designers, we too, like the conical hat pictured from Philosophy Di Alberta’s Spring ’11 collection, will become a commodifiable cliche.
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My favorite artist, Martin Hsu will be commemorating the 2010 Chinese New Year with a special art show, For the Love of the Tiger.
According to the Chinese horoscopes (and as my mom like to remind me every time she yells at me), those born in the year of the Tiger are passionate, independent, quick-tempered and competitive. For Martin, this Chinese New Year is also about bringing awareness to the endangered tigers of the world.
Traditionally, tigers are the guardians of children in Chinese folktales. Under the circumstances, I thought it’d be interesting to reverse the roles and have the children become protectors for such an important animal.
So kick off 2010 by supporting the arts with this special show at Munky King in Los Angeles. For the Love of the Tiger also features the talented works of Andrew Brandou and will run from February 11th to March 11th, 2010. See you there!
Shopping With GASP!
There’s a Call for Artists for the Asian Heritage Street Celebration Poster Contest in San Francisco. The Asian Heritage Street Celebration, Kearny Street Workshop, and NEW PEOPLE are hosting the annual poster competition for the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration. The yearly festival is to be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 in front of the Asian Art Museum leading up to the Little Saigon District.
Organizers are looking for innovative artists to create an exciting and unique image. The winning artwork will become part of the personality for this year’s event and will be featured in posters, postcards, Muni bus ads, BART banners, bus shelters, newspaper ads and in a TV commercial. The winner will also earn a $500 grand prize and citywide exposure. Instructions for entering can be found at www.asianfairsf.com. The deadline is February 12, 2010.
In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2010 and to generate funding for materials and sources for Asian American Studies collections at the Purdue University and Indiana University libraries, Kate Agathon is teaming up with the Asian American Network of Indiana (AANI) to sponsor a fundraising installation/exhibition of donated art addressing identity and experience within contemporary Asian Pacific America. The exhibition is intended to raise awareness and understanding of the Asian American community as articulated through a variety of art including photography, visual, and literary. Unlike the University of Minnesota or the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Purdue is not an Asian American Studies powerhouse. This fundraiser will go toward the materials to build their Asian American Studies library.
If you participate in this project, your works will be exhibited alongside that of writer Maxine Hong Kingston, actor Parry Shen, director Michael Kang, Congressman Mike Honda, Bao Phi, artist Stella Lai, and other stake holders in the Asian American community who support this endeavor.
ImaginAsian: Identity and Experience in Contemporary Asian Pacific America
Fundraising Exhibition April 2- May 9, 2010In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2010 and to generate funding for materials and sources for Asian American Studies collections at the Purdue University and Indiana University libraries, Kate Agathon, the Council on Asian American Studies, the Tippecanoe Arts Federation, and the Asian American Network of Indiana (AANI) are sponsoring a fundraising installation/exhibition of donated art addressing identity and experience within contemporary Asian Pacific America. The exhibition is intended to raise awareness and understanding of the Asian American community as articulated through a variety of art including photography, visual, and literary.
Open to everyone, submissions are being solicited nation-wide. Celebrity contributors include writer Maxine Hong Kingston, director Michael Kang, actor Parry Shen, hip hop group Far East Movement, Congressman Mike Honda, artist Stella Lai, illustrator/graphic designer Jerry Ma, poet Bao Phi, writer Tao Lin, comic legend Larry Hama, and many other prominent stakeholders within the Asian American community. Contributors do not need to be of Asian descent to participate!
Inspired by the Greater Lafayette Art Museum’s Mosaic, ImaginAsian will comprise of a display of 8.5 x 11” creative gifts celebrating the contemporary Asian Pacific American experience. The exhibit will be displayed April 2- May 9, 2010 at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation located at 638 North Street, Lafayette, IN 47901. Bidders can bid on their favorite pieces of work by taking part in a silent auction that will take place throughout the duration of the exhibit.
