Today's lecture introduced me to many Asian American artists that I was not aware of before. A few that stood out to me the most was Maya Lin's Systematic Landscape, Tatsumi Orimoto's Bread Man, and Valerie Soe's film on Cynthia Gouw. All three artists seemed to use different mediums such as sculpture, performance art, and film. These works are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also interesting to learn about for they all have a story behind them. Maya Lin's sculpture is made out of 2x4 wood pieces yet they convey a sense of movement and an optical illusion of an object in space. Orimoto's Bread Man persona takes on a new meaning when he incorporates his Alzheimer's "Mama" into his work. The work is not only playful and fun, but also meaningful and heart felt. Soe's film involves more scandal and controversy over a friend at UCLA named Cynthia Gouw who initially entered a Chinatown pageant to expose the stereotyping of women, but left with the title Miss Chinatown Queen and went on to become a Chinese American Star.
Nice overview of your fav. artists Kip presented. The bread man was awesome. Next we need a giant hummus man. They can hang out on weekends.
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