For a donation of $5 or more, contributors are asked to fill an 8.5 x 11” space with creative art, writing, photography or any other artistic medium that addresses contemporary Asian Pacific American identity or the Asian Pacific American experience. Each submission will be vetted by a team for common themes and appropriateness.
Submissions must be received by February 28, 2010 and can be sent to:
Kate Agathon
1809 Bengal Place
Lafayette, IN 47909Checks made payable to the Asian American Network of Indiana are welcome. The Asian American Network of Indiana is a not-for- profit organization. All gifts are tax exempt. For more information, contact Kate Agathon at kate.agathon(AT)gmail(DOT)com.
There’s a ton of stuff going on in L.A. all the time, but if you love music & art, check out this awesome event “BY ANY DREAMS NECESSARY” featuring work by artist and designer Timothy Teruo Watters, a hapa, who was inspired by his grandfather. One of the singers is Jessie Malay, a super talented hapa. Don Chow Tacos, a Chinese taco truck, will also be there.
BY ANY DREAMS NECESSARY
LIVE ART. LIVE MUSIC. LIVE FASHION.
OPEN BAR. DON CHOWS TACO TRUCK.Date & Time: November 14, 2009, 8pm – 1am
Venue: Gallery 1018, 1018 Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021Artwork by TIMOTHY TERUO WATTERS
Live Music by JESSI MALAY, TERRA INCOGNITA, SIX REASONS and more…
Live Fashion by DANIELLE KELLY
JOSEPH GETTRIGHT, DJ IZM, TRUTHLiVE, BZ and ED GOLD spinning all nightOFFICIAL RELEASE PARTY FOR DJ SKEE MIXTAPE “ENDANGERED SPECIES” featuring BRIAN “DEEP” WATTERS, PROPHET and SIX REASONS
TERUO ARTISTRY debuting its Fall Men and Women’s line
COL.ABO presents KORRUPTION: A Vinyl Toy ProjectArt raffle benefitting A PLACE CALLED HOME
Sponsored by EVERYDAY and JLP “The President’s Tequila
Want to learn more about what Teruo Artistry is about? Check out these videos by Skee.TV:
h/t: Koji
The curse of a great song like Jay Sean’s “Down,” the kind which hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, is that it gets played it like a million times on the radio until you don’t want to hear it anymore.
The flipside of a great song is that it might get covered by a talented artist like Dawen. So even though you’re listening to the same song, it’s really not the same song after Dawen works his magic on it.
Want more Dawen? He’s performing twice at Breaking the Bow this weekend in L.A. Check him and all the other cool artists of The 1st Annual Independent Asian Pacific Islander Performing Artists and Writers Festival out at the Miles Memorial Playhouse through Sunday.
UPDATE: Early bird gets the
wormautographed Mike Shinoda “Glorious Excess” art book! The first commenter is the winner! Congratulations to itzk2di2dm (Kimle)! Thanks to everyone who entered, and also to all the 8Asians contributors for not quitting because of Rule #2!
About a month ago, we reported that Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame opened a exhibit of his artwork called Glorious Excess (Dies) at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
If you didn’t heed our advice and go see the exhibit right away, you and the rest of the procrastinators of the world have one final weekend to check it out. Glorious Excess (Dies) will be closing October 4, so it’s your last chance to check out this one-of-a-kind art show. While you’re at it, why not check out the ID Film Fest also happening in Little Tokyo this weekend, as well?
What’s that? You love Mike Shinoda and you want a little something to remember this exhibit by? Shinoda published a special Glorious Excess “Art Book” which is a 128-page full-color book that documents the bodies of work he created for (Born) and (Dies). The forward is written by world-renowned artist Shepard Fairey and also includes five insightful chapters written by Shinoda himself. (All proceeds from the book and other merchandise from this exhibit go to various charities Shinoda supports.)
What you could win from 8Asians:
One AUTOGRAPHED copy of the Glorious Excess Art Book
How do you enter?
Simply leave a short comment stating why you want to be chosen as the winner of the autographed Mike Shinoda book. (Be sure to use the email address you’d like to be contacted at if you’re the winner.)
Hurry, the deadline to enter is: Monday, October 5 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Time)
ONE lucky winner will be selected and contacted on Tuesday morning.
Rules for entering:
1) Please be in the US or Canada. Sorry, I will not be shipping anywhere else!
2) Contributors to 8Asians and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.
Prize courtesy of: 8Asians, with thanks to JANM and Mike Shinoda.
(Mike Shinoda photo taken by jozjozjoz; Cover artwork from MikeShinoda.com)
Mike Shinoda is widely known through his work with the band Linkin Park, although I’m more of a fan of his hip-hop/rap project Fort Minor and his album, The Rising Tied.
He also has a degree in illustration, and is a graduate from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. This past Sunday August 30th, Joz and I had the honor to go see Mike Shinoda at the Japanese American National Museum in LA’s Little Tokyo, where he presented artwork from his previous show Glorious Excess (Born) in 2008. (His other art exhibit, Diamond, Spades, Hearts and Clubs, was presented at Gallery 1988.)
I was totally hyped and anxious — not only go to see Mike Shinoda, but to also see what was in store regarding his art. The day started off with a JANM Members Only event — a conversation between him and Roger Gastman of Swindle Magazine. During this event, Mike touched on various topics from his influences and background in art to the character and story of Glorious Excess (Born and Dies). After his discussion, Mike took questions from the audience, where he gave some really personal and in-depth answers; he mentioned how people labeling his music drives him crazy — like “rock/rap,” which was funny because I later mentioned to him that was the type of music I liked.
After Mike took questions from the audience, we got to see a short video segment that is being played at the JANM exhibit (part of that segment is also in the video above). Then Mike took pictures, autographed catalogs and other items for those in attendance, while being extremely cool the whole time! On top of that, Mike graciously walked us through the entire exhibit at JANM and further discussed certain topics in regards to his art. One particular subject that he brought up was the idea of a sellout; he defined a sellout as being someone who loses their creative integrity, which correlates with the character in Glorious Excess. Overall, for me this was a once in a lifetime experience and this is something I will remember and share for the rest of my life. I thought Mike’s art exhibit was very interesting and I understood a lot more after reading more about it in his catalog. As for Mike Shinoda the person, I thought he was very cool and down-to-earth, as well as being very humble and considerate.
Glorious Excess (Dies) exhibits until October 4th, 2009. You should check it out if you can. For more information and background, see JANM.org and MikeShinoda.com. Many thanks to Koji at JANM.
I recently wrote about the French auction of Yves Saint Laurent’s artworks which included two Chinese bronze animal heads from a collection of twelve which were looted in the 19th century from the old Summer Palace in Beijing by French and British forces. I also commented that the whereabouts of seven of the original twelve zodiac heads are known. The remaining five are still lost as far as we know.
News comes today that the missing dragon’s head may be in Taiwan.
Wellington Wang, a well-known local art collector, told the TVBS news channel he was contacted by a businessman who claimed to have the bronze dragon’s head and was initially looking to auction it. … The dragon’s head could be more valuable than the rabbit and rat … due to its highly symbolic status in Chinese culture, the newspaper said, quoting another local antique collector.
It’s a well known fact that the dragon symbol from the Chinese zodiac is one of the most revered. The year of the dragon is considered an extremely lucky year in which to have a child and births always increase in a dragon year.
It should be no surprise that I have two cousins born in the year of the dragon. Both of their parents planned for their kids to be born that year in an effort to give their kids the best luck possible. Chinese superstition runs deep in my family and dragons are no exception. With so much faith in dragons, recovering the dragon’s head would be a tremendous boon to Chinese morale after the results of the recent auction.
There’s no confirmation yet the dragon’s head has been found, but I hope this news report is indeed true and we can at last know where one more missing piece of this treasure is, and at some point reunite all the pieces of the “Water Clock” fountain.
